Project Boat 2
PBO’s dedicated editor and deputy editor tackle the truing up of the new project boat’s keel, stem and stern – and enjoy a long-deferred sea trial in a completed Secret 20 kit boat. Ben Meakins reports
Truing and gluing the stem, stern and keel
In 1870, the Russian Navy launched a warship that was almost completely circular. Designed as a floating battery for coastal defence, the ironclad and her sister ship were by all accounts a nightmare to steer. One account said: ‘They went up the Dnieper very nicely for some distance, till they turned to retire. Then the current caught them, and they were carried out to sea and whirled helplessly round and round, every soul on board helplessly incapacitated by vertigo.’
Yes, you might say: that’s all very well, but what does this have to do with our Secret 20, which when built should be a long, slim gaffer? Only that should we fail to set up the boat’s backbone – the keel, stem and stern – straight, level and true, the pride of PBO might take on a similar characteristic under sail to Admiral Popov’s rotund ships. No matter how good our workmanship, how well we cut the joints and how accurate the kit of parts, the fact remains that if the backbone is out of alignment, the hull and deck panels won’t fit, the shape will be wrong and she won’t track straight. No pressure, then…
Truing up the keel
There’s normally very little use for a spirit level or a set square on a boat – not only do they tend to move when afloat, but as we’ve all found to our cost, most boats aren’t even symmetrical, let alone contain any right angles! However, in this case, we could use both a level and a set square to true up our build as we were starting from a nice flat concrete floor. The first step was to chock the keel up straight and level.
We did this by placing it on two athwartships timbers, adding wooden chocks under the keel at each point to level the keel up fore-and-aft, using an extra-long spirit level placed on the top of the