The bulkheads need to be watertight and sometimes this is difficult. This bulkhead does not align with the appropriate frame and a possible solution is to make a third frame section to butt up against the bulkhead edge or end. Caulking would then be effective in making the frame water-tight.
This bulkhead is better positioned near the frame and will be easier to make water-tight.
When each frame is attached and the fairing begins, each frame is examined and the work required is noted. Below are some examples of the work noted and required on some frames.
All frames are now in place and the shipwrights are beginning the task of fairing the frames to the correct shape. Some sections of frames will need timber planed off them and other areas will need hardwood timber added to give the correct shape. It is a very skilled task to fair the sides of the hull symmetrically.
In the foreground of this photo is a frame that has been laminated with the laminates vertically aligned. The last 4 or 5 stern frames have been made this way – easier to accommodate the double curved shape required.
Photos below show close – up some of the last frames installed.
The 53 frames of the Alma Doepel hull have been fixed in position after a great 2 week effort by shipwrights and volunteers. The frames need to be planed to give the correct shape. This requires many hours of measuring, examining the line of sight and positioning of battens as reference points for shaping the frames. The battens show where excess timber needs to be planed off the frame and in some places timber needs to be added to the frame.
Several more frames have been laminated and attached to the hull. The remaining 2 or 3 frames are in the process of being steamed into shape ready for glueing. When the glue is cured the frame can be fixed to the hull.
The port side section of each frame is mirroring the starboard side which is seen from the dock. This means that framing is complete on both sides of the hull at the same time.
This frame has been steamed and then clamped and wedged into the correct position. This frame is continuous through the space between the keel and keelson. This is possible as there are no keel bolts to work around. When the laminates are cold and set at the correct angles and shape, they will be removed and glued into a frame in the shed.
There is several months between the date the photos were taken. As the framing progressed toward the stern old timbers ( planks and frames ) were removed. Dumps, bolts and spikes extracted and the holes plugged with hardwood dowel. After these preparations the shipwrights fit the new frames so that planking the hull can commence again.
