l \ i l \ . Royal Australian Navy Apprentice Training Establishment TIMBER BOAT BUILDING - 1- CONTENTS .. ,_ PAGE NO. 0 REFERENCE LIST. 3 INTRODUCTION. 4 TIMBER TERMS . 7 TERMS USED IN BOATBUILDING. •7 PARTS OF A SAIL BOAT . 13 SEASONING OF TIMBER. 15 TIMBER SPECIES AND THEIR MARINE USE. 17 MEASURING AND MARKETING OF TIMBER. 20 TIMBER BENDING. 21 FASTENINGS. 23 ADHESIVES. 26 BONDING PRESERVATIVE TREATED TIMBER . 29 PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS. 31 MAKING A FRAME. 32 SETTING UP MOULDS. 33 HULL FORM .:. KEEL ARRANGEMENTS . 34 FRAMING. 38 PLANKING. 40 DECK CONSTRUCTION. 47 WOOD CAULKING. 53 PLYWOOD FOR MARINE CRAFT . 59 l :.YWOOD CONSTRUCTION. 62 INSTALLATION OF INBOARD ENGINES. 69 SHEAlliiNG. 71 REPAIRS. 74 WOOD DECAY. 78 MARINE . BORERS. 82 ~- PROTECTIVE METHODS. 84 '•· -... - 2 - PAGE NO. ELECTROCHEMICAL CORROSION OF METALS. 87 SWAMP TEST OF BOATS. 90 '...._/ OBTAINING THE SHAPE OF A BOATS CRUTCH. 92 SLIPPING OF BOATS. 93 MAST AND SPARS - SPAR PROPORTIONS. 95 SCALE RULE. 97 HALF DIAGONAL RULE. 98 GAUGE RULE. 99 TEMPORARY REPAIR. 101 METiiOD OF SCARFING. 102 - 3 - REFERENCE LIST 1. "'limber in :Boat Building" J.H. Heath and W. J. Read Revised By K.R. Bootle Fbrestr.y Commission of New South Wales. 2. "Building a Plywood Boat" New South Wales Timber Advisorty Council · 3. "Australian Fisheries" (January 1977) . -4- INTRODUCTION .. Voed bas al~s been a faTourite building material for small craft, and 4espite the ad~t of new materials .and the increasing difficulty of obtai~ng suitable tiaber, it is maintaining its popularity.. The advent of DIW Umber p:roducta, new adheains &Dd new techniques has made boat- '-"' buildi114r 'bT the. a.ateur .uoA aore popular. In order to provide guidelines for t~ eeleotion the Standards Aasociation of Australia prepared a Stan4ard, AS 1131-1975 & "'Haber tor Marine Craft". Copiee are available tr.. tbat Aasooiatioa. ftaber tor plaDki.. , atriDBU'S, ohiJl&a and ribs should be selected t.r Amip1meae o~ gra1n, 1ov mrinka.p and rr.4om rroa 4etects. It tM boat la to 1te 88&W01'1:h7 Tflr1' few defects can tolerated in th... partiaular parts, ao knota, shakes, sapwood, incipient decay, compression tailurea, and br1ttle heart auat be rigorously excluded. Ti&ht s- ftina Mrer holN, allll surtaoe obeoka will not · cause trouble unl ass they are .-eentrated iD. a rela:M.vely limall area. '!'hey can usuall7 be satisfactorily OM)Ireol. 'UBl ... the boat ia to be glued construction, car will be eut of the __. tor oonsiderable periods, thea is no .-eesaity to use timber dried 12 per oent moisture aoa-.t, aa.pt for interior. fi ttinp. Beaauae it abrinka while cb.71Jll', bowesw, tillber tor tbtt upper parte and interior ~ ahoW.d iaaw a .oisture content of lus than 20 percellt, while fa:t: tbtM :pe.rta, vhieh are customarily sulBerged the moisture ooatent should •t 'M ~.. tbaa 20 _. oent. Ot couree BUOh requireMnte aa .aoh -.1er to apeoiflr ....,. to ob•erve because of the U. usually required to Rild the boat. 'lo mhdwi .. shrinkage duri.Dg oont:ration or vhen the boat ia out of the water, all. hoards should be quariler •VB• Sf''WN r~~~~~~n Ie: __ _ RETA1N THil1" SKP.P£ Wai..L Ou"tfiiD. S.A~tMG-. It ia DOt alvaya possible te lNi1d small eratt entirel)" of durable Ullbera, and since the deoa7 haaard in a boat kept at moerings is ~ it ia viae to take preoauiiOBa. Soae preservative-treated plywood U14 timber ia a'ftilaale. Where nob material ia not obtainable either !'rca atoek on orcler, ~ble tiJBber should be liberally treated with a recognised presenative. Australian Standard 1604-1974·s "PreserT&tive Treated Savn Timber, Veneers and Plywood, n ahould be consul ted for types or preservative and appropriate loadinp• ~ 5- The chiet advantages of timber and plywood are:- Positive buoyancy High strength in relation to weight Resilience and thus ability to withstand suddenly applied shock loads Ease of shaping, bending and finishi1~ without the need for special equipaent. Good appearance High durability when properly selected, installed and ventilated. Ability, in many cases, to accept treatrM:tnt \lfi th preservatives to give long-term durability under severe conditions and where ventilation is inadequate. 9) Ease of working without requir~r~ closely controlled factory conditions in respect of temperature and hUmidity .. 10) Resistance of abrasion. 11) Ability to be altered :-> t relatively low cost .. Improvements in plJ'A!COu. and adhesives have opened up a new field for constructiDg craft. 'f'h0 llai.n advantage of plywood is that it is flexible and obtainable in large sheets. Providing a marine grade plywood is used plywood chine system is very aucce ~ sful. New methods, new materials and new forms of construction have been tried and adopted and there is still scope for progress in theae fields of construction. -6- .. ---- ~SAC.);. SA-..IW ~ · BI\CK 5P\WN 80~ROS. TENO TO CUP AWF\'1 F~Oll\ \HE. HE."~i. ~E!~~-----~ QU~RTER SJ:\WN SoARD~ P.ETNN THEIR ~1-tf'IP£. WE.U. OUAIN ll­ '!>EIIo..'!oOI\IJ"-1&. CuP Bow 5c..AR PH JOINT DoWEL 5c.anp, No51NG- N\.OULDING-S. TwtST EJ\f\MPLES OF WARPlNG- TERIV\ UsED To DENOTE. PART~ OJ;" P.: PtE C..E OF Wooo. - 1 · Quarter sawn: Sawn so that the wide face of the piece is a radial plane of the log. Trade practice in Australia is to class timber as quarter sawn when the average inclination of its growth rings to its wide face is over 45°. Rough sawn: Surface condition of wood as it leaves the saw. Round timber: Items such as piles, poles and posts utilized in the natural form of the tree. Scantling: Timber of rectangular cross-section and of dimensions used in construction. Usually 35 to 100 mm TERMS AND DEFINITIONS thick and up to 150 mm wide. This short list is appended as a useful guide to Scarf joint: A joint made by bonding together two potential boat builders. A more comprehensive list is matching bevelled ends or edges. contained in the Standards Association of Australia's Spring: Curvatur>! from the plane of the edge, or narrow Standard AS01-1964: Glossary a/Terms used in Timber face, in the direction of the length. Standards. Surfaced: Planed or dressed on one or more faces. Timber: Wood in a form suitable for construction or manufacturing purposes. TIMBER TERMS Veneer: (a) A thin piece of wood produced by slicing Backsawn: Sawn so that the wide face of the piece is a or rotary cutting. tangential plane to the growth rings. (b) Rotary cut: cut from a log by turning the Batten: A piece of sawn or dressed timber of rectangular log against a knife. cross-section, usually between 19 mm and 40 mm thick, (c) Sliced: produced from a flitch by slicing and between 25 mm and 75 mm wide. · with a knife. Beam: A structural timber, supported at two or more Wane: The original underbark surface with or without points along its length. the bark. Board: A relatively thin piece of sawn or dressed timber, Want: The absence of wood other than wane from of width greater than thickness. corner or edge of a piece. Bow: A curvature from the plane of the wide face in the Warp : Any variation from a flat surface. It may direction of the length. consist of bow, spring, twist or any combination of these. Cover Strip: From 10 mm to 20 mm thick and various widths, used to cover joi~ts to prevent entry of rain or to improve the appearance of the joints. TERMS USED IN BOATBUILDING Dressed: Planed smooth, straight and square. ACCOMMODATION PLAN-The drawing showing DAR: Dressed all round. the interior layout of a vessel. 1 , DBF: Dressed both faces. AFT- Astern, or towards the stern. DD: Double dressed or dressed both faces. AHEAD-Forward, or in front. D F 1E: Dressed one face and one edge. 1 AMIDSHIPS- The central portion of any boat, or D 2E: ·Dressed two edges. neither to port nor starboard. D 1E: Dressed one edge. ANTI-FOULING PAINT-A specially prepared paint Flitch: A large segemnt of log with saw cuts on at least containing various poisons which discourage the two surfaces. attachment of marine growth to a vessel's hull. · Growth rings: Rings visible on the transverse or cross­ APRO~-A strengthening timber place<;l behind the section of a trunk or branch which mark a cycle of stem. growth. ASTERN-Behind. Lagging: Timber, of small section, used to cover the BALLAST-Weight, usually lead or iron, added to a surface of a jig or mould. vessel low down either interpally or externally to provide Milled timber: Timber which has been passed through stability. I a machine to shape it to a desired profile. BEAM-The maximum Width of a vessel. Also a Nominal sizes: The named size, or ordered size, which timber laid athwartships tb support the decking; this may vary from the actual size of the piece because of is known as a deck beam. 'I variations due to sawing, shrinkage and dressing and BEARERS- Longitudinal supports for an engine. the tolerances allowed on these operations. I Plank: A piece of timber sawn or dressed to rectangular BERTH-A sleeping place or bed aboard a vessel. section 40 to 75 mm thick and more than 150 mm wide. Also refers to a place at a jetty where a vessel may moor. 8 BILGE-The lower part of any hull. Can refer to CHINE-The angle formed where the topsides meet the either inside or outside. bottom in a V bottom or hard chine boat.