Fairing

 Here is a picture of the stem after rough fairing.  The process involves laying a batten against the moulds, and planing and/or sanding the frames, stem, stern, and keelson to match the curve of the hull as determined by the batten against the moulds.


Like many activities in boatbuilding, it is actually harder to describe the process than to perform it.


In any event, with a 30 gallon trash can nearly full of wood chips and sawdust, I am about halfway through the process, and it seems to be going well.

 Here is a view from the port side that shows frames 1 and 2 faired into the keelson and the keelson beveled to match the curve of the frames.  


The garboard strakes will lay against the beveled sides of the keelson, and will be planed flat to accept the keel.

I had originally intended to rabbet the keelson to accept the edge of the garboard strake, in the traditional way.  Oughtred's book, Clinker Plywood Boatbuilding Manual, as well as all the construction photos I have seen use the simpler approach.

So far, my two best friends in this phase of the project are my Bosch planer and a 4 1/2 inch grinder equipped with 30 grit paper.  I expect that final fairing will involve a less aggressive approach, but once one has become comfortable with these two tools, an awful lot can be accomplished very quickly.


I judge my progress, as noted above, in cubic feet of shavings and sawdust.  If only the lumberyard would offer a refund for the lumber I end up planing into shavings and grinding into dust.