A Boat in the Woodsvideo
Steam Bending Outwales, Removing the Chainplates - No. 39
May 30, 2026 · 25 min · 85K views
Man sands wooden hull in forest workshop
What this video covers
Steam bending hemlock 1×4 outwales onto a wooden boat hull is the central work here, with Joshua modifying a steam box, removing chainplates, and reinforcing the hull for a coming interior teardown.▶ 0:15 He cut a 10-foot steam box extension down to just over 2 feet to reduce heated volume, wrapped the box in reflective bubble wrap insulation and thrift-store blankets, and confirmed 13 feet of usable length — enough for the longest frame at 12 feet.▶ 1:54 The temporary outwales mirror the interior build stringers and shear clamps so the hull won't collapse once those are removed. Chainplate removal required grinding plated-bronze acorn nuts after carriage bolts spun in their bores; a vise-grip trick on the starboard side avoided the grinder entirely.▶ 15:15 The backing block came off revealing dry rot across its entire back face from rainwater intrusion.▶ 17:43 A hanging knee — apparently the only one in the boat — was also removed, with stripped screws drilled out.▶ 22:27 Joshua closes by announcing he will stop work at this location to build a proper boat shed before continuing the rebuild.▶ 25:24
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