Arctic Tern Build

May 21, 2017

Cutting out Garboard Planks

As pointed out by Peitro, the grains on two of the boards that I scarfed together are running opposite to each other.  I never recognized that but since I will be painting both inside and out, it should not make a difference.  But I will definitely be more aware as I scarf other boards together.  Thanks for your sharp eyes Peitro.   

Today I traced the outline of the Garboard pattern onto the actual Okoume plywood.  After tracing I used my circular saw to carefully cut along the penciled edge.  Finished up with a hand block plane and a sanding block.  The edges are not perfect but hopefully I will get better at this as I work on the other planks. 

Clamped the port Garboard plank in place and placed the Starboard plank resting upon the forms just to see what they would look like.  

 

As I clamped the port plank to the keelson I realized that the actual Okoume plank was thicker than the material that I was using for the pattern, so it will be much more difficult to form the plank to the curve of the forms.  I will definitely need to use screws during the epoxy stage to insure that the plank is held firmly in position until cured. 

Next step will be fitting and fairing the Garboard Planks to the keelson and forms.