sistering of the bow

[craigt]

hi, im looking at an old woden boat and thinking about resotration. i am sure that i can pretty much do the majority of the restoration myself, but i am told that there is slight sistering of the bow...what does this mean..and how is it taken care of...
any information would be appreciated..thank you

[pungolee]

It sounds as if(from the limited information given)that a repair has been done to the front bow stem."Sistering"is the process of attaching a similar shaped piece of wood to a weak frame to strengthen it.Sometimes the "quick and dirty" method is used and the parts don't hold up in the pounding a boat goes through.Since a concern was noted this sistered joint is probably failing.The bow stem and corrosponding frames receive the worst stress in a boat and must be strong.It is also one of the worst areas to try and fix,since all side planks and bottom boards meet in one place.In the early days the bow stem came from one piece of wood,carved from a curved root,usually heart pine or locust,or even better,live oak.Because of the scarcity of suitable specie and the skill involved most bow stems are now produced by laminating several layers in a jig using recorsinol or epoxy glues.The process is not that difficult if you have the old stem to use as a pattern to set up the jig.Removing the stem is the problem,depending on the style of your boat,either the bottom planks or the side planks,or both must be unfastened at the front to remove the stem.It can be a difficult and time consuming process,especially when you reinstall the new stem and line everything back up.On open work boats and small skiffs without a hood covering the front the job is more straightforward.