Making the Laminated Forekeel

We have spent a good deal of time discussing how we would make the two laminated pieces that make up the forekeel and midships frame. Last week, I traced and cut out the plywood form that we would use to bend our laminated forekeel. We fastened that piece to a board with small blocking pieces between the form and the board. The end result looked like the picture below.

Then we cut out the 1/8" strips that we would be gluing together with epoxy. John had brought up two short 3" boards made of Douglas Fir from the mill and we reduced these to mostly sawdust while making our strips. The resulting pile of strips is in the picture below.

We used West System epoxy and hardener. I spread the epoxy on the strips, both sides, and John fit them on the jig. We were aiming for a laminated piece that was 2-1/4" thick. It took us 17 strips to accomplish this thickness. The forekeel will remain clamped together until the epoxy has hardened and then will be sanded and shaped to the proper thickness and dimensions.

It feels good to have the first laminated piece done and now we have a system in place to do the midships frame. The strips for the midships frame are longer and won't be as easy to saw, clamp or glue but we have this one under our belts and have a little more confidence about what to expect at least.

Cutting the Stern and Bow Boards

This afternoon we cut out the stern and bow boards for the pram. We had bought some pieces of 3/4" mahogany plywood off the shelf for this purpose. I took the plans and squared them onto the plywood. I tacked them down at strategic places with pushpins.

Then I removed the pins and the plans and connected the dots with a sharpie pen giving me the outline of the board. I did this with both the bow and stern plans. We used the table saw to cut the straight cuts and then clamped the boards onto the work mate and cut the curved top of the boards with the saber saw.

After the whole process was finished, we laid the pieces on the plans to see how close we had come. They turned out pretty well! Now we have to put the prescribed bevels on the side edges of the boards and they will be ready to place on the ladder frame and have the side planks glued to them.

So, Why Do This?

Late last summer, I began to wonder if John (my husband) and I could build a nutshell pram. We have never built anything before. We have done home improvement projects from wallpapering, painting, remodeling a kitchen and sanding floors, but we never really built anything.

I bought the soft cover book by Maynard Bray and looked it over. It looked more complicated than I had expected. No Simplicity pattern there to pin on and cut out and put the thing together. I still wanted to do it, however. John looked at it and brought out all the "can't" items for me to consider. I should say that he has built several board sided skiffs over his lifetime including one for our older son.

Then, over the Thanksgiving Holiday, my brother came over and looked at the book. I said, "Do you think we could make that nutshell pram?" His answer was, "Probably not."

Then shortly after Christmas, John asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told him I wanted the plans for the Nutshell Pram. We were off. There was never any discussion about whether we would build the rowing model or the sailing model. We have two grand daughters and they must learn to sail. Never mind that we already have a sailing dinghy.

So here we are.

What is a Nutshell Pram?

If you live on the coast of Maine, you have to be pretty isolated not to have heard of the Wooden Boat School over in Brooklin, Maine. This school is where legions of people have flocked to learn how to make a boat, small or large, out of what some people think is the only material a real boat should be made of...wood.

The school has developed several standard small boats for which they sell plans or, for the faint of heart, a kit from which to make a wooden boat.

Several years ago, I became very fond of a little pram that is used by many boat owners as a tender for their larger boat. I became aware that this little pram was one of the standard boats sold by the Wooden Boat School and that it was called a "nutshell pram". They can be made in either a 7' model or a 9'2" model. They can either be built to row only or rigged to sail. They even have a neat little sculling groove in the stern transom so you can get around that way too.

The Wooden Boat School will either sell you a kit to build the boat or a set of plans and a soft cover book with pictures of how to build it. They recommend materials of the finest kind and the kit comes fitted out with these materials. Or, you can buy the plans and the book and go it on your own. This is what we have elected to do.