Stem question

[jarhead]

I want to build a skiff and I have a good idea of where to start, execpt for the bow stem. I don't know what angle to cut it. I want to build the sides (transom) at a 25 degree angle. I don't know if that helps someone answer this question, but there it is.

I'm sort of copying an old boat that I saw a couple years ago. I took some measurements and it had a 25 degree transom angled back at 15 degrees. The sides were 16" high at the stern and 20" high at the bow. Nice wide flare. I didn't record the width, but I think it was 40" across the bottom. and about 15' long.

Thanks in advance for any help, and this is a great site

 

[beekeeper]

I don't have a set of plans to be sure, but I bet the Uncle John's Skiff is close to what you want. Check the posts about it on here or ask someone who is building one for help.

beekeeper

 

[graybeard]

I recall reading one set of instructions where the stem was cut to fit. Attach the sides to the middle form, install the transom, then work the bow until it looks right. Then trace the lines of the bow on cardboard, and cut the stem to fit. You can use a rope to pull the bow together, then duct tape across the front (or stitch and glue wire) to fine tune it. This might give better results, since you're increasing the height of the sides and setting the transom's angles.

I haven't used this - ask the more experienced builders if this is a good idea.

 

[seedtick]

that'll work

 

[Bellybuster]

My Newfoundlander Father in law has been building boats for many many years and for the most part his stems/keel are cut from the base of a tree including the area that goes down to the roots, but when building a skiff like boat he does similar to what Greybeard says but once the bow is pulled together to the proper shape he molds clay into the stem area to give a sort of template, he can then angle his saw to match the angles on the clay stem and copy the template.

Most of his boats have been ribbed and planked but the few solid side boats he built were done this way

 

[Kayak Jack]

Bellybuster, any chance of getting your Father-in-law on here for his thoughts and observations? Pictures?

 

[Bellybuster]

Jack, you have no idea how funny that idea is. He is 77 years old and grew up in country that you can still today find places that humans have never touched. This man has never eaten a hamburger....really. The thought of "Pop" getting in front of a computer....well I can't even conjure up a visual.
I have spent many hours working with him in the woods and on his saw mill as well as assisting and learning the ropes in his boat shop. 90% of his tools are built by him to suit his needs. The man has no education but is the most mechanically brilliant man I have ever met.
Enuff of that....I should have some pics of how he forms a stem/keel fron the base of a tree and possibly some pics of his last build that may show the true hand made nature of his work. I shall see if I can dig some up. His boats are purely function built, not made for beauty but have a beauty that this forum would appreciate.
This page is a photographers page but shows the style of boat he builds. In pic 008 you can see the beefy stem and if you can picture the boat standing up right on its bow the stem is actually the curve of the root of a tree. usually juniper or the very rare pine in Newfoundland.
http://www.newfoundlandphotography.com/ ... /Boats.htm
I could go on for days

 

[Bellybuster]

the dory in pic 006 is similar to the solid side boats that I have seen him use clay for. These dories were and still are incredibly stable even in rough waters

actually if you look at boat 017 you can see exactly what I'm talking about. That stem/keel is one single piece of juniper

 

[Kayak Jack]

Paddling Michigan's rivers, you see many spruce overhanging the water. Their natural curve back upwards has always reminded me of the stem end of a boat, exactly as you show in these photos. Thanks for the info.

 

[Bellybuster]

you want to see how they cut the stem out of the tree. If the boat is to be 28 feet they dig around the base of the tree to expose the largest root and cut everything else away. then he cuts the top off the tree at 28' and drags the entire shot back to his mill. Where the entire tree gets run thru the mill. At the root end the whole tree gets proped up so the root area can be run through the mill. This mill is a 4' circular blade run by an ancient single cyclinder kerosene engine. Amazing to watch....scary as all hell to assist with

 

[Kayak Jack]

I've watched those saws run by steam engines. You're right, scary as all hell. Have you read Michener's Chesapeake? One interesting part in there is how hey looked for branches and roots to use as bracing knees up under a deck. Much of the book, however, cried out for abridgment.

 

[Bellybuster]

I kinda hijacked this thread....sorry
Newfoundlanders also use the root area for the ribs of the boat. little if any steaming required by using the natural curve of the transition from trunk to root

 

[mike]

I kinda hijacked this thread....sorry

Don't be - please, keep going. This is interesting stuff you're sharing with us. 8)

Mike

 

[Bellybuster]

Jarhead, I hope you don't mind
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2715/p1000348t.jpg
you can really see the one piece keel/stem however this one broke on him and had to be cut and reattached
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/489/07140001.jpg
the keel gets extended past the stuffing block where the drive shaft comes through to protect the prop
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/5217/20168330124156387723981.jpg
this one has straight cut ribs instead of bentwood or root wood
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/220/07140003.jpg
Just a geat shot of "Pop" drying capelin, similar to a sardine

 

[Jimmy W]

Bellybuster, will that boat also have sails and a centerboard? It looks like a cat boat.

Jimmy

 

[Bellybuster]

No Jmmy, it will have a cabin ("house" in NFLD), she's 28' decked with spruce and weighs as mch as the empire state bldg. The shape of the hull is mostly dependent on the raw materials. Mother nature has allot to do with how she'l look in the end. There are some pretty tortured planks i that hull.