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Step 4Planking and Keelson
First place the keelson.
If you haven't done so already make a notch in the brace just wide and deep enough for the keelson.
Mark the center of each end to ensure the keelson gets centered. Then nail through the stern into the keelson to secure it in place. Bend the other end down to the bow and mark where it needs to be cut and the angle the cut needs to be. After cutting nail it in place.
If it's too rigid to bend where you need it, try soaking a towel in boiling water and placing that on the board for a few munites and trying to bend again. This may have to be repeated several time before it works.
If that doesn't work or you're afraid of burning yourself you could just cut a kerf, or several, in the board. A kerf is a shallow, less than half the thickness of the board, cut on the same side you want the bend: if you want to bend it up cut on the top of the board right where the bend will be, if you're bending it down cut on the bottom of the board. (I hope that made sense)
Once the keelson is in place start planking.
Start at one end and work over to the other. Cut the board about 4 inches longer than it needs to be and nail it onto the edges of the sides, and the bow and stern for those peices that go over them. Also nail into the keelson, staggering the pattern as you go. Three or four nails at each joint is plenty.
Once the bottom is on the nails in the keelson will need to be clinched. If you don't have the proper tools and someone to help you can just hammer the nails down, or to get rid of the points you can take a pair of pliers and bend the tip about 70 degrees and then hammer the nail down back into the board.
If you haven't done so already make a notch in the brace just wide and deep enough for the keelson.
Mark the center of each end to ensure the keelson gets centered. Then nail through the stern into the keelson to secure it in place. Bend the other end down to the bow and mark where it needs to be cut and the angle the cut needs to be. After cutting nail it in place.
If it's too rigid to bend where you need it, try soaking a towel in boiling water and placing that on the board for a few munites and trying to bend again. This may have to be repeated several time before it works.
If that doesn't work or you're afraid of burning yourself you could just cut a kerf, or several, in the board. A kerf is a shallow, less than half the thickness of the board, cut on the same side you want the bend: if you want to bend it up cut on the top of the board right where the bend will be, if you're bending it down cut on the bottom of the board. (I hope that made sense)
Once the keelson is in place start planking.
Start at one end and work over to the other. Cut the board about 4 inches longer than it needs to be and nail it onto the edges of the sides, and the bow and stern for those peices that go over them. Also nail into the keelson, staggering the pattern as you go. Three or four nails at each joint is plenty.
Once the bottom is on the nails in the keelson will need to be clinched. If you don't have the proper tools and someone to help you can just hammer the nails down, or to get rid of the points you can take a pair of pliers and bend the tip about 70 degrees and then hammer the nail down back into the board.
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My current thought is to build a cross between a John boat and a canoe. In other words it would in essence look like a long narrow box with the bow sloped and the stern at 90 degrees from the flat hull. Following waves can be a real problem here and a sloped stern is an invitation to get dunked. I have even seen boats here used for rescue in heavy surf that have flotation built into the floor and large holes cut in the sides so that water always sloshes around on the floor. It is tropical here and wet feet aren't an issue and these rescue row boats would launch from the beach against 10 foot waves and self bail while the life guards rowed to the vessel in distress. They were about 12 feet in length and built wide with fairly high sides so heavy pulling on long oars was the norm.