Hull construction technique

Ancient Greek ships, and Roman biremes and triremes, were built "hull skin first" The outer planking up from the keel was constructed, secured in place, plank to plank by mortise and tenon joints.

Although the method of building the ship “planking first” proved to work well in building Kyrenia and Kyrenia II (though, as she grew older, Kyrenia had to be lead sheathed to prevent the seams between the planks leaking as the hull flexed).
For the Samoscaft ship, We could build a stronger, stiffer hull, following the same basic lines, but with a more complex stern section with some reverse curvature, if we were to choose, for the Samoscraft ship, the method of setting the keel first, then building the frame of ribs and stringers, to which planks were subsequently fixed, rather than to each other by mortise and tenon joints,

This technique of shipbuilding was first seen in the Mediterranean over 2000 years ago with the arrival of Celtic trading ships built in the Celtic regions that are now the Basque country (Spain/France), southern England and Southern Ireland.

This ship was built in Roman period but belongs to the Celtic shipbuilding tradition of boat trading between Southern England, Southern Ireland the Basque country and the Mediterranean more than 2000 years ago.
The Celtic trading ships had oak framing in order to have sufficient strength to survive the Atlantic waves when crossing the Bay of Biscay, and even voyaging to the Canary islands, which were then Celtic.

This consecution technique has been perfected though the years by the shipyard at Agios Isidoros, Samos using Aleppo pine for both the framing and the planking.

It it as also the standard for building women hulls at Tim Loftus boatbuilding in the Port of Bristol, UK, keeping to the Celtic tradition of oak framing





Tim lotus constructed the sailing boat Leaf of Bristol this way using larch for the hull planking which was made by the carvel method (hull planks laid edge to edge).