Getting out the frames with a Kress Duo Saw

This is the first outing with the Kress Duo Saw- a fantastic tool

It will cut up to 200mm (7.5 inch). I am hopeful it will speed the job up and save on a bit of wood. Currently I rough cut the frame with a chainsaw and then bandsaw the approximate bevel and then tweak it with a plane.

First fit and looking good.

7 frames out of 21. Its going to be a long summer.

Deepening The Rabbet

The original Rabbet was a bit narrow with, it seems, no fastenings. At a later stage someone had added galvanised screws. No doubt she leaked like a basket under sail.

The line for the deepened rabbet was easily marked with the help of a laser.















Once the line was marked the long slow job of cutting the rabbet could begin.

However life is too short so a router was used to speed things up.

Rabbet being cut with router.

To get the proper angle of cut, it should be normal to the section curve at the keel, two battens were screwed to the keel and as the router moved along the keel the changing bevel was accurately cut into the wood.

First Build 2

Seeing her being put together from his own design must have been a fantastic thrill. I wonder if he thought she would still be around after 73 years. 20 years in those days would have been considered a useful lifespan.

First Build

Providence was designed by Nigel Warrington-Smyth, for his own use, and built in Porthleven (Cornwall, England) by Gilbert and Pascoe in 1934.
Her particulars are:

Length 38 feet
LWL 33 feet
Beam 11 feet
Draft 6 feet 10 inch
Displacement 15.05 tons
Planks 1.25 inch Pitch Pine
Frames 2.5 inch Oak, Sawn
Deck 2.0 inch Pine
Deck Structures Teak

She was not built as an expensive yacht, which is part of her appeal. Her builders were mainly fishing boat builders known for inexpensive boats and she has a workboat feel to her. She has Pitch Pine planking over Oak frames on an Elm keel. All fastenings were galvanised wrought iron. Over the years she has been much admired and has possibly influenced a few other designs. Andrillot and the Vertues and their big sister Dyarchy. There are also some up to date interpretations, check out Ed Burnnet's web page designs 116 and 119

New Stem

The stem was built up from laminations, not ideal but i could not at the time source large sections for the various parts. In the end they are probably a bit oversized. I should have created a drawing on paper  which would have given me a better feel for the correct proportions for the stem, stem knee and gripe.

Laminating up some Iroko with resorcinol adhesive

 Working on my own the resorcinal adhesive was a bit of a nightmare. Germany can get pretty warm in the summer and the adhesive has to be spread quickly and the mating faces brought together quickly to ensure the adhesive does not start to loose its moisture.

Running the laminatins through the thicknesser.

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 This is the kind of work that makes the project enjoyable. Shaping these bits of timber is great fun and once the curves are fair, immensely satisfying.

Starting to get the feel of the finished article.

The saw kerfs between the pencil lines on the face and the rabbet give something to aim for when planing and shaping.

Stem Removal

The stem had to come out which is just a little daunting if you have never done it before. Probably the last job one would willingly tackle given a choice.

Lofting the stem from measurements taken of the stem while it was still in the boat.

 The first thing, before removal, was to take measurements of the profile and the shape of the rabbet and loft them on the bench to allow templates of the various parts to be cut out.


The drift bolts attaching the lower part of the stem to the keel were withdrawn by welding threaded rod to the head of the bolt which was then nutted on a cross beam which could then be jacked up with a couple of hydraulic jacks 

Drift Bolt removal using hydraulic jacks

Surprisingly (frighteningly) easy to remove.

The planks were easily sprung away from the stem and a saber saw was used to cut the remaining fastenings after which the thing just slid out. For this kind of work and removing frames a saber saw is a must with long flexible blades, fantastic. The saw was a cheap 50 Euro job an Einhell DIY machine but it lasted for all but two of the frames.

And now laying on the ground with all its horrors reveled.

There is definitely something missing!