Apple Construction Photos

Proof of the pudding... cutting out and assembling this hull in a tight space proves the validity of the concept. Such exceptionally cramped working conditions are not, however, recommended!

The panels of the first side are used as templates to mark out the second. The topside panel to the left has been cut off though not cut out to its shape in order to free up some room.

The topside panels can be seen on the left. The hull panels are all carefully nested so that they can be cut from a mere four sheets of plywood.

The panels are supported on two simple trestles and two of the 2 x 4's that will later be cut down for gunwales, etc. Stitching begins at the stem for the first two panels and at the stern working forward for the next two. Note here a lump of wood being used to encourage the bow panels to open out. The bulkheads and transom can be glimpsed on the right 

Third panel either side on, with the top of the transom - which has just been stitched on - visible at the bottom of the picture.

The view from the rear of the transom at the same stage. The topside panels have yet to be sewn on. The camber of the transom will be cut out later.

Bow and main bulkhead in, and the topsides on. Precious little room left! It took half a day to sew the panels together to form the shell. Hull weight at this stage was about 90 pounds - though this will depend very much on the type of plywood used - and so the shell is easily moved for access to one side or the other. Building on a conventional ladder frame and moulds would be virtually impossible in such a situation.

Inside seams have been tabbed together and the outer gunwales glued on prior to inverting and cleaning off. Traces of the 5 minute epoxy used on the outside seams to keep the alignment before any glassing was done on the inside can be seen on the planking. Such spot gluing is invaluable when the hull has to be bodily moved each time the opposite side is to be worked on as it prevents any misalignment prior to the taping of the inner seams.

The plastic ties are being sliced off and the seams sanded prior to taping.

Work is surprisingly advanced here. The inner gunwale and the case have been fitted and the interior has been glass-sheathed and the weave filled with white glass spheres prior to sanding. The internal glass sheathing of the planking goes almost as quickly as the initial internal seam taping which tends to be somewhat fiddly. Once the rear thwart goes in, with its long supporting knees (the main thwart rear knees, of a similar length, can be seen through the semi-bulkhead), the hull will be exceptionally rigid. Note the temporary cross-brace. This picture shows the main thwart behind the case, which is the layout I prefer, particularly for single-handing, but most people like a larger cockpit with the thwart moved forward; either way, the main bulkhead position remains unchanged. Note that the transom camber has been cut out and a pair of knees fitted.

An exceptionally nice modified hull being constructed in Austria by Eric Reinhard. The exterior of the boat has just been glass-sheathed with the hull inverted prior to the fitting out of the interior.

Stitched and ready for glassing - Peter Lord's most impressive 5 plank Apple lugger with his own customised internal layout and rig.  This hull is one of a number of variations based on the original 4 planker, including one with greater flare to the topsides and 3 inches more beam

Now that's what I call a derriere.  Eat your heart out, Renault!