Preview: Understanding Wooden Boat Construction, Part 1 – The Backbone

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This clear and authoritative visual depiction of a wooden boat’s backbone structure will raise your understanding of how a wooden boat is built.

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36 Responses So Far to “Understanding Wooden Boat Construction, Part 1 – The Backbone”

    • Kit Laughlin says:

      Sean is an excellent teacher and presenter. Sincere thanks.

  • Jeffrey Beatty says:

    In the “why”, you forgot to mention – because it is beautiful and enormously satisfying!

  • Edward Barker says:

    Wonderful clarity of presentation and examples. Please make more like this. Thanks

  • Eric Child says:

    Super cool…! thank you so much for sharing and explaining the terminology it helps people like me who can barely draw a stick man understand how a boat comes together… Can’t wait for the rest of the series…!

  • Steve Smith says:

    More of this! It is real and applicable. Like Harry Bryant but too many videos of non-relevant info. The world of boating is not where Harry is.

  • Tim Healey says:

    The last minute and a half explaining “why” is absolutely brilliant. Well done !

  • Saar Harel says:

    Excellent video, very well laid out and the sample boats were excellent to translate drawing into reality.

  • Craig Stevenson says:

    Wow! Well done Sean and OCH, Thank you for clarifying some of the “VooDoo” surrounding the design to actualization of a traditional wooden boat. I cannot wait for Pt II

  • Baxter Evans says:

    Very informative video and great to see this sort of craftsmanship being passed down the the younger folks.

  • Werner Weinstock says:

    Excellent video. I’ve watched many other videos on boat building and tend to get lost with the names of the parts and their specific functions. Very good explanation about the various parts keeping the grain flowing correctly.

  • Jim Mumper says:

    Sean did a great presentation. Now I know and understand terms like “Stop Water” and “Horn Timber.” I too am looking forward to Part 2. Well done!

  • Detlef Duecker says:

    Excellent presentation ! With my wife Elisabeth we visited the NW Wooden Boat School at their former site in 1988. Now I finally understood the function and exact placement of the stopwater.
    Thanks !

    • Bogdan Dragnea says:

      Very nice, thank you. I visited once a shipyard in Maine where a modern yacht was built. The owner wanted it to look like it was made of wood but it was layer after layer of resin, carbon, fiber glass, and finally veneer. The process looked like an environmentalist’s nightmare and the result, as shapely as it was, will litter without decaying for eons, once its glamour days have past. There is much more to traditional wooden boats than what meets the eye. The way they can gracefully fade swallowed by the sands and sometimes rise again after centuries through the care of people with a passion and skills. Inspiring

  • Wolfgang Doughty says:

    Even I started to understand these basics.

  • William McCaffrey says:

    Great! Well done! I see a robust series in the making here (hopefully). You don’t see too many wooden boats here in central Texas, so I have had to learn all of this from books without a hands on reference model.

  • Philip Myer says:

    Wonderful concise teaching Sean, love the Tassie state flag on the bow of the model.

  • Kai Schrodt says:

    As my son, Fletcher, was finishing up the curriculum there I drove cross country in September, 2018 and poked around that northern part of the Olympic Peninsula for about 10 days. Sean seemed so mild mannered and on the fringe from the outside looking in. Thanks for the trip inside the classroom and inside our great boat building heritage. What an outstanding presentation.
    Also, Jeff Hammond was thoughtful and quite hospitable. Regards to all the great staff there. Hope all is well. Thanks again.

  • Joseph E Pitoniak says:

    Sean is a treasure! A natural teacher and an extraordinary craftsman. Well done!

  • Chris Smead says:

    I don’t know how I have survived this long without watching this video. Now I can go back and try to read those books again!

  • Harold Wheeler says:

    I certainly understand how Sean was promoted to Head Instructor. Well done! Can not wait for part 2. Stay safe everyone,

  • Norman NOLAN says:

    That’s a “Eureka” moment! NOW I understand! What an excellent exposition! Thanks Sean and OCH.

  • Michael Vaughan says:

    A wonderful explanation.
    Eximious.
    Love the Tasmanian flag too!

  • ron godwin says:

    Sincerity,authority, ability,and a really steady drawing hand sure makes it easier for the student.
    Thank you Sean

    Ron Godwin
    Australia

  • Rick Clark says:

    An awesome explanation on the boat build. Great to see all the technology it took to build those boats..as you said 50, 100 years ago. Thank You for the video…keep up the good work!!

  • Russell Smith says:

    Thank you to Sean and OCH for this most informative video. It is an excellent explanation of the structure of the wooden boat. We are long time attendees of the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. We are also sheltering at home here in Washington state and hoping our current health problem will have settled down before September comes around. In the meantime we will enjoy watching more videos on OCH. Looking forward to seeing the next installment from Sean.

  • Colin O'Sullivan says:

    Cool video! Articulate, uncluttered presentation.
    Many thanks.

  • John Bukowsky says:

    What an amazing video. Thank you OCH and thank you Sean. Very thoughtful and thorough. Last week I was dreaming about this year’s sailing vacation. After watching Sean I am now dreaming about attending NSWB :). So much to learn and do little time. Looking forward to more from OCH/NSWB.

  • Barry Sherwood says:

    Thanks for Part 1 – greedily awaiting Part 2 and more.

  • Remi Khu says:

    Thanks for the informative presentation. This may be a silly question: Will using plywood for the stem eliminate the need for stop water and simplify construction? What would be the penalty?

  • Bruce Cresser says:

    This was very well done. I make my living from building/restoring wooden boats and it was nice to see how the backbone was explained in a direct manner since most go off on tangents and confuse people. Again Well Done

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