About Tools

What tools do I need to build my boat?

Although this question has been answered in previous WebLetters in detail, it keeps being asked. So a new approach. What tools would we use in the shop to build a ....?

Stiletto or other sheet plywood/sawn frame boat

The building form requires lumber to be cut to length. We would use a cut-off saw, but a portable circular saw could be used. The form would be assembled using a hammer and nails, or a drill, screw driver and screws.

The lumber for the frames would be mahogany, from piles of 6" to 14" wide boards. We would lay the frame pieces out on the boards using Transfer paper. The pieces would be cut out using a band saw. A saber saw could be used, but it would be time consuming to cut 4/4 mahogany. Frame gussets, stem, and transom would also be cut on a band saw. For assembling the frames and later for installing the longitudinals and planking, a drill and power screw driver would be used.

The longitudinals would be cut on a table saw, from wider boards. A radial arm saw could be used, or a portable circular saw with a guide. Before the longitudinals are installed, some beveling (fairing) of the forward frames will be required. We could use all of the following; Shur-form file, wood rasp, very sharp jack plane, possibly a belt sander or disc sander. After the longitudinals are installed, they would be faired. a very sharp plane would be used for most of the operation, but any of the tools used in the fairing above could also be used. At various stages of construction we would use clamps. We would use about 20 C-clamps, 5" is a good all-around size, but may not be wide enough for all requirements. We generally use bar clamps for some applications or, in some cases, larger C-clamps.

The planking plywood will be leaned against and clamped to the longitudinals, marked around the perimeter, and roughly cut using a saber saw. For sanding we would use a reciprocating sander, one of the high speed, more expensive sanders makes the job much easier. This essentially covers all the tools we would use.

Stitch and Glue

Stitch and glue is probably the least "tool-intensive" method of boat building. We would use Transfer Paper to transfer the patterns to the wood. A reciprocating saw would be used to cut out planking, bulkheads, seat tops, and other plywood parts. If the boat is a power boat, the transom normally requires a bevel on the bottom and possibly the sides. The transom is most often made with two layers of 3/4" plywood. We would cut the bevel on a table saw using the table saw jig shown in the Wood & Plywood Information section of our web site. Sheers and cleats would be cut on the table saw. Stitching and screw holes would be drilled with a power drill. We would also use a power sander, power screw driver and a few hand tools for cutting and twisting wire. We would most likely use a number of C-clamps at various stages of construction. Although other tools might be added, these would usually be enough to do the job.

It would be possible to use less or to use more; but this is what we would use. There are really no "exotic" tools required.