Shelter Island Boat Works

The three-part solid mahogany 3/4″ rub rails came with the kit. They were pre-cut for scarfing. After gluing up the scarf joints, I test fit them on the boat. Steam bending them was not necessary as they bent easily along the long shallow curves of the shear. Chesapeake Light Craft certainly makes it easy to build this boat!

Two side-by-side 3/4″ layers of mahogany comprise each rail. Epoxying them on was simple. Because the curves at the shear are so shallow I got away with a few spring clamps in between the heavier ones. Again, quick work.

I tapered the underside of the rails along the first 18″ of the bow section. Visually this makes the shear sweep up a bit in the bow. The stern ends would be cut flush and rounded.

Once glued, I planed the top of the shear smooth and the rounded the edges. I was a little doubtful about how the combination of the mahogany rub rail and end-grain of the plywood hull would look. But, it turned out quite well, especially at the breast hook.

I spent quite a while considering the profile of the bow apex. In many Annapolis Wherries, the rails just meet at the apex and then are often rounded. Regardless of how well (or how unfortunate) they were finished, this approach looked heavy to me. While the rounding does protect the “pointy end,” I didn’t anticipate hitting anything head on.

A couple of examples of the “beefy” rounded bow.

I decided to hold the rails back somewhat, allowing the bow cutwater to be exposed all the way to the top.