A Boat in the Woodsvideo
Building a Steam Box, Reinforcing the Hull - No. 38
May 9, 2026 · 30 min · 94K views · Eastern Canada
What this video covers
Joshua, a carpenter restoring a 1966 32-foot wooden sailboat in eastern Canada, is reinforcing the hull by installing hemlock outwales.▶ 0:36 To bend the 12-foot strapping, he constructed a steam box using a repurposed carpentry box and a custom steam generator built from a cleaned brake cleaner can.▶ 4:08 Initial attempts to reach 100 degrees Celsius failed due to heat loss, with temperatures stalling between 80 and 90 degrees.▶ 10:30 He improved thermal efficiency by insulating the box with thrift-store blankets and adding a foil heat shield.▶ 6:40 To locate the outwales without interfering with internal stringer through-bolts, he pushed zip ties through the planking as visual markers.▶ 12:05 After removing a seized through-hull fitting with a grinder, he successfully steamed and installed the first two hemlock boards.▶ 16:41 He is currently downsizing the steam box to improve heat retention and capacity for future framing work.▶ 20:54
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