The planking is an exciting step because this is when all of the separate pieces of wood and many (many) hours of work come together to form the boat.The planking is a little slow-going at first. After laying the two bottom most planks (called garboards), two strips were attached to them near the transom. Due to the near vertical angle of the garboards at the transom, the strips are needed to give the next planks a good landing to be attached to. The three foot strips of mahogany have a rolling bevel that tapers down until the strip is feathered into the planking.
Gains are also cut into the top edge of each plank. Gains are a three quarter inch wide by 16 inch long area that tapers evenly from the top ply to the bottom ply over that 16 inch section of the plank. Gains are what allow the adjacent planks to fit flush against each other at the stem (bow) thus eliminating the "lap" in this area. This flush area results in a finer, quieter entry into oncoming chop and is also very pleasing to the eye.
Row, row, row your boat...life is but a dream.
