Jinnie - Part 3, The Keel

Happy New Year, and welcome back to our mini-documentary series! 🎉 In Part 3, master boat-builder Alan Fuller takes us deep into the heart of Jinnie—the keel. Jinnie is an old oyster skiff we’re restoring with the hope of getting her back where she belongs: on the water. In this episode, Alan walks us through the condition of Jinnie’s original keel, revealing years of wear, damage, and hard use. We document the challenging process of dropping and removing the keel from the rest of the boat, and Alan explains exactly what a keel is, why it’s so critical to a vessel’s structure, and what happens when it fails. With the old keel badly worn, accurate measurements became a real struggle—but those measurements are essential. The new keel must be perfectly sized to fit the boat, and even small errors could cause major problems. Alan also shares insights into the wood selection for the new keel and the traditional methods he and the apprentices will use to build it. This is a process that demands patience, precision, and experience—truly a job of blood, sweat, and tears. If you’re interested in traditional boatbuilding, restoration, or the craftsmanship that keeps historic working boats alive, this episode is for you. 👉 Subscribe to follow Jinnie’s restoration journey and see the new keel come to life in the next chapter.