Steaming in situ

put a couple of steamed ribs similar size to yours in a small boat years ago-----was told i had to use american oak----ps didn t put them in one piece but 2 meeting at the keel------2 of us working together -----drilled and clenched while still soft from steaming
 
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lenten said:
put a couple of steamed ribs similar size to yours in a small boat years ago-----was told i had to use american oak----ps didn t put them in one piece but 2 meeting at the keel------2 of us working together -----drilled and clenched while still soft from steaming
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Now you mention it I think it was american oak I used many years ago, and japanese maybe. I did have a good number of failures with the 15 or so ribs I did five years ago, maybe should ask Devon Hardwoods next time. The easiest option is probably laminating, using a peg board and former. Much of the offcuts I get is very thin, I did laminate a few ribs which proved difficult to feed in.
The flexible tube steamer is much better than the steam chest which was too big and lost heat too quickly.
Have seen some similar boats built with frames crossed three planks either side of the keel, and also with separate floors, tops doubled three planks up each side.
 
If you remember the 'Captain Calamity' story, it was about a Colin Archer boat which came to grief a number of times and ended up on the quay in Hayle, about ?five years ago. Here she is before that trip
Colin Archer Gaff Cutter - Wooden Ships
Local boat builder said on close inspection she had all laminated frames, beautifully finished with a moulding. Two inch planking, tough old boat....must go and see if she's still there, Cap'n C sold her to a local who stripped her for a refurb.
 
When putting in oak frames always remember to have the grain going parallel to the side of the boat. This allows the lamina in the wood to slide over themselves. When we built the gig some silly person cut them the wrong way and we had about a 50% failure rate. At least some of them could be used for the half frames!
 
Sorry, can you explain that a little more, you've lost me....and this might be my problem sometimes.
Most of my failures are simply grain running out of the workpiece.
Friend of mine advocates using split, not sawn ribs; can see that would be workmanlike if not very pretty.
 
You could use HDPE for ribs. Louis Sauzedde has used them before. With regard to the ribs; if you lay one down with the lower surface being the one that will be against the planks, the grain should run horizontally. Think of them like a bunch of thin laminates, as you bend the slide over each other. If you tried to bend a vertically stacked set of laminates they would fracture.
 
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