Monthly Report
Strongbacks, Molds, and Ribbands
November 18, '06
November will see all the boats set up, with molds or frames in place and backbone built. First came the lofting and then the strongback or building frame, set at the height the building team decided on. The Gartside, Tomcat, and Speedboat are all built on molds, while the Mower Dory is planked directly onto it's frames, simplifying the construction. So the molds are set up and laborious fairing begun, and the Speedboat team are moving quickly and have the stem up and keel roughed in.
Each boat is built in a slightly different manner, the Speedboat and Gartside are both lapstrake planked on closely spaced molds with their frames bent in after the hull is turned upright. The Tomcat is carvel planked on to frames that are bent over ribbands faired over the widely spaced molds. And the Dory is lapstrake planked onto it's built-up straight frames with half-lapped joints.
It's an exciting month with the full size form of each hull becoming clear for everyone to admire. And the teams are becoming intimately familiar with every piece that makes up their boats.
(Tad Roberts)
To see more boats built at SBSS, please visit the Archive pages.
