Designing and Building a Wooden Ship

Builder's Half Model, William H. Conner

Building any ship begins with design. In nineteenth century Maine, once the owner and builder decided on the basic size and shape of the hull, the designer or master carpenter carved a half modelHalf model

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, made from a number of boards or liftsLifts

pinned together. Once finished and accepted, the designer removed the pins and separated the model’s lifts. He then measured these and drew the shape of the hull full-size on the loftLoft laying off; laying down



Using a Half Model to Design a Ship Lofting the Hull

Treenails or Trunnels

Keel and Frames

The keelKeel

is the ship’s backbone and provides the most important longitudinal strength for the ship. The keel was built up from 12” x 12” lumber, or larger, and the long pieces were scarfedScarf scarph

To join the ends of two timbers or metal parts to form a piece that appears continuous.
and bolted to provide a solid backbone. The stemStem

piece, which defines the bowBow

Forward part or head of a vessel.
of the ship, and the sternpostSternpost

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, on which the rudderRudder

is hung, were scarfed and bolted to the keel.

The ship’s ribsRibs

, or framesFrame ribs

Frames are the skeleton structure of a vessel, also called ribs. They run perpendicular to the keel.
, were made up of straight and curved timbers. Frames were made of a number of pieces called futtocksFuttocks

. Bottom futtocks are called floorsFloor

. The shipbuilder made patterns from the design on the loft floor, which he used to choose the best-shaped timbers. Ship's carpentersShip carpenter ship's carpenter

cut the wood to shape, and dubbersDubber

Workman who dubs, or smoothes, the framing of a vessel before planking and the planking after being attached to the frames.
refined the shape using adzesAdze

to chip off unneeded material. The futtocks were scarfed, bolted, and fastened with treenailsTreenail trunnel

, or trunnelsTreenail trunnel



, was built over the keel, on top of the floor timbers of the frames.


Raising a Frame Building Up Keelson on Schooner

Caulking, Tools and Method

Planking and Caulking

As additional structure was added to the ship, it became ready for plankingPlanking



The inside planking of a ship.
: an inner skin planked inside of the frames. Despite its name, the ceiling acts as a floor to the cargo hold, and it provides additional longitudinal strength for the hull.

Caulking makes the hull watertight. OakumOakum

A caulking material made of tarred rope fibers.
, a coarse, tar-impregnated yarn of manilaManila

In rope, fiber obtained from the abaca plant. Named as such as the Phillipines were a primary source for this rot-resistant natural fiber rope, the most important maritime rope material before the advent of petroleum-based fibers like nylon and polypropylene.
or hempHemp

The plant Cannabis sativa, used to make natural rope. The fibers are usually tarred as a preservative.
strands from old ropes, is driven into seams between planking or decking. The caulker drove a few strands into the seam with a caulking ironCaulking iron

and caulking malletCaulking mallet


, or covered with tar, completely sealing the seam.


Hawsing Iron Forward Portion of Planked Ship


Finishing and Outfitting

Ship joinersJoiner joinery

became more active when much of the primary structure was finished. They built and finished the deck houses, the galleyGalley joinery

The kitchen on board a vessel.
, the hatchesHatch

The opening in a ship's deck allowing access to compartments below.
, and other deck furnishings. They often finished the captain’s cabin in furniture woods like mahogany, walnut, or butternut, prefabricating it ashore. The woodwork in captains’ cabins on Down EastersDown Easter downeaster; down-easter

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was often very elaborate and required highly-skilled joinery work.

Painters applied coatings to protect the wood. After the ship was launched, the crew became painters, for painting never ended.

Sometimes a vessel had a figureheadFigurehead

, made by a ship carver who chiseled it out of a large built-up block of wood. The figurehead was mounted on the bowBow

Forward part or head of a vessel.
of the ship, underneath the bowspritBowsprit

Spar projecting forward from the stem of a sailing vessel, for the purpose of extending the head sails and keeping the sail plan balanced.


Captain's cabin, Bark Harvard Stern of Schooner George W. Wells

Lifting Main Mast with Sheerlegs



While the hull was being built, sparSpar

makers fabricated masts, yardsYard

The large wooden or metal spar crossing the masts horizontally or diagonally, from which a sail is set.
, bowsprit, and other spars. After the Civil War, most spar timber came from the West Coast, which had a large supply of Sitka spruce and Douglas fir. After squaring and tapering the timber, spar makers shaped the spar into an eight-sided timber and finished it round. Shipbuilders used shear legsShear legs shears

to lift and place the masts onto the ship.


set up the ship’s standing riggingStanding rigging

The lines that hold up the mast. They are wormed, parceled, and served for water-proofing.
—the lines that hold up the masts. To protect it from rot, rigging was given a waterproof cover, a process called wormingWorming

Running a small line up a rope, following the lay of the line.
, parcelingParceling

Wrapping the standing rigging ropes with tarred canvas.
and servingServing

Wrapping a light line called marline around a wrapped (with tarred canvas) rope or wire, for preservation.
. Running riggingRunning rigging

The part of the rigging that includes the ropes that move the rig: move yards and sails, haul them up and lower them, move masts, and hoist weights.
, the lines that move through blocksBlock

A pulley, consisting of a frame or shell which supports a sheave or roller, over which ropes are run. There are many kinds of blocks. Blocks with ropes run through them form a tackle.
, were cut to length and whippedWhip

A rope led through a single block or pulley which offers no mechanical advantage but changes the rope's direction, or a type of overhand sewing stitch.
, or were given eye splicesEye splice

An eye formed in a rope by weaving its strands back into the rope.
if needed. Then the rigger set up all of the spars, preparing them to receive sails, attaching iron work and blocks, and running all of the rest of the lines.


Hemp Rope Rigging Sample Hemp Rope Rigging Sample Detail


A ship was constructed on large wooden blocks and posts called shoresShore

A prop or beam used for support during vessel construction.
. Before launching, ship carpenters built a cradleCradle

under the ship’s hull and greased the waysWays

A wooden ramp used to slide a ship into the water.
: the rails that carried it into the water. Dozens of wedges made up the cradle and were driven just before launching to transfer the weight of the ship from the blocks to the cradle. When the ship’s sponsor broke a champagne bottle on the stem, a pin was pulled that allowed the ship to slide down the ways, stern first, into the water. A festive launching could attract hundreds of friends, neighbors, and curious spectators.


Preparation for Launching Launch of Down Easter Henry B. Hyde