Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

new guy chine thoughts/questions

This is my first post here. I have been building a 16' boat that is basically from Fletcher's book except that I changed the stem. I am making a push to get it done so I can go boating this summer. I Just finished the bottom 1/2 ply with Kevlar and three coats of west sys with graphite. I was thinking of using some purpleheart that I have laying around for the exterior chine guard/bumper. However I am having a thought of using some 1/4 by 2" aluminum flat stock. Anybody ever use this? What about aluminum for the gunwhale? And for that matter what about some thinner gauge for the "bumpers" on the side? (not sure what to call these) I have more questions as to finishing details that I will post later. The boat is turning out nice and I will post some photos as soon as I get it off the "strong back" and flip it over.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on May 12, 2011 at 7:54am

Seamus, Ray Heater has used a stainless steel strip over the traditional batten on his boats and if I remember right he also sells such a strip. My guess is it's .125" x 1". But a visit to his site would be more accurate. His web site link is: http://www.raysriverdories.com/index.html . What benefit's would you gain from an aluminum gunwale / gunnel / gunwhale? I myself have never built a batten from purpleheart so I can't comment on it's ability to flex appropriately. It certainly would be tough.

Something to consider about attaching materials to the side of the boat is the potential for either trapping moisture behind the material or introducing water into the sides or frames through fasteners.

Good luck with your build. I'm sure that your questions will provide some good opportunities for a wide range of answers.

Happy Waves to You,

Rick Newman

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Clarke on May 12, 2011 at 9:19am

I've seen stainless steel half oval used to protect the chine caps. I thought about using aluminum for that purpose because it's cheaper than stainless and easier to fabricate, but decided against it after I thought about how "grabby" aluminum is against rock (Ever run an aluminum canoe up on a boulder?) and soft (durability issues) it is. It would certainly be a non-traditional material in a gunwale or rub strip, but I don't think there would be any other downsides, with the possible exception of really trapping moisture under the rub strips if they weren't sealed.