Making the stem

The stem of the new boat will be curved. It has to be a big strong lump of wood as it is the leading edge of the boat and all the planks will be fixed to it. Wooden boats have lots of curved pieces in them. Sometimes if the wood is thin it is just bent, as in planks, often using steam to soften the wood first. That doesn't work for the larger parts. In that case you can look for a piece that is naturally curved through its growth - that is called a "grown" timber - not easy to find. Alternatively, you can start with an even larger piece of wood  and saw it into the required curved shape; usually not practical and very wasteful. In any case you probably wouldn't get the required strength because of the direction of the grain.

The common solution these days is pictured here. Fifteen thin strips of wood have been bent around a purpose-built mould, clamped and glued together. The clamps have been removed and the resulting curved piece awaits planing by hand and machine. I will show you when it is done.