ESSENCE OF STACKED BULWARK

Here is an an email to Clyde discussing the essential concepts of stacked bulwark construction.
yes, I really love the bulwarks - there were surprises - all based on the simple geometry of stacking blocks with different angles on each side, for no matter how you line them up one side or the other will be out of whack!!!!! duh!!!!!!!! You can line up the inside and shape the outside, or vice versa - this fact is, in some ways, the nemesis of THE TOOL. It probably will not work to cut the varying angle on the inside of the bulwark (nor will my electric planner because of the curve). I did however, add a new shaping tool to my side grinder, which works to rough in the inside of the bulwark wall in a relative jiffy - once again amorphous bob saves the day - this project just left precision bob totally in the weeds!!!! However, using my tablesaw set up with support for the stave coming into the saw as well as out of the saw (which means I have no support role, leaving one hand to feed the wood and the other to vary the angle) became second nature. And of course after running up and down the boat a thousand times the 17,15, 10, 5,5,5,5,5,5,5,10,17,22 degree trip became routine. ( of course there was constant variation, but that gives the feel for it) Also, it is probably important to have a low power tablesaw that isn't strong enough to kick a 16 foot length of 2x back out at you!!! (which I did at the boat site.) Unfortunately this method was of limited value because I had already cut my stock to a constant angle.

So in a nut shell, for "precision" bob to work

1) both sides have to be equal angles if a lot of shaping is to be avoided

2) the angles have to, as Chapelle states concerning stanchions in real bulwarks, "stand fair and carry out the shape of the topsides"

So THE TOOL, in its final form with cupped guide, is fantastic, but may be limited to the outside. Therefore if we are going to use it, the inside edges of the stacked boards should be lined up, if at a constant angle, and the outside left with extra. The consequence of this method is that the width of the bulwark varies - the more flare of the outside angle the wider the bulwark ---- which is what happened in my case - but I think I am ok with that. So the bow and stern sections are about 2 and 1/2 to 3 ", while amidships is down to 2". THIS IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF ME CUTTING ALL MY STOCK AT CONSTANT ANGLES AHEAD OF TIME BEFORE I APPRECIATED THE GEOMETRY OF STACKED BLOCKS.

So I know that is all a LOT of words, but the picture should shed the light on how "amorphous bob" took over - ..........eye...eye.... matie.....

you will need to enlarge to appreciate grinder "blade". Sorry about the rotation - it is a new computer that has a mind of its own.

One more thing - if I had it to do over again...............

Instead of making the angle cuts along the edges of every stave, I would make the varying angle cut along the bottom of the first stave, so that its top surface made a 90 degree angle with the frame below it regardless of where you stuck your square. At that point all you would have to do is stack rectangles!!!!!!!!!!!! (The correct and already established varying angle being effected by a slight twist in the subsequent staves as they were clamped into place) ----- or alternatively you could place the bottom block before cutting it, and plane the top of it to proper angles.