Making Boat Parts from Scratch
Curlew has need of new centerboard case batons to replace her old ones that were beginning to split and loosen from the case. I’m also working on adding an extra beam under the foredeck, and replacing the downhaul deck-eye at the mast-foot. I’ll write about these parts as I make them but all necessitated a supply of good strong light timber for fabrication.
I’ve been told that ash “loves water”, perhaps a sailors way of saying that it is rot resistant. In his book Boat Carpentry Hervey Garrett Smith wrote:
Commercial white ash rates high in strength, hardness, durability and resistance to shock. Its workability and resistance to rot is about the same as Oak. Its use is confined to small boats of light construction…
With this in mind I recently bought a rough sawn piece of American ash, which needed milling before it was useable. This was my first time using a planer thicknesser but luckily there was an experienced hand available to show me the ropes.
I marked out all the parts I was hoping to make avoiding knots and checks and used the table saw to cut off the live edge. Then it was onto the planer thicknesser and the result was a 3/8" plank ready to be converted into new parts.
Further watching
If you’re interested in the topic then this video from Sampson Boat Co on milling Live Oak to make ship frames is well worth a watch.