Building Evelyn: Lining off with a magic line, EP12

Now that the sheer is marked, Ken Boyle and Lou Sauzedde need to define the magic line. It's not exactly magical, but it is a little difficult to get your head around. Read on below, but it might be more helpful to just watch the video. (This is not a trick to get you to watch. It’s just that my words don't seem to do it justice.)

In essence, the magic line divides the hull into two sections. When you bend a straight plank around the boat on the curved magic line, it will follow the line precisely.

Above the magic line, all the planks are the same shape. Each plank is also the same width at the molds or frames. And the planks all have the same taper from amidship to the ends at the sternpost, transom and stem. So we can make 19 planks that are essentially identical. (Not counting the bevels.)

This makes planking much easier and faster and, if the seams are visible, it makes the lines fair and pleasing to the eye. If this description is confusing you as much as it is me, please take a look at the video.

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