CLINKER AND CARVEL BUILT BOATS
Small boats are generally clinker-built. In a clinker-built boat the planks overlap each other, whereas a carvel-built boat presents a smooth surface. The clinker-built boat has very light framework to support the planking. The carvel-built boat is put together much in the same way as a big vessel—that is, she has a framework of solid timbers to which the planking is fastened.
The carvel-built boat has the following advantages over the clinker-built boat:—She is much stronger, will last longer, and is more easily repaired; thus, if a portion of her planking has been damaged, it can be easily replaced, whereas, it is difficult to patch the planking of a clinker-built boat. When the carvel-built craft lies at anchor, the tide ripples almost silently along her smooth sides, whereas against the irregular surface of the clinker-built boat the water ever splashes noisily, and at night is apt to disturb the slumbers of one unaccustomed to roughing it on a small boat.
On the other hand, the clinker-built boat is much cheaper than the carvel-built; she is lighter—an important consideration when a boat is intended for rowing and for hauling up on a beach. The clinker-built boat is also more buoyant and lively in a seaway; for the edges of the overlapping planks extending horizontally and facing downwards offer considerable resistance to the water, so that the boat
