Step E (Stem is untrimmed here)

Step D (Transom details appear in Drawing No.15, following page)

Step C

Step A

Step B

11. Bending the Sides, Step-by-Step

Step A. Fasten vertical supports near aft end of each side piece. (These are best placed aft of transom if the sides are long enough; otherwise, place them as shown.) Attach one of the sides to the ’midship mold at station No. 2 with a couple of drywall screws.

Step B. With rope, take a turn around each side piece and gradually draw them together. As soon as the free side meets ’midship mold, drive drywall screws to hold the mold on station No. 2—just as for the first side piece. Continue pulling rope until transom dimensions are reached. At this point, your boat should—with a shim here and there—be resting on five temporary legs: two aft, another pair amidships, and one forward—courtesy of the extended stem.

Step C. Get inside the boat, push sides apart at station No. 1, force the spreader into position, and secure it with a drywall screw or two at each end. You’ll have to push hard—but not so hard as to split or fracture the side pieces. Ideally, the boat’s

beam at the sheer (to the inside of the planking) and station No. 1 should be 35", but if you sense that the side pieces can’t take that much, be satisfied with an inch or two less.

Step D. Mark, saw, and bevel transom and its corner pieces, then screw them together (1³⁄ 4" No. 10 bronze screws, backed up by glue if you wish), and confirm that the transom assembly will be a good fit between the sides. Adjust the bevels as needed, then attach the transom permanently. (At this stage, the extended transom corner pieces become the boat’s “legs,” and the temporary vertical supports can be removed.) Now, check that there’s no twist in the hull by leveling it athwartships along its entire length.

Step E. Cut heel of inner stem flush with sides if it projects, then, using a straightedge placed athwartships as a guide, plane upper edges of sides horizontal to receive the bottom planking. There is no caulking seam; 3M 5200 will keep out the water.

BUILDING THE LUMBERYARD SKIFF • 6