16" Cruiser Construction

Dear All,

I hope you can help, my grandfather is building a 16 foot Bondwood Cruiser for himself in his spare time. After building a smaller yacht he has moved onto grander things. He is extremely competant with all things wood but is having a fair bit of trouble with attaching some bits.

At the front of the boat he is having trouble pulling the front piece of the bottom down to the chine.
The sides are already on.
Is it recommended to wet it with hot water to make it more springy or is this discouraged.
EG. Towel with hot water.

Some other specs that may help you.
Chine is 15”6
Bottom piece is in 1 piece 15”6 long X 3” wide.

He has a feeling that it may be a brute force job but that is something that he doesnt have a lot of and clamps are extremely hard if not impossible to attach.
Your 2 bits would be much appreciated.

Stuart

 

I find it useful to use a scrap piece of softwood and put long woodscrews through the ply into the scrap softwood. You can then usually pull the ply into position. The next step is to fix it permanently, after which you can remove the temporary fixing.
You may have to combine this method with the "hot water and towel" tecnique.
Another useful method is to use a "spanish windless" which is simply a piece of string twine or rope with a stick through it. twist to tighten.
briany

 

Thanks Brian, Your assistance is very much appreciated, I will advise my grandfather, if anyone else has any ideas then please let me know.
Cheers
Stuart

 

Soak the plank for couple of days.

 

Thanks Gonzo, He is currently soaking the timber with hot water and combining the spanish windlass as well.
Have a good one

Stuart

 

Gonzo, thanks for the idea on the water, my grandfather successfully attached the plank with this.
Made life lots easier for him!!!
Your a gem!

Stuart