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Boat building is one of the oldest branches of engineering and is concerned with constructing the hulls of boats and, for sailboats, the masts, spars and rigging.

1 Portions

Each part of the hull has a different name and purpose:

bow - the front and generally sharp end of the hull. It is designed to reduce the resistance of the hull cutting through water and should be tall enough to prevent water from easily washing over the top of the hull

chines - are long, longitudinal strips on hydroplaning hulls that deflect downwards the spray that is produced by the hull when it travels at speed in the water

deck - the top surface of the hull keeps water and weather out of the hull and allows the crew to stand safely and operate the boat more easily

gunwhale - the sides of the hull are mostly concerned with preserving the buoyancy of the hull by keeping water out

keel - the main central member along the length of the bottom of the boat. It is an important part of the boat's structure which also has a strong influence on its turning performance and, in sailing boats, resists the sideways pressure of the windFor the 1928 film, see The Wind. Wind in the most general sense, is the movement of air. It occurs at all scales, from local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting tens of minutes to global winds resulting from solar heating of the plan

keelson - an internal beam fixed to the top of the keel to strengthen the joint of the upper members of the boat to the keel

rudderA rudder is a device used to steer a ship or other watercraft. In its simplest form, a rudder is a flat sheet of material attached with hinges to the ship's stern. A tiller basically, a stick or pole is attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be - a steering device at the rear of the hull created by a turn-able blade on a verticalAn object is in a vertical position when it is aligned in an "up-down" direction, perpendicular to the horizon. Compare horizontal, spirit level The Vertical (or plumb line is the direction of the force of gravity. Therefore it is the most important refer axisAxis has several uses: In mathematics, an axis is a straight line around which a geometric figure can be rotated. An axis of symmetry is a line with respect to which a body can be symmetrical. The term is also applied for the axis of a graph; the horizont

stemIn common parlance, a stem is any elongated, usually narrow, extension or supporting structure of an object. Examples are the stem of a smoking pipe, stem of a cut flower, stem of a wine glass, etc. Uses of the term specific to certain fields are as follo - a continuation of the keel upwards at the front of the hull

transomTransom (probably a corruption of Latin transtrum a thwart, in a boat; equivalents are French traverse croisillon German Losholz is the architectural term given to the horizontal lintel or beam which is framed across a window, dividing it into stages or h - a wide, flat, vertical board at the rear of the hull, which, on small boats, is often designed to carry an outboard motorAn outboard motor is a propulsion system for a boat developed as a self-contained unit with engine, subsidiary systems, and propeller, designed to be mounted at the stern (rear) of the craft. They are the most common method of propelling small powered wat

2 Construction materials

A wide variety of materials are used in boat building:

woodThis article describes the wood that comprises trees and boards. For the Chinese element, see wood (classical element). For the town, see Wood, South Dakota or Wood, Wisconsin. For the type of golf club, see golf club (equipment). Veluwe, The Netherlands - the traditional boat building material that was and is still used for hull and spar construction. It is buoyant, cheap, widely available and easily worked. It is not particularly strong and it deteriorates if water is allowed to penetrate the wood. Glue, screws and nails are used to join the wooden components.
steel and before that iron - either used in sheet for all-metal hulls or for isolated structural members. It is strong. The material rusts unless protected from water. Modern steel components are welded or bolted together. Until the mid 1900s, steel sheets were riveted together.
aluminium - either used in sheet for all-metal hulls or for isolated structural members. Many sailing spars are made of aluminium. The material requires special manufacturing techniques, construction tools and construction skills.
glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) composite - used to create a smooth and hydrodynamically efficient hull shape.
steel-reinforced concrete - strong but heavy and prone to internal corrosion. It is not often used for boat building.

3 Construction methods

There are several hull construction types:

dugout - a primitive method of building a boat hull that involves carving and/or burning a log from a tree until the desired hull shape is attained.
clinker - overlapping wooden planks are attached to a frame.
carvel - a smooth hull is formed by wooden planks are attached to a frame.
GRP mould - glass reinforced plastic is moulded into a hull shape.
inflatable boat - the hull is created from rubber air-tight tubes that are inflated with high pressure air. For simple inflatable boats, the flooring often consists of plywood or aluminium sheet. For rigid-hulled inflatable boats, the flooring is part of the GRP hull.
lapstrake - planks are fixed to each other and then a frame built inside the hull.
plywood - sheets of plywood are fixed to a frame built forming a smooth hull.
stitch-and-glue - pre-shaped panels of plywood are edge glued and reinforced with fibreglass without the use of a frame.
strip-built - thin, flexible lengths of wood are secured together and reinforced with fibreglass.

Woodworking

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Topics: Boat Building, Portions, Construction Materials, Construction...

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