Planking - of various kinds...

OK...

Plastic is behind me for the moment and once again I am breathing styrene free air;  we have spent the last week involved in learning the intricacies of various types of planking, namely, cold moulding, carvel, and clinker.

Man contemplating 'Gerald'. Which is not the name of the boat!

We have also learnt how to create a 'gerald' and also an 'Admiralty gerald'.  You are all absolutely riveted I can tell, well I am sorry there is no escape:  A gerald is where the planks taper into the rabbet at the stem of a clinker built boat, a 'gerald' (non-Admiralty) is in fact a rolling bevel that starts about 9 inches back from the hood end, this allows the next plank to fit snuggly into the rabbet. So there you have it.  The truth is it is a nightmare to get right and I look at stems on clinker boats with new found respect (for their creator) and deep suspicion; having completed a couple I now know what might be lurking behind the plank.

Clinker construction also involves a process called spilling, this allows you to create a template of the next strake that you are creating, all strakes (planks) are not created equal and vary along the length of the boat normally tapering at each end.  However, for the boat to look 'fair' the strakes need to have an even run to them, otherwise you end up with a boat that can just look plain ugly.  Yes, this is more about art really and having a good eye for what are fair curves...  must go need to laminate, more on this fascinating topic later!