New apron and stem advice

fisherman

fisherman

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I need to put a new apron and stem into a Falmouth 15ft oyster punt. The old stem was replaced with laminations laid flat round the curve, long gone rotten. I plan to get a big enough piece of timber to cut the profile of the bow from top to about a foot back from the forefoot, then use one piece for the apron and the other for the stem. Shall I get an oak bend from down the woods, or from a boatbuilder, or should I laminate the piece with joints fore and aft and mixed grain orientation, then cut the two pieces from that?
 
I can offer no great experience with this but my thoughts would be: a grown timber could be an attractive idea and comes ready shaped for the job in hand but it might 'move' a bit once in place which could produce an interesting shape to the stem. I have an oak piece let in to the top of my stem which has swollen slightly over the last couple of years since fitting and I have to keep trimming it a little. I guess a laminated composite would be more stable and just as strong?
 
Yes that's my feeling also. Come to think of it, years ago I replaced a gunwale capping on my F/V 225x45mm with local green oak, had to do it again after a year or so it was badly cupped and split.
 
Laminations should not rot or distort if done properly. No need to have alternate grain, just laminate with 4-6mm thick stock using epoxy and coat with epoxy before fitting.
 
I would laminate the apron to the curve required, perhaps incorporating a small solid filler bit on the lower point where the stem joins the keel. The thin strips will be easy to bend on a suitable former (that is usually the 'filler-bit' itself) and will be much stronger and stable than a grown knee. Something like this:

laminated%20knee_zpstmzilago.jpg


As for the adhesive, I know that it is now more 'fashionable' to use epoxy but I still prefer to use Resorcinol; it is easier to use and is more reliable than epoxy, especially when exposed to heat and UV.
 
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Definately laminate. A large timber will be unstable and prone to twisting. You would need to select a particularly good bit of wood with a very good grain pattern to be sure that it would keep true. Of course this can a nd has been done for centuries but since we have modern techniques and glues it seems like a no-brainer. Use a good epoxy and as many laminations as you need. It can be done in place or on a form/mould but be prepared for some springback. It shouldn't rot if the right timber and/or preparation/finishing/maintenance is used.
 
Would you use a pu foam glue, Fast Grab? I thought to make a slab, laminates arranged 90 deg to that shown above, to cut the apron and stem from, on a bandsaw, so they fit exactly together. However, that looks fairly simple.....
 
fisherman said:
I need to put a new apron and stem into a Falmouth 15ft oyster punt. The old stem was replaced with laminations laid flat round the curve, long gone rotten. I plan to get a big enough piece of timber to cut the profile of the bow from top to about a foot back from the forefoot, then use one piece for the apron and the other for the stem. Shall I get an oak bend from down the woods, or from a boatbuilder, or should I laminate the piece with joints fore and aft and mixed grain orientation, then cut the two pieces from that?
Click to expand...

Suggest you watch this series of videos-there are several vids-where he repairs an apron/stem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBu_sKf3fLI
 
DSCN2836.jpgDSCN2837.jpgDSCN2838.jpgDSCN2839.jpgDSCN2840.jpg

I sliced up a 1000x150x150mm oak post into 10x150x1000mm, then laminated an L shape using resorcinol, with the grain vertical up the stem and horizontal along the keel, as you can see. Then I cut the L in the curve of the plank ends with a thin band saw, planed down one piece for the apron inside, glued and screwed the planks to it, then bolted and glued the stem to it with foam glue. Should have made the apron a lot higher to finish the top of the stem. New bow hook is just very thick iroko, no need for a grown piece. All a bit heavier than original.
I was able to shift the frame positions as some were closer than necessary. Still a bit to do. There is some loose talk of racing it randan or pair of paddles, it is what we used to use about forty years ago. I imagine it will do just as well as I will.....
Just watched the you tube vid of replacement frames with HDPE, looks like a no brainer to me if authenticity isn't an issue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcBdvChtQkU
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
Looks ok to me. Also quite heavy?
Click to expand...

As a working boat it might be expected to be, but just found out it was in a barn for 20+ years, so that's why it's very dry. I can easily lift one end, and turn it over without a hernia. Also found out it is from 1930s, so now feeling guilty about three plastic frames, may have to continue restoration next winter. It is right for working boat racing at local regattas.
 
Nothing about which to "feel guilty". If they had stainless self-tappers and proper glue in the 30s they would have used them.
A the end of the day, keeping a wooden boat is a labour of love, as I'm sure you know well enough. ;)
 
When I was ten this was all I wanted. 69 this year...
I used to get down to the beach, I could borrow a boat and paddles but the rowlocks were always locked away. When I found a pair and picked them up they would ring in that way rowlocks do. I was a skinny runt so took all my effort to drag the great heavy punt down the shingle, but then it would suddenly lift and become free of the land and me with it, free of the land and everything on it. I'm going to have a bundle of rowlocks rung at my funeral to send me off on the tide.
 
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