Professional Documents
Culture Documents
the propeller is made possible by tapering Her speed came up to full expectations.
the keel to the propeller post. The rela- She was accurately clocked over the official
tively wide, flat keel maintains the boat in measured mile off Lloyd's Neck in Long
a level position when beached or trailer- Island Sound, making 14.8 mph with a
borne. The nearly level shaft angle, which Palmer 5-hp. Baby Husky marine engine
is of value in performance, is not possible turning 2,250 rpm. The Columbian Type E
to achieve in any other hull form. two-bladed propeller is 10 in. in diameter
Edgar Davis of Whitemarsh, Pa., com- and has a 6-in. pitch.
missioned us to design and build the Happy Clam was built right-side up and
original Happy Clam. An accounting of I suggest future models should be built in
material costs and time involved was kept the same position. Her 1½-in. keel, cut
and accurate speed and performance trials to the widths shown at the stations on the
were made with the completed boat All full-sized lines, should be laid on suitable
of this, I am sure, will be of interest and building stocks with the amount of drag
value to prospective builders and owners that's indicated on the lines drawing. Build
of Happy Clam. her at least 18 in. above the floor as there
The principal dimensions of this little is considerable fitting to do in her bottom
hooker are 17 feet over all, 16 feet on her planking and the room will come in handy.
designed water line, 5 feet 6 inches wide, Apron pieces of ¾ x 2½-in. stock are
and 11½ inches draft. Her ample freeboard screw-fastened to the top of the flat keel.
of 28½ inches forward and 19 5/8 inches at The bevels of the rabbet formed by apron
her stern assist in making her a dry boat. and keel must be taken from the full-size
In the process of making up the ¾ x l 5/8-in. penter's bit—the latter has a strong tend-
frames, take all dimensions from the full- ency to follow the grain in the wood rather
size body plan. Assemble them with glue than to bore a straight, square hole.
and screws. Notch out the 1 1/8 x 3½-in. floor Secure the horn timber to the propeller
timbers to fit over the apron pieces. Drive post with drift bolts and screws. Cut a
screws up through the keel into these floors. rabbet in the horn timber to take the bot-
A stretcher of ¾ x 3-in. scrap wood must be tom planking and a rabbet in the propeller
screw-fastened to the heads of each frame post to take the planking of the box dead-
at the sheer line. Pick up the water line, wood. Particular care must be given this
the sheer line, and the center line from the part of the work. Fasten the propeller post
body plan and transfer these accurately to and horn timber to the keel as shown in
each finished frame. Fig. 1.
The stem is made in two pieces and The 7/8-in. transom is built over a
shaped as shown in the lines and construc- ¾ x 3½-in. frame. Secure the transom to
tion drawings. Bolt the pieces together. the frame with 1½-in. No. 10 screws. Make
A template must be taken from the lines to the stern knee, which is shown in Fig. 1,
locate the proper positioning of the rabbet, from a ¾-in. natural crook if available.
back rabbet, and bearding lines. When There may be some difficulty in securing
these are transferred to the actual stem, natural crooks for this member and the
the work of cutting the rabbet may pro- breasthook and quarter knees. I visited
ceed. Further details on this phase of local apple orchards for the ones in Happy
construction can be found in any book on Clam and the time spent proved well worth
the subject. Secure the completed stem while. Practical substitutes for natural
to the keel with four bolts. crooks are laminated oak knees of the same
See that the stem is plumb and brace it size and shape. Several laminations of
in a secure fashion to overhead members 3/8 x ¾-in. wood can be bent to shape and
in the building shed. A great amount of tied together with waterproof glue. Secure
strain is put upon the stem, frames, and the stern knee to the transom framing and
transom when bending the planking and horn timber with bolts and screws.
other members into place, so care in At this point, the completed frame should
bracing the framework must be taken. be faired up, checking with long battens
The propeller post and horn timber come tacked temporarily to the stem, frames, and
transom. Any irregular hollows or hard from the boat and the required shape de-
spots must be built up or planed down to termined from this. It is not possible to
assure the planking being smooth. When bend in these sheer clamps from straight
this work has been completed, brace each stock. After installing the inwales, add
frame to overhead members. the breasthook and quarter knees,
Each l½ x l¾-in. chine log is in a single Happy Clam's topsides are planked with
length. Cut the proper bevels on each, ½-in. white cedar in lapstrake fashion.
then place it on a table saw, as shown in This manner of planking, reminiscent of
Fig. 2, and cut the rabbet depth by slowly the New Jersey Seabright skiffs, is stronger
turning the chine as it passes over the saw than conventional smooth planking and
so the cut is kept square with the beveled is easier for amateurs to apply. The lapped
surface. The balance of each rabbet is cut surfaces may vary as much as an eighth
with a chisel and a rabbet plane. Since the of an inch with no one being the wiser,
forward ends of the chines take a consider- while a smooth-planked boat must have
able twist, they'll require steaming. carefully made, evenly spaced, properly
Inwales, or sheer clamps, of 5/8 x 2-in. ma- outgaged seams.
terial, are fitted at the frame heads. As The 5/8-in. bottom planking is smooth.
shown in the construction section, the Intermediate 5/8 x l½ in. frames extend from
frames must be notched out to take these. the apron to the chines. The run of plank-
Because of the amount of sheer and the ing on the bottom of Happy Clam is a little
coming together of the sides at the stem, out of the ordinary. In addition to the reg-
it is necessary to saw these inwales to shape ular garboards, stealer planks must be in-
prior to fitting them. A template is taken stalled. The garboards and the planks just
the bow seat. It may be necessary, because Station 2 to Station 11. The three ¾ x10-
of the forthcoming difficulty of securing in. thwarts are fastened to the risers.
copper, to substitute galvanized iron. De- Secure the floor boards to floor beams
tails of the tubing and various fittings for set 6 in. above the keel. The beams are
the gasoline and the sea-water lines are ¾ x l½ in. and the floor boards are 5/8-in.
shown in Fig. 4. stock about 4 in. wide. A small hatch im-
A ¾ x 1¼-in. seat riser is screwed to the mediately forward of the engine allows
insides of the frames on each side from convenient use of a rope starter. •
BILL OF MATERIALS
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