I
submitted the last blog article without explaining my terms – so sorry! I forget that only .01% of the world cares about all this! But in case you wonder how a boat goes together…
Phoenix is a mix of steel and wood. Wood holds water and water rusts steel, so this is intrinsically a bad idea. However steel is really strong and wood is relatively giving, so they also are a great combination. The steel makes a robust hull and the wood creates a light and forgiving surface that, when properly treated and maintained, keeps out water for years. Phoenix is almost 50 years old so that time is pretty much passed.
- The Hull is the body of the boat, in this case it’s 1/8″ steel.
- The Shear is the swooping curve of the hull from the bow (front) to the stern (back). A boat has a lot of shear when there’s a lot of curve. A flat shear has little curve. I’m not prejudiced, but a boat with a lot of shear, like Phoenix is just plain sexier. Ok maybe I’m prejudiced, it’s a style thing.
- The Shear Clamp is like an angle iron attached to the hull (welded in our case) that gives a place to bolt things to, particularly the deck. It runs along the Shear, hence Shear Clamp.
- The Toe Rail is what you stub your toes on when you’re standing on the deck looking out to sea. It helps a little keeping things from rolling off the deck, but it’s basically there to hide the seam between the deck and the hull, helping to keep water out. It is bolted to the shear clamp, but also bedded in a nice goo that prevents (for some years) the water from leaking down around it.
- The Rub Rail is what hides the seam between the hull and the toe rail, to prevent water getting in from that direction. It is also bolted into the hull and bedded in goo.
- The Deck Beams cross from one side of the hull to the other to hold up the deck.
- The Deck is what you stand on and bolt things to. A steel deck would prevent these water issues but would be hot, hard, and heavy where you don’t want weight. Plywood, coated in epoxy or fiberglass and epoxy is lighter, spring-ier for comfort, and prevents water for getting past it for years. Just not 50 years!
Hope that makes my previous post a little more comprehensible!
Stay tuned for next week… the deck goes back on!!
