The tools you need to build a small wooden boat

This video is a part of my mini course Getting Started in Boatbuilding.

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Video transcript:

In this video, I will take you through the core tools you will need for building small wooden boats.

Although boatbuilding might seem like an entirely different kind of woodworking than cabinetmaking or general carpentry, many of the tools are the same, and the basic toolkit of the boatbuilder is not as big as you might think.

I have divided the tools roughly into three groups: Tools for measuring and marking, tools for cutting wood, and tools for fastening and joining wood together.

In essence, wooden boatbuilding is all about drawing a precise line, cutting to it and then fastening the piece to another piece of wood.

Then repeat the process until the boat is done. Obviously, there are some details that need to be filled in, but in reality, that's the essence of it.

In order to cut out precise parts for your boat, you need to know where to cut. That's where your measuring and marking tools come to the rescue.

The first thing you'll need is a sharp pencil and an eraser. I use a mechanical 0.7 pencil, but any sharp pencil will do. Some builders plane their pencil to a chisel shape to make it easier to transfer shapes from one workpiece to another.

Then you will need a tape measure at least as long as your boat for long measurements. It can be metric or imperial, depending on the plans you are working from.

For medium-length measurements, I like to use a wooden folding rule.

It's a good idea to check that your tape measure and your ruler are in sync before you start your project.

For measuring and marking *odd angles*, you will need a bevel gauge.

And although a boat mainly consists of odd angles, you will also need a square.

I like combination squares because of their versatility: Aside from being a square they are also a steel ruler, a small spirit level, and a marking gauge.

You will want to check that your square is actually square. This is done by drawing a line on a piece of wood with a straight edge and then flipping the square over and drawing another line. If the two lines are exactly parallel, your square is in good shape.

A pencil compass is used a lot in boatbuilding for scribing and for spacing out fastenings. Scribing is the process of transferring the shape of one piece of wood to another in order to make them fit together.

You will also need some string, a plumb bob and a level to make sure that the framework for your boat is straight, square, level and plumb as specified in the plans.

Those were the measuring and marking tools. Now to the wood cutting tools:

First, you will need one or two hand saws.

The hand saw that I use the most in boatbuilding is a back saw. The back stiffens the saw, which allows it to use a thinner blade. This in turn makes the cut thinner, more effortless and precise.

The downside of a back saw is the fact that the back limits the depth of cut. Sometimes you will need to make deeper cuts, which can only be done with a backless saw.

There are two main types of saws: Western and japanese. Western saws cut on the push stroke, japanese on the pull stroke. I use both, and they both work great, as long as they are sharp. Most people that are new to woodworking love japanese saws, because they are very easy to start in the cut.

Some saws have teeth that are shaped specifically for doing rip cuts along the grain of the wood or cross cuts across the wood fibers. In boatbuilding, you do a mix of rip and cross cuts - and everything in between.  So I like hand saws with a universal tooth shape that does both types of cut fairly well. That said, both a rip and a cross cut saw will do the job for you just fine, as long as it's sharp and relatively fine toothed.

You'll also need a few chisels. A chisel is basically a sharp edge at the end of a stick. Chisels are actually not used all that much in boatbuilding, but for some tasks they are indispensable. One wide and one narrow chisel will be enough for your basic kit.

Then you will need a block plane. This is probably my favorite tool, and it is probably also the tool that I use the most.  The block plane is used for all sorts of precision shaping work: Getting smooth, fair and precise lines. Beveling and trimming your workpieces for a precise fit. A good, sharp block plane is a lot of fun to use.

If you are on a budget and want to spend some extra money on only one high quality hand tool, I think the block plane would be the one to splurge on.

If you are building a lapstrake boat, you might want to consider a so-called rabbet block plane, where the blade extends all the way across the sole of the plane. This feature is handy when cutting the gains at the end of the planks.  That said, gains can also be cut with a sharp chisel.

A block plane has a fairly long sole, which makes it great for smoothing out rough cut surfaces. Basically, the length of the  sole makes sure that the plane can only cut the high spots on your workpiece. But when you are doing concave work, the blade of the plane simply won’t be able to cut the wood. This is where the spokeshave comes in.  Spokeshaves come in many sizes and shapes, but you’ll most likely do fine with a standard flat-bottomed or round-bottomed model.

To keep all these edge tools in good shape, you’ll need sharpening supplies. It might be a cliché, but it is true: Hand tools really need to be sharp to be useful. If you have ever used a dull chisel or hand plane, you know how frustrating it is. And actually, I think that a big part of the reason that most people these days almost only use power tools is that they've never tried a truly sharp hand tool.

Sharp hand tools are so much fun to use. And they are efficient, make less noise, less dust, last several lifetimes ... They are just great. But they really need to be sharp.

I use a coarse and a fine diamond sharpening stone with a honing guide and get my final polish with a leather strop charged with honing compound. For the rough shaping of the edge and for grinding away dings and nicks I use a bench grinder with an adjustable tool rest.

While you can do your rough work on the stones, I like the grinder because it is such a big time saver. It makes it so easy to sharpen my tools that I actually tend to get it done.

Now on to the tools for fastening and joining wood together: First, you will need a cordless drill with a set of good, sharp wood drill bits to drill the pilot holes for your fastenings. If you can afford it, a set of tapered drill bits with built-in countersink will save you a lot of time when you're installing wood screws. 

Then, you'll need a few screwdrivers and bits for your drill. For boats, I use slotted bronze screws. It is important that the driver fits the head snugly to keep it from slipping. 

For clench nailing and riveting, you will need a small hammer and a backing iron. You can use a purpose-made backing iron, but a lump hammer works fine, too. If your boat uses copper rivets, you will need a rove punch and a pair of end cutting nippers.

You will also need some clamps. Small one-hand clamps are great as "extra hands" to keep everything in place while you work. A few longer, heavier clamps will come in handy for larger jobs and for glue-ups. That said, you don't necessarily need to spend all your money on clamps to get started in boatbuilding. Often, you can do the job just as well being creative with wedges, bracing,  ratchet straps, temporary screws - all depending on the clamping task at hand.

A few extra things that will come in handy are: a pocket or utility knife. Pliers. A caulking gun. A few files and rasps. Metalworking drills. Brushes for varnishing and painting.

You will also build a few specialized tools for yourself, such as a jump stick for transferring surfaces and a spar gauge for 8-siding spars and oars.

So these were the basic boatbuilding hand tools. But what about machinery? Well, most woodworking machines are loud, dusty and dangerous, but for some tasks they can be very handy and they can save you a lot of hard work. While boats can be built, and have been built without, I like to use machinery for doing the rough work.

The two essential machines in a boatbuilding shop are the band saw and the thickness planer. The band saw is used for cutting up the rough lumber and for doing long, curved cuts. The thickness planer is used for getting a nice, smooth board once the wood has been rough cut on the bandsaw.

Buying these machines, however can be a big investment, so for someone just getting into boatbuilding, the best bet might be to have a local boatbuilder or carpenter do the rough  milling of your stock for you. Then you will be able to get by with only a very small bandsaw or even a jigsaw for doing your curved cuts.

If you are starting all the way from scratch, this list of tools might seem somewhat intimidating and the initial investment might feel high. But remember, that most of these tools are lifetime tools that you will need to buy only once. And you don't necessarily need to buy new tools. Vintage tools are often high quality and they can be had for very low prices at flea markets and online.

So that was my introduction to the basic tools you will need to build a small, wooden boat. You might need a few more things, depending on the project that you will be building, but the tools I've talked about today should definitely cover the basics.