Installing Cedar Ceiling?

[Paul Maselli]

So the restoration of the "Elliot White" Continues...

Elliot White is a Fenwick Williams/John Alden Shoal draft sloop built in 1936. Design #628 she was built on Barnegat Bay in Mantoloking NJ. The design is featured in John Aldens Book of Yacht Design.

I haven't posted lately but the work progresses at differing paces. Sometimes I have more time available than others. Recently I've laid down the cabin sole from air dried Black Locust and now I'm onto installing the new ceiling.

Considering the ceiling is air dried white cedar, flat sawn and finished to 3/8" x 3" D3S.

So here's my question - Would you plank this tight or leave room for movement?

Edge setting the planks is necessary to remove plank curvature, but should these planks be seperated by setting against shims to create a constant air gap?

The ceiling is being nailed to the oak framing with bronze ring nails and it's run is parallel to the shear clamp. The nailing pattern is two nails per plank/rib intersection but a third nail could be added at the mid point.

Please share your experiences with me,

Thanks TheMobileBoatwright
Bayshore New York

[Lew Barrett]

I don't know the boat, but if she were mine and I was comfortable with the look, I'd consider some spacing. It certainly was common practice in the era. My boat's ceilings (1938) are spaced and I like it both in respect to the look and the circulation it affords.
Each plank is gently eased at the edges, and it looks sweet and smells sweet aboard. If you put your ear to a gap, you always seem (or imagine) to hear air moving. Can this be bad?

Possibly a bit harder to paint.

[jackster]

Paul,
If you are not sure of what was done when the boat was built (rely on the wisdom of Williams/Alden), then read Bud MacIntosh's experiences in chapter 12 of "How to Build a Wooden Boat".
In short, with a few caveats, no gap, screwed, and full length.
Encouraged to see you are restoring such a nice and worthy old wood boat!
Best of luck.

[Jay Greer]

I always use tongue and groove white cedar for ceiling. Beginning at the sheer clamp and leaving a slight, gap if the boat has no clamp I plank solid down to the floor tops. I do not use ring shank nails but rely on large copper tacks or copper box nails. This allows for easy removal if the occasion ever arrises. The boat should be sealed prior to the instertion of bulk heads. Other wise, the hull can develope hard spots in the planking as the hull ages. Usually this can be seen on a hull that is painted with high gloss enamel. The ceiling should extend from the sheer to the tops of the floors. If venting grates are built into the cabin sole at the ends a natural convection air flow will result due to changes in temperature of the outside planking during the course of day to night. Hot air rising out the top of the sealing can be observered by placing a smoke source in the bilge. In some cases, spiling will create a smoother job in beamy hulls.
Jay

[paladin]

I used cedar planks, about 1 1/2 inches wide for the ceiling in my boat.....they were attached very tightly against each other.....I then ran a 3 inch flexible hose in 4 places in the backs of hanging lockers into the bilge, at the top the hoses ran into dorade boxes built below the deck with a nicro metal stainless steel exhaust fan permanently attached, solar/battery operated......it would draw fresh air into the cabin, down through the "leaks" in the sole/ceiling and back out, constantly refilling the bilge and the rest of the boat with fresh air.