Fitting lodging knees

The small rig that is planned for Nanw uses an 11ft long unstayed mast and as mentioned below it seemed a good idea to put some more strength into the fore part of the boat. To do this I have made some lodging knees to brace the forward thwart to the sides of the boat.
After being shaped round these were glued and screwed with 14G x 4" screws to the thwart which is 1 1/8" thick and nail and rove fastened through the adjacent frames.

Forward thwart braced with lodging knees

Fitting a mast step and making knees

I have a plan to fit Nanw with a simple standing lugsail and mizzen.  I have a set of ancient spars that were possibly from a boat my father had as boy in Devon. Dad is 87 now so it gives an idea of their age! The mast is spruce and has a gentle taper as have the boom and yard.
The mast needs to be unstayed so I needed to build some more strength into the forward thwart and make a step for the mast.
First job was to make some lodging knees to fit between the hull side and the thwart to brace it and stiffen her up. In the absence of proper grown crooks I glued up some iroko with a big half-joint to make a pair of blanks:

Knee 'blank' made for lodging knee - this is the starboard one.

The knees were marked and cut to fit closely into planking and frames and will be through-fastened to the hull and glued and screwed to the thwart.

Making the port lodging knee fit.

Next job was a mast step.  I made a 'floor' to fit closely to the hull just aft of the stem knee and built up some hardwood to form a mast step. This will be screw fastened to the existing structure and glued and nailed together and through-fastened.

Mast step tied to new floor and standing on stem knee and hog.

The forward thwart was bored through using a convenient hole saw and the mast was trial-stepped. After checking it was upright and the rake was okay I have marked the step for the heel mortice.

Trial stepping the mast - position for step mortice located

Nanw's mast stepped at last!

Fitting rubbing bands

The 'underground' boat house has not been a success and although I squeezed two Redwings in there for the early spring it is too damp and dirty and the roof drips lime-laden water everywhere so the boats have to remain sheeted over even though they are indoors.  I got 'Pintail' out as soon as possible and 'Talofa' is going into temporary storage back at the old shed whilst the owner's cars are out for the summer - but no workshop facilities exist there now.
So, here, working outdoors I have got around to fitting Nanw's rubbing bands as the originals just below the land of the top strake. The douglas fir had been machined to a 'D' section but a test bend showed that they would probably fracture if I tried to force them to Nanw's curvature.  I set up a 3m length of 100mm polyduct with the end capped and filled it with water and left the two sections' forward ends to soak for a few weeks and then last week gave them an hour in the steam box.  They bent OK except where I'd pre-drilled them, where kinks and cracks appeared. Clamped in place a screw was placed through every other frame.
Another job nearly completed - some work now needed to enable her to carry a simple lugsail and then finish the painting.


Rubbing bead bent around and fastened. The block on her transom is to ship a rowlock for sculling and is an original fitment.

Simple 'D' section rubbing band fitted. Just needs trimming back.

It was the forward end of the rubber that needed steaming since the greatest curvature is here.

A new (temporary) home

Clinker Boat has been busy doing some much needed overhaul work on the Finesse's machinery and small boat works had been on hold due to lack of anywhere under cover to work.
However at the start of 2017 we managed to negotiate the use of a storage shed adjacent to the slipway in Tenby harbour.  It is a bit basic, dark, underground (beneath the owner's garden) with a narrow doorway and constant dripping water, but will do for now to get our Redwing's varnish touched-up for the season. A tent will be rigged inside to keep the dripping water off. Any major repair or construction work is probably not possible owing to the lack of any flat surface, means of generating power and the narrow doors.

Stone shed access way

Just enough room for two Redwings. Uneven earth floor has to be seen to be believed.