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How are Gondolas Made? The system of construction for the gondola is one which has been handed down from generation to generation with changes and adaptations being made along the way according to the available tools, acceptance of new technologies and the materials obtainable. Whereas the adz was once the main tool of the craft, now the roar of the power plane is heard more frequently than rhythmic chopping. None-the-less the pieces end up the same shape whether they have been fashioned with a power tool or a hand tool, and the use of hand tools has certainly not been forgotten by the squerariolo (gondola builder). If you are familiar with dory construction (a traditional boat of New England), when you look at the plan for the gondola and see that it is a flat-bottomed boat with a skeleton of sawn frames, you probably think you have a general idea of how the construction of a gondola proceeds. But you would be mistaken in thinking this. For with the dory, the stages of construction start with the bottom, then the frames, stem and transom are attached, then the boat is planked from the gardboard to the sheer. With the gondola, the bottom is the last part of the hull to be constructed, and the sheer streaks are among of the first pieces to be fitted (even before the vast majority of the frames in the most traditional method of assembly). Not considering the plywood gondola (used mostly for competition by the city's rowing clubs) there are two methods of assembly for the gondola. The older has been used for hundreds of years and was adapted from the construction of the larger ships at The Arsenal. In this method the three main frames and the two stems are attached to the strongback first, then the sheer streak is fitted to define the shape of the hull and finally the remaining frames are installed to conform to that shape. The other is a more modern method which resulted from the use of lofting to define the shape of each frame before it is attached to the strongback, with the sheer streaks being fitted after the majority of frames are in place. The sheer streak is made of a single piece of oak that is 38 feet long and 1-1\2 to 2 feet wide. The hood ends of the plank are bent to the proper shape with fire before it is applied to the framework. This is done by wetting the section to be bent and passing a bundle of burning lagoon cane along this part while torque is applied through the use of a simple bending jig. The proper shape is obtained only through the skillful eye of the master builder who knows exactly how to get the right twist from the particular piece of wood he is working with. Once the piece has been heated and twisted in the jig, it is quickly applied to the boat and allowed to cool to affix this new shape into its memory. This method of bending wood is one of the main differences between Venetian boatbuilding and that of North America. Instead of making steam boxes large enough to fit the piece into, it is enough to create the proper thermal and moisture conditions by wetting the wood and passing a flame along the piece until it is pliable enough to get the desired shape. With a small amount of practice, this method is quite handy for getting wood to conform to a desired shape. Though lagoon cane is the main source of flame for this method (because of its availability and relatively slow burning speed) bottled propane is also commonly used. It is important to keep sprinkling the wood with water while heating it, so as not to severely char the piece. Once the frames, stems and sheer streaks are all fastened together on the strongback, the frame heads are cut to the proper height and angle, and oak cap rails are fastened to the middle two thirds of the boat. Forward and aft of the cap rails the bow and stern decks will be constructed. Five inches below the cap rails, additional longitudinal members are scribed, notched and inserted to give further rigidity to the framework. The bow and stern bresthooks are made from bass-wood, carved from a single chunk of wood, ten inches thick, a foot wide and two feet long. These tremendous pieces not only tie the boat together at the two ends, but they also give the gondola the inertial mass at its extremities which make it easier to manuver. With the completion of the bow and stern decks and the fashioning of the trasti, or thwarts, which give lateral strength to the hull, the gondola is ready to come off the strongback and be turned over for the completion of the hull. Saw horses are placed at the first and third quarters of the length, and the hull is trued so that no undesired stress is built into it. After the small bottom boards at the two ends are fashioned and attached, poles are inserted from the rafters of the shop to the two ends of the boat, bending it even more. Another interesting variation between the gondola and the dory is the junction of the sides with the bottom. Where the dory has the bottom beveled to accept the gardboard, the gondola has a chine strip to which the bottom and the gardboard butt up against. This eliminates the knife-edge at the bottom of the gardboard where the angle of the bottom and side is more obtuse, it reduces fastening difficulties, it provides ample protection to this vulnerable portion of the hull, and it enables the bottom to be replaced without the removal of the gardboard. Once the gardboards are fitted and fastened, the sides are completed. They are then wetted and scorched with fire to fix the proper shape of the hull. The bottom is then completed and the boat is righted again for the numerous and time consuming details which go into the finish work of the gondola. For at this stage, only half of the work is completed. The rest involves the addition of trim pieces, the elaborate carvings, and several weeks of painting, puttying, wet-sanding, painting, painting, and painting. How I Became a Gondola Builder