Using a Batten to Fair a Wooden Boat - Building the Poulsbo Boat - Episode 12

Howdy folks! Welcome back to Nomad Boat Building. My name is Mark Reuten, and we're picking up where we left off on the Poulsbo Boat Project.

With the inwales and thwart risers glued up, it's time to fair them out and get ready for planking. There's a lot of material to remove, some tricky twists to follow, and a few places where the grain isn't making life easy.

In this episode, I show how I use a batten to establish fair lines across the moulds, then work through the rough shaping with a slick before switching to hand planes and a longboard for finer adjustments. I'll also show why checking for bumps and hollows with a batten is an important final step.

Along the way, we take a closer look at Alaskan yellow cedar, work around some awkward grain, and discuss a transom layout issue that I may have to solve as the build progresses.

The original Poulsbo boat was a sport fishing boat built by Ronald Young in Washington using traditional carvel plank construction. This version uses modern cedar-strip construction, with fibreglass inside and out.

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Website: https://nomadboatbuilding.com/
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Watch the Poulsbo Boat Project playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnOoJJKdbR4JZFfEMWhXjloa0LhCp0GPI

Thanks for watching. With the structure faired, we're getting closer to the cedar-strip planking stage!

0:00 Why a mockup and careful planning matter
0:16 Getting ready to fair the inwales and thwart risers
0:50 The extra inwale filler and transom layout issue
3:46 Establishing the fairing lines
4:48 Cleaning up the glue squeeze-out
5:23 Using a batten to mark the bevel
6:46 Marking the bottom edge
9:33 Using a slick to remove material
11:28 Working close to the line
12:48 Switching to a smoothing plane
14:03 A step-by-step approach to fairing
14:43 Creating a continuous rolling bevel
16:16 Working with Alaskan yellow cedar
17:28 Fine planing near the finished line
18:32 Smoothing with a longboard
19:28 Preparing the thwart riser for removal
20:20 Fairing the bottom edge
21:12 Switching from the slick to a plane
21:58 Checking the surface for humps
23:31 Checking the fairing with a batten
24:39 Wrapping up for the day
25:14 Getting ready to start planking