The Keel & Bottom Planking

12. Make the Keel Bending Form

13. The Steaming Setup

If you carry the keel batten all the way to the transom as shown on the drawings, you’ll need to steam it and bend it over a form; ⁵⁄ 8” oak, especially if seasoned, is too stiff to bend cold. The form is simply a pair of 4’ -long 2 x 6s cut to a curve as shown and spaced apart enough to give landing for the 3¹⁄ 2”-wide keel batten.

Taped-together 6-mil plastic sheeting makes a quickly-put-together steambox (or, more accurately, bag), and a length of hose, a 2 ¹ ⁄2-gallon can, and a propane camp stove make up the remainder. Give the aft 4– 5 ’ of the keel batten about an hour’s steam before bending.

Step C

14. Clamping the

Steamed Inner Keel

Working quickly and with gloves, clamp the hot piece of oak around the bending form about as shown— although there are a number of alternatives, depending upon what kind of gear you have at hand.

Step B

Step A

15. Planking the Bottom, Step-by-Step

Step A. Fit the keel batten’s aft end against the transom if the piece is long enough; otherwise, cut it short by an inch or two. Same at forward end. Test that the keel batten conforms to the curvature of the sides, and draw it into position, if necessary, using some of the bottom planking and drywall screws.

Step B. Before planking commences, check again that there’s no twist in the hull. (A nice feature of this setup is

that on a level floor it can be moved around at will without affecting alignment, provided all five “legs” have been cut to the right length.)

Step C. Mill out the bottom planking— ³⁄ 4” if single and ³⁄ 8" (but with twice the area) if double. Cedar is best because of its elasticity (it’ll squash together when wet and spring back without opening its seams upon drying), but other softwoods, or even plywood, can be used.

7 • BUILDING THELUMBERYARDSKIFF