Tricks of the trade

All boatbuilders in Japan are familiar with this trick, which we used to align the stem and keel plank.  We stretched a string from the top of the stem on the centerline down to our centerline on the keel.  Then I hung the sashigane (square) from the string so the corner hung just above the line.  It makes an interesting plumb bob for lining these parts up.  

The sashigane is much lighter than a Western square and extremely flexible as well, two qualities that come in handy in many situations.  The scarf between the stem and keel is locked with a hardwood wedge.