OT deck plate inwale fitting and joint

[Ryan]

i've been working through the winter on my 1936 HW 16', and am finally getting towards the end. Rib tops are scarfed, deck plates are ready to go, seats and thwarts are refinished, and the doug fir inwales are bent and varnished and ready for install.

NOW WHAT?

not really sure how to proceed on the next step:
- the boat had some pretty rotted stems (i scarfed on new tips), it was missing one deck plate and the remaining one wasn't in the best shape to begin with, and the inwale ends were rotted off, so i can't see the nuances of getting a nice tight joint between the deck plate and the inwale.

i'm so close to varnish and canvassing, i don't want my exctiment to cloud my judgement and break something!

my questions are many, but i'll limit them to:

- are you putting bedding compound on the joint (like it says in stelmok's book?), and what's the benefit of that?

- are the inwales evenly tapered, or do they accelerate towards the ends?

- is everything square, or do i need to bevel either plate or inwale edges, or both?

- do i secure one rail on the boat to the end, then the plate, then the other rail, or do i do both inwales up to the last 2', then get a tight fit on the deck plate, then attach to the ribs?

- how much clamp pressure do i need to put on the inwales to bend to the deck plates, or should the joint be flush without clamp pressure?

thanks for your input!
ryan in DC

 

[MGC]

NOW WHAT?

- are you putting bedding compound on the joint (like it says in stelmok's book?), and what's the benefit of that?

• Yes, lay it in. The bedding keeps water from penetrating between the rails and deck.

- are the inwales evenly tapered, or do they accelerate towards the ends?

• Follow the shape of the decks

- is everything square, or do i need to bevel either plate or inwale edges, or both?

• Decks and rails are square as they meet

- do i secure one rail on the boat to the end, then the plate, then the other rail, or do i do both inwales up to the last 2', then get a tight fit on the deck plate, then attach to the ribs?

• Attach one rail and then the other. Once you draw them together you can add the third screw

- how much clamp pressure do i need to put on the inwales to bend to the deck plates, or should the joint be flush without clamp pressure?

• If I understand the question, your screws will draw this in.

 

[Rod Tait (Orca Boats)]

Not sure if videos can help, but I just uploaded a series that I did on repairing rib tops, rail ends and stems. The joint in the end is complicated and hard to get all the pieces to come together, especially if it is so rotten you have no reference points. They can be found on my blog pages of my web site.
http://www.orcaboats.ca

 

[Larry Meyer]

There's also an item at the forum Knowledge base: http://forums.wcha.org/knowledgebase/BuildRestore:Rebuild+rotted+tips

 

[Ryan]

thanks for the replies, i guess i just have to go for it (with lots of clamps!) and see how things fit, then slowly adjust and shave things down to make a nice tight joint. especially given that each boat is different...

rod- you videos are great! i came across them before posting, and they are very helpful indeed.

larry- the rotted tips thread was one of my most visited (and revisited) spots for me. i ended up using a chisel and simply pushing it from side to side to cut a nice clean scarf for rib tops. then cutting a new piece of cedar and matching it for each cut to make a tight joint. i found trying to sneak a saw between rib tops too tight and tough to get an even cut.

overall, i'm reminded how strong the boat becomes when you tie everything together with the planking- nothing like a few thousand tacks!

 

[Larry Meyer]

I'm glad Treewater went to all that work to build that thread - and glad to have put in my mite. Its one of the more common problem areas.