Sarum Skin-boat How-to

Not the only way, but the way we've done it that works. An important word: what you find here is an IMCOMPLETE record of the process, created for a student who was unable to complete his boat at school. As time goes on, I may fill in steps, but this is by no means a full set of directions. When it comes out soon, I recommend the book Building Skin-on-Frame, Double-Paddle Canoes by Hilary Russell,of Sheffield, MA.

Order of Operations

  • Creating the Stem-Knee assembly
  • Attaching Knee to Keelson
  • Fill four spaces in gunwale for thwart attachment
  • Sand gunwales and breasthooks
  • Attach thwarts
  • Fit, drill gunwale rub rails
  • Assemble floorboards
  • Shape nose and tail for brass rub rails
  • Coat all wooden parts with oil or varnish: frame, rubs and floorboards
  • Skin the boat
  • Shrink the skin
  • Skin coating
  • Attach all rubrails, wooden and metal
  • Last odds and ends

Notes on related subjects

4.17.2010

Finishing the Gunwales and Breasthooks

















If you are at a point where the breasthook looks like this, it needs to be sanded to look like the one below.

















To be most efficient, this is the time to fill the space between the gunwale and inwale in those four places where the thwarts will be attached. The rear thwart is 13 inces behind the center of the boat, and the front one is 39 inches in front of the rear thwart. Find the space that best meets these criteria. This gets filled with a short piece of ash, glued and clamped. When the glue is dry, the entire gunwale and the bresthooks can be sanded smoth and flat. DO NOT round off the outer spruce edges of the gunwale (the rubrail will attached here, you don't want to create a gap), though you could do this to the inside edges for handling comfort.

















All the rib ends which are sticking up will sand very easily and quickly. The ash gunwale will take a bit more work, but be careful as you are smoothing the gunwale to keep the lines as fair as possible.