Building a 22 1/2 foot classic cruiser.

I noticed in Glen-L book the most shown fairing instrument was a long plane. Planes are called by names and each name implies a length. We purchased the largest we could find - a jointer plane. When installing the sheer and chine, I really saved myself some time. I fit both members so that the side planking would not require any fairing. The only fairing required was the bottom sides of the chine and keel, forward most frames, and the stem assembly. Additionally, the battens were so well placed, fairing was not required.

After a few passes with the hand plane on the keel and chine, I noticed we had a long, long, long way to go. I ran off to Sears Hardware and returned with a Makita power planner. Once we got close, I went back to the hand plane. I immediately noticed the power planner left a wavy surface. Good thing I stopped when I did. The 22" jointer planner cleared up all the unevenness from the 8" power planner.

Fairing the stem was a good lesson in patience. After all it was done, it was clear I should have taken a chain saw to first knock off the corners. It would have been faster than 3 days of sanding. I became fairly artistic with 50 grit Zirconium Oxide on a belt sander. Here's a picture of a faired keel, and of some templates I cut from the plans to check my fairing. We built templates for the keel and chine.