: There was a pretty good article in one of the recent issues of WoodenBoat
: magazine lately about a traditional way of making these long skinny
: things. Not something you'd likely do at home, they steam bent each side
: of the hull from one piece of red cedar (would require a really long steam
: box), but you might find it interesting if you've not already read it. . .

Why read the article when you can see it being done? Or even take part in sponsoring the work? Check out this from the Wooden Boat Foundation & Northwest Maritime Center of Port Townsend, WA.

When I went to the Wooden Kayak Rendezvous last year (R2K6)* I was wandering around Port Townsend and happened to stumble into the workshop of the Wooden Boat Foundation. The people there were nice enough to show me around. One of the items of particular interest was their recently acquired building frame for Pocock shells. This is basically the Iron Maiden of strongbacks!

Running the length of the device are perforated pipes. Steam is sent in at one end, and comes out along the entire length of the strongback. A single WIDE plank of 3/16" cedar is attached at the keel line for each side, and the steam is turned on. As the wood softens it is slowly drawn down to the underlying frames by leather straps placed at frequent intervals along the length of the strongback. After they bend one side, they do the other side. Curiously, they only steam the inside of the wood--unless they have some other way to steam the outside which I didn't see. The pictures at the Pocock web site show them using towels or blankets to trap the steam so the wood softens throughout. In the picture below the leather strap is attached to the steam pipe.

After they have the two sides bent to shape they carry them over to another strongback. This one is a full length jig for making the internal framing. The thin pieces of sugar pine used in the frame look like the sticks on a kite, but the jig gets them aligned right, and when the skin is fastenend to them the whole boat is impressively strong.

For an overall view of the bending table and frame jig, with a boat in the middle, look at: http://www.pocockclassic.org/firstshell/images/12shopfromabove.jpg

An extensive set of pictures can be seen by going thru all the pages at the Pocock web site. That home page is: http://www.Pocockclassic.org

Picture below is from the website of the Wooden Boat Foundation & Northwest Maritime Center. Their page dealing with the launch of a new rowing shell made on the old Pocock forms is at this link.

http://www.woodenboat.org/programs/prog_pocock_row.htm

By the way, should anyone make a pilgrimage to Port Townsend, there is an excellent bookshop at the Foundation's Cupola House, hardly 100 yards from the boatshop. Those two buildings make two points of a triangle with the showroom and offices of Pygmy Kayaks, which is only a few buildings away.

Hope this helps

PGJ

* the R2K6, R2K7, and (hopefully) R2K8 are sponsored by Joe Greeley of Redfish Kayaks. Joe also gets up in the morning of the event, comes to the campsite and cooks breakfast for everyone. Something about that town makes everyone feel friendly. Heck, Pruden was there and didn't break a single kayak! Pix from 2007 are here: http://redfishkayak.com/r2k7/line/