Building the Oneida's Hull

Building the Oneida's Hull

Once two sets of three frames were completed, the skipped frame was added. Spacers were placed between the frames at the bulwarks and the two units were banded together with rubber bands. This created a solid, strong and square midsection of the hull.
From this point, frames were added fore and aft of the midsection one at a time with spacers at the bulwarks.
The notches in the keel were filed square, which made them slightly larger than the width of the frames. This slight difference between the frames at the keel and the spacers at the bulwarks caused the frames to tilt fore or aft. Longer pieces of the spacer wood were used between frames to keep the space even from the top to the bottom of the frames.
Installing the half frames at the stern was accomplished by pulling them against the last full frame with rubber bands. At the bulwarks, the space is the same as the rest of the hull, but at the foot of the frame the space is narrower. If the space were equal there wouldn't be enough deadwood to attach all the half frames. To locate the position of the half frames, the flat edge of the frame rests against the deadwood and the bottom edge is set at the top of the keel.
Cant frames at the bow are installed in the same fashion as the stern half frames. The difference between bow and stern framing is that where the cants meet the deadwood there is no space between the frames.
The most important point in setting the cant frames is the angle where the frame meets the deadwood. This angle becomes more acute with each frame as they approach the stem. To determine the angle, the first cant frame is pulled tight to the last whole square frame. Next a spacer is put between the frames at the bulwarks. The angle will appear at the junction of the cant frame and the deadwood. This is done with each cant frame.
With the spacer in place, the foot of the frame is filed to the proper angle.
These are the three timbers that will finish off the bow. The first piece is called the bollard timber the second is the knighthead and the third is the hawse timber. The trick in fitting these timbers is cutting the correct angles where the timber meets the stem. The laser cut pieces are quite a bit oversized. Each timber has to be sanded and trial fit to the hull. This may have to be several times before a tight fit is accomplished.
The first piece to fit is the bollard timber. One sits against each side of the stem, its foot is cut on an angle to rest flat against the cant frame. This timber serves as a landing for the ends of the planking to be fastened to, and the top creates a landing for the bowsprit to sit on.
An outside and inside view of the hull shows how the three timbers fit to one another. The knightheads are epoxied to the surface of the bollards. The hawse timber acts as a wedge and is places between the knighthead and the cant frame. At this stage of fitting the timbers, focus is on the angles on the foot of each timber, and how they fit together.
With the timbers in place the bow is shaped and finish sanded.