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

5.23.2010

Rubs

Reattaching the wooden rub rails aver the staples is easy - just screw them back in.  I recommend doing it by hand (tedious, but a good wrist workout) or using a drill with adjustable torque settings, set so that the clutch slips before you can crank the screw too hard.

















The bronze stem bands are a bit trickier.  Start with the boat upright, and place the bronze 1/2 round on the breast hook and in contact with the stem.  Drill pilot holes for the first two screws.  The screw pack has enough longer screws for two at each end of the boat. Use the short ones everywhere else. Once the band is attached with the first two screws, turn the boat bottom side up and proceed.


Screw pack.












Start by anchoring the rubstrip on the breasthook.



Last screw on the underside of the boat.















The bronze 'rub' or stem band tends to bend more easily and sharply where the holes are drilled, so place the screws one at a time: drilling, screwing, aligning and bending as you go.  Run a narrow (1/4") bead of silicone down the keel stringer where the stem band will lay, to seal the screw holes and the staple seam (though this may be redundant, given the properties of the polyurethane).  When the band is screwed down, wipe and excess squeeze-out of silicone off with a rag.  Vinegar works well to clean up smears on the skin.