Posted by John Nichols on May 01, 2005 at 01:22:53 from 165.91.196.78 user Mcneacail.
In Reply to: Re: Mary Anne Design/Rivets posted by John Nichols on April 27, 2005 at 20:01:13:
Well I got the port garboard plank on the hull. I assume everyone knows that Port is left looking forward, but you may not know that a garboard refers to the first plank next to the keel. I measured the density of the oak plank and it is about 800 kg/cubic metre. Water is 1000. I used the same method for the port plank as I used for the starboard plank - epoxy and silicon bronze wood screws.
The silicon bronze wood screws have a galvanic potential of -0.25 Volts. Copper has a galvanic potential of -0.31 Volts. This low potential voltage makes them a good choice for wooden boat building so that stray electric currents and other metals do not cause corrosion and failure of the fitting when the boat is immersed in water. Copper and silicon bronze appear also to be a good mix, because they are close in potential. Steel has a potential of -0.63 Volts. I knew that from physics and chemistry many years ago, but one does not really pay much attention in Chemistry 101 about galvanic action and screws in salt water.
Anne has a screw bit for her electric screw driver that fits the bronze screws snuggly. I found it a lot easier to drive the screws with the eletric drill and bit. I also had time to worry about the look of the finish and so I have lined up the screw head slots to be parallel to the centerline of the boat. The aligned arrangement looks better than the screws on the starboard side.
I have almost reached a final planed state for the starboard garboard plank. It is not easy planing a plank upside down on a concrete floor. I think I should consider building the Swallow upside down. Has anyone got any thoughts on whether one way is better than the other in terms of access. The difficulty with the planing is getting into the transom area without damaging the transom. I find that the rabbet plane is nice for this area as the blade reaches to the edge of the plane. My No 4 Stanley plane has settled in really well and takes nice long smooth shavings. It is a real joy to use. Anyway that is all the news I have, Anne and I are going to see Hitchhikers guide.
JMN