Portsmouth Victory Construction Method - Clinker

There are three principle types of wooden boat construction. Clinker, Carvel and Plywood Stitch and Glue methods.

The Portsmouth Victory is constructed in the Clinker (lapstrake in N.America) method. This is where planks are layed on top of one another to produce something of a ribbed appearance.

Clinker boats have been around since at least the 7th century AD and were primarily used in Northern Europe. The Chinese also developed their own clinker construction method around 9thAD.

The keel, hog, stern, transom and so on are all built first to form a frame. Then, strip planking is 'steam bent' in a steam box (I'll write a post about these soon) to melt resins within the wood and enhance it's flexibility. Then the planking is attached to the frame whilst the wood remains hot. Each plank has a bevel joint between its neighbour. It is this joint and the pressure between the planks that keeps the boat waterproof. All is then held together with nail fastenings and (these days), a modern sealent is driven between the planks to improve waterproofing.

Clinker is regarded as a light and flexible method of construction. It is also very seaworthy, giving boats a natural flexibility in rough seas and under load.

Although some late 19th century ships were large, it is generally regarded that there is an uppersize limit to effective Clinker construction methods and this is probably around 30ft in length.