Details of the Chalker Farm Boat

Renee measuring hull sections and you can see the small frames, which are split dowels. Other than giving the builder something to attach the thwart risers to, they don't offer anything structural to the boat, since the sides are made of a single plank.
Detail of the carved stem head. The string was our baseline reference for taking the lines of this boat.
The nice detail at the base of the stem, showing how it is carved to fair neatly into the keel, which is in turn nailed to the bottom planking.

While we have seen several trapping boats already, the Chalker Farm boat is particularly interesting. It has the same shape as the other trapping boats, a long, narrow double-ender (which we are increasingly hearing termed a "two-pointer") with cross-planked bottom and sides made of single planks of pine. Whereas the shape is basic, this boat reflects some very interesting construction details that one would expect to see in much finer boats. These include the small frames along the sides, which the boat builder went to the trouble of mortising into the chine logs. These frames are half-round, commonly seen on bent frame boats of this region and also a hallmark of the famous Rushton rowboats of the Adirondacks. The boat also has decks with coamings fore and aft, which the builder carefully rounded at the sheer. Particularly interesting is the carved stem head, which is part of the stem. This was a fairly time consuming detail for the builder, but Christian, one of the students, also pointed out that at the base of the stem the builder carved a small section of the stem so it faired in to the end of the keel. I've wracked my brain and I can't think of ever seeing anything like this before.

Douglas Brooks