Stringers

The gunwales for this 17-foot frame required scarphing. I started with three 6' clear pine boards, drew the scarph lines then cut with a hand saw.

The mating surfaces were cleaned up with a surform tool...

...followed by a large flat sanding block until the fit was good.

scarphs were glued with Titebond 3, wrapped in waxed paper and clamped to a flat surface to dry.

I used a jigsaw with this attached guide to rip the gunwales.

Both gunwales clamped in place.

The stringers were 8' clear pine, also ripped with the jigsaw. Matched pairs are temporarily held together with clamps before gluing the scarphs.

Zip-tying stringers through holes drilled in the cross-section forms.

No this is’t a dream sequence – photo was shot through a steamy window. The hull looks wide from this angle (it's actually 20").

...And tall and thin in this view.

Dowels and lashing reinforced the glued gunwales and stringers.