When all of the deck beams were in place, ship's carpenters laid the deck planking. After the oakum is driven in with a caulking iron or mallet, the seam is 'payed' or coated with hot pitch or other compound to prevent the oakum from rotting. To drive oakum or cotton into the seams of a vessel's deck or sides, to make it watertight. Long planks were bent length wise around the hull Not only did they have to be cut correctly to fit the hull, they had to have their edges prepared for caulking Caulk caulking, corking Lengths of wood fastened to the outside of a vessel's frames forming the outside skin, and attached to the beams to form the deck. To strengthen the skeleton, a second keel, called a keelson KeelsonĪ second keel, built over the keel, on top of the floor timbers of the frames, to strengthen the vessel's skeleton., was built over the keel, on top of the floor timbers of the frames.Īs additional structure was added to the ship, it became ready for planking Planking Shipbuilders hoisted the finished frames into place one by one, atop the keel, forming the basic skeleton of the ship. The futtocks were scarfed, bolted, and fastened with treenails Treenail trunnelĬommonly pronounced 'trunnel' or 'trunnels' wooden spikes or pins, often made of locust wood., or trunnels Treenail trunnelĬommonly pronounced 'trunnel' or 'trunnels' wooden spikes or pins, often made of locust wood. refined the shape using adzes AdzeĪ long-handled cutting tool, with a blade at right angles to the shaft. Workman who dubs, or smoothes, the framing of a vessel before planking and the planking after being attached to the frames. cut the wood to shape, and dubbers Dubber A ship's carpenter can also work in a shipyard, building vessels. Ship's carpenters Ship carpenter ship's carpenterĪ petty officer, responsible to the chief officer, whose duties include the opening and battening down of hatches and cargo ports, and maintaining wooden masts, spars, and decks. The shipbuilder made patterns from the design on the loft floor, which he used to choose the best-shaped timbers. In general shipbuilding, this part of the frame is an approximately horizontal platform extending to the ship's sides at the point where they begin to turn up towards the vertical. The lower part of a transverse frame of a ship running each side of the keelson to the bilges. The four or five individual pieces of wood in a vessel's frame or rib. Frames were made of a number of pieces called futtocks Futtocks They run perpendicular to the keel., were made up of straight and curved timbers. On a small boat, ribs or frames are often one piece and can be made by steaming wood and bending it., or frames Frame ribsįrames are the skeleton structure of a vessel, also called ribs. On a large vessel these are pieced together with futtocks. The curved or straight wooden pieces that form the frame of a vessel. is hung, were scarfed and bolted to the keel. The rudder may be turned, causing the vessel's head to turn in the same direction. A flat piece or structure of wood or metal attached upright to the stern of a boat or ship. The aftermost timber in a wooden vessel or steel piece in a steel vessel, forming the stern of the ship and joined to the keel by scarfing or riveting. piece, which defines the bow Bowįorward part or head of a vessel.

The foremost timber in a vessel, attached vertically to the keel. To join the ends of two timbers or metal parts to form a piece that appears continuous. The keel was built up from 12” x 12” lumber, or larger, and the long pieces were scarfed Scarf scarph is the ship’s backbone and provides the most important longitudinal strength for the ship. The chief timber or piece extending along the length of the bottom of a vessel from which rise the frames, stem, and sternposts. As a verb, to loft is to draw the lines of the vessel on the floor of the mold loft. He then measured these and drew the shape of the hull full-size on the loft Loft laying off laying downĪ large building for drawing full-sized patterns and laying out wooden pieces for a vessel. Once finished and accepted, the designer removed the pins and separated the model’s lifts. After the model is carved, these boards can be separated and measured to loft the vessel's hull full-sized for construction. Read more, made from a number of boards or lifts Liftsīoards that are pinned together to form a half model of a vessel. In the 19th century a primary design tool with most American sailing vessel designs starting out as carved half models, from which dimensions for the full-sized hull would be taken. In nineteenth century Maine, once the owner and builder decided on the basic size and shape of the hull, the designer or master carpenter carved a half model Half modelĪ longitudinal model of half of a vessel's hull.

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