Here I’m steaming in some bent oak frames into a vintage Herreshoff Daysailer. It needs about 1/4 of the frames replaced. I take out every other frame that needs replacing so that there is still some structure holding the shape of the boat. The steam setup is pretty simple, just a turkey cooker type propane burner and a wooden box. The trick is to keep the relatively freshly cut oak at 180 degrees F for about 1 hour per inch of wood thickness. Then you could bend it into a pretzel shape if you wanted. As soon as you pull a frame out of the steamer, you want to start pre-bending it towards the desired shape. A little over bending makes it easier to get it into place. After getting the frame wedged into position with clamps and wooden props, I install screws from the outside of the planking and it’s done.
