Thread: Templates the easy way

Ever have to trace an odd shape, such as the inside of a buoyancy tank, so you can fit a partition? How about a bulkhead in a round bilge boat? I just did a big bulkhead for a fellow and the boat was what we call "built down", meaning it had big reverse curves and lots of crazy shapes to mimic.

The tool I used is called the Joggle stick and it's been around for hundreds of years. You see, the craftsmen that built boats, up until very recently, didn't necessarily know how to read, so a tape measure or yard stick was useless to them. They devised ways to measure things and pick up shapes without the need for these skills.

This is a sheet that I send will all my plans sets and it's easy enough to figure out if you stare at it long enough. To do the bulkhead I mentioned, I erected a piece of cardboard perpendicular to the keel and plumbed it up with a bubble level. Much like the drawing supplied here, I ticked off dozens of marks around the perimeter of the inside of the boat, tracing the odd Joggle stick shape onto the cardboard as I went along. I took the cardboard over to the pieces of plywood that would become the bulkhead and I placed the Joggle stick on the tracings and marked the "points". I used a finish nail at each point, then bent a light batten around them. Once satisfied with the batten shape, I drew the lines. The result fitted nearly perfectly and reminded me of how important this simple device is. So, here it is, the Joggle stick.