bulge in keel line in middle of Oxford shell

Hello,

I am a novice builder and am building an oxford shell.  After stitching and checking my lines I taped and glued the inside seams.  After removing the copper wire I noticed that when I sighted down the keel line when the boat was upside down the bow and stern were high and the middle was lower creating an antirocker shape.  My question is if this is normal or do I need to split my seams and reshape it?  I was looking at the CLCPatPics of one being built and it seemed that I could see a similar dip in their hull, but I couldn't find a picture with the angle to tell for sure.

Any input would be appreciated.


2 replies:

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RE: bulge in keel line in middle of Oxford shell

I'm curious, are you plan building this shell? The Oxford was the first S&G boat I ever built and I also had a dip in the middle of the keel. CLC's building manual calls for using a chalkline as a reference line for lofting but I now realize this is too imprecise for a boat that has such a long straight keel. A chalkline is just too thick and measuring from one side of the line at one station and measuring from the other side at the next station can produce a dip.

 If you lay a straight edge on the keel, how deep is the dip? I've got about an 1/8" and decided to let it stay and see how the boat performed. I'm not exactly a world class sculler but I don't notice any problems like poor tracking or wandering. If the dip is not severe, like you wouldn't notice it unless you sighted down the keel, I'd say leave it. I'm presuming it's located in the middle where the boat is open. If so then it's an easy fix later on if there are any performance issues. If the dip is going to be underneath the decks I'd fix it now if the dip is bad.

RE: bulge in keel line in middle of Oxford shell

I too am a novice builder. I recently completed an oxford shell from a kit that had been in storage for 10 years. I have a dip that I just ignored but I am also a novice to the sculling sport so my opinion of the sculls performance may not be worth much. I have not noticed any problems with tracking or speed but I'm not looking for high performance. I'm looking for an enjoyable exercise experience. I'd estimate the dip is 1/8-1/4 ".

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