Posted By mabgfounder on 23 Jul 2009 08:03 PM
Still... LOL... the hull boat was built back 1999... I would love to see some pictures of your double keel. In Lion's case the use of ash allowed for a flat bottom which made water channeling very easy. The best picture I have is:
http://mabg.org/balexander/pictures/bestofboats/lion_frame_detail1.jpg
We have all used fiberglass for years now. Saves a lot of space and is a lot easier to maintain. I think Lumpy was the last boat in our club to built from wood... We really try to encourage people to stick with fiberglass.
Oops
, I've been [very slowly] working on an Orfey Class destroyer and contemplating what to do with the severely warped Mogador-class wood hull for the past year or so, outside of the time I've been putting into the fiberglass-hulled Z-25 that I have in progress.
Back on topic, I strongly suggest looking at the work-in-progress photos of some of the ships that other forum members have posted. If you aren't working off of plans that have discrete templates, you have a lot of room for creativity in how you carry out the details of the structure. However, a couple key points are these:
- Split/double keel--when the bottom is flat, using a double keel (internally only) may help you to integrate water channeling and a pump well more easily than with a flat board or a literal keel
- Interlocking parts--to establish maximum structural integrity with wood construction, dado, rabbets, and any other sort of joint that provides intrinsic rigidity goes a long way
- Epoxy or polyester resin--while there are other options for waterproofing the wood structure, the materials used for modern-day wood hull construction are difficult to beat. 'nuf' said.
- Keep the superstructure light--odds are that part, if not all of the superstructure may need to be used as a recovery float, not to mention that any displacement used up by the superstructure is displacement not used for propulsion, damage control, weapons, etc.