They’re Knot Drain Holes

Knot anymore!

Lumber that is completely knot free is virtually non-existent. Thus, we have knots … and  most of them are potential drain holes. If a knot has a dark ring around it, that dark stuff is dead bark that will eventually rot, leaving the center of the knot free to pop out. So, we knock them out, clean out the soft material, carve a plug, and glue it into the void. The end result is still a bit of wood surrounded by a dark ring, but it’s reassuring knowing that the dark ring is epoxy, not rotting bark.

This boat bottom needed 11 such repairs, 9 knots, a larger long soft spot, and a small void containing an expired beetle larva. All of these were done after reducing the thickness of the glued up bottom to the desired 9/16 inch.

After the repairs, the outline of the bottom was lofted from the table of offsets and cut out. That too was an adventure. I haven’t gotten around to purchasing a really good saw for that kind of cut, and didn’t want to manhandle it through the band saw (one man shop). Instead, I made up a saw using a piece snapped out of an old band saw blade that I drilled and fitted into a hacksaw frame. It worked so well that actual cutting time was probably very close to what it would have been with the band saw.  Either way requires trimming down to the final line with a plane.

The bottom is done and weighs in at 10.4 pounds.