With the hull framework essentially complete, the next task was to build the stem knee—the solid timber that ties together the stem, the bottom of the hull and Frame E.  The stem knee I began by cutting a section from one of my pine boards and using the bandsaw to split it into two pieces with a rough approximation of the final shape. These were then glued together and, after curing, passed through the planer until I reached the required 40 mm thickness. Cutting two pieces with a rough shape Glue-up of both pieces Removing thickness to get to 40mm The next challenge was determining the exact shape of the knee. Two surfaces were straightforward enough: the angle where it joins the stem and the contour of the hull between the stem and Frame E. The difficulty was transferring those complex shapes accurately to the timber. At that point, I remembered an excellent YouTube video demonstrating a technique known as a Tick Stick , and decided to give it a try. The first step was to place a ...