Barnacle Bill Magazine March 2016 issue 3 | Page 33

33

The
Bosun’s Mate

A guide to hand saws for
novice boat builders
By Barnacle Bill

This article is not meant to be a guide to saws; there are tomes and monthly magazines dedicated to the subject
of hand saws alone and vast amounts of information out there about them. Rather, it is there to help the novice
home boat builder, who in this case will also be a novice carpenter, or at least a very rusty one, how to get their
heads around cutting wood for boat building.
Many of us will have a saw or two at home, even if we are not into DIY or carpentry. Most household tool kits
come with at least a wood saw, many of us will have inherited saws over the years. There might be a back saw
or a keyhole saw in that tool box as well. Many of us will have bought an electric saw of some sort, perhaps a
jig saw or power coping saw. If we have done any carpentry especially laid a deck or a floor then you may well
have a circular saw.
This guide is meant to be an introduction to saws in the context of boat building. Unless the plans of the boat
you plan to build are aimed at rough carpentry then it is likely that the saws you have in your house are not
necessarily going to be suitable for your requirements. That is not to say that you should run out and replace
them immediately, there may well be a gem or two in your collection but unless you have been involved in
carpentry or joinery for DIY the chances are you the saws you have will be blunt, damaged or so cheaply made
you’d be better off snapping the wood.