Bending the top Shear Plank

[GC]

Just wondering if anyone can help with this small problem. Just how do you bend a 3/8" five inch wide piece of mohogany around the bow of a CC costellation. Does the wood have to be soaked or steamed or both to get it to make such a bend. Not only is it going around the bow it also has to be pulled down to line up with the plank below it.

[Ken Hutchins]

If it is properly spiled and cut you should only have to bend it around which is an easy bend to do cold, no steam necessary. If you have to push it down edgewise it is not properly cut.

[pcford]

Just wondering if anyone can help with this small problem. Just how do you bend a 3/8" five inch wide piece of mohogany around the bow of a CC costellation. Does the wood have to be soaked or steamed or both to get it to make such a bend. Not only is it going around the bow it also has to be pulled down to line up with the plank below it. You are correct; it's a bitch. A lot of my work involves Chris Crafts because I do speedboats. Because of the strong flare of Chris Craft designs, there is a lot of shape in the sheer plank forward. First, be sure the new piece is a perfect copy of the old one. Then pull the plank into place with whatever clamp placement you can get. Don't know what else you have off the boat so I can't really suggest placement.

It usually is not necessary to steam the piece, but we often have to use African mahogany these days and I believe it is more brittle than Phil. or Hondo.

The important thing for you to do is to have new Fuller countersinks to drill the holes. A sharp countersink and a fast drill (I like to use 1/4 inch plug-in drill motor because they spin faster) will save split planks. Splitting from screw holes is the problem, not busting the plank as you bend it.