Making Deck Beams

Sigh.... Our problem of the day is this rotting deck beam, which needs to be replaced before we can lay down any new decking. This one is located at the forward end of the engine compartment. Fortunately, there is a solid beam located just forward of this one.

The first step is to find the right piece of wood. Is it straight? Is it long enough? How tight is the grain? Are there checks? How many knots are there? (no, there are no perfectly knot free pieces of wood.) How can we make our piece fit and not waste material? This beam is 4 inches thick, 12 inches wide, and 14 feet long. We can just make this one work!

Next the deck beams center is marked and a template is laid on the beam in progress. Our template is in three pieces, the center and either side. We first mark the top of the beam with the template. Notice the curve of the template. This constant arc is called a camber, or crown and is determined by the width of the boat and desired height of the center of the deck. This allows water to drain towards the sides rather than pool in the middle.

So far so good!
Now that the top is done, the template is slid down 4 1/4 inches and the line is duplicated making the bottom of the beam.

Despite a few rain drops the beam is moved outside and cut. Juniper dust is fine and gets everywhere. OK, we admit it. Less dust inside means less cleaning up at the end of the day.

Voila! A new deck beam is made! The salvaged remains will be used for either a shorter beam towards the bow or short pieces which will be along the sides of the main cargo hatch.

And our new beam is carried on board then set in place above the shear clamp. We measure the beam a bit long, then the ends are trimmed down and tapered to fit the contour of the hull. It's important to remember to trim off of each end evenly rather than just one side, otherwise your center mark will end up not so centered. Seems simple enough.

This is the days end result. The newly placed beam is located at the bottom of the picture.The stern of the boat is towards the top and we are looking down into the engine compartment.

We hope that you have enjoyed your visit and learned a bit about what goes into rebuilding a ship. Thank you for stopping by and we'll see you next week.