Now that I have the board pre-cut using the old plank as a template, I soak it for 10 days in the bath water. I then steam it for an hour, put on insulated gloves to pull it out and strap it to the boat.
Keep in mind, the reason I strap it to boat is because the pores are so soft in the wood after being soaked and then steamed that a screw would go all the way through the board with no problem whatsoever.
Most of the time, I just get one plank on each side per day. It’s totally amazing that these planks will swell up to 3/8“ to 1/2” after being soaked and steamed.
Day two–second plank. This plank needs to cook longer. The bend is really tight.
Believe it or not, like everything else in life, the last one is always the toughest. It’s definitely a compound plank which means it not only curves to the front of the boat, it curves on the top, too, so it’s actually twisted into different directions.
Jack