Greg Rössel
Bronze or brass can be easily worked to make low-profile but strong thwart knees for small craft.
When considering structural members for bracing and stiffening a traditional hull, the most popular choice is a wooden knee. Such knees—be they hackmatack, oak, or apple; naturally grown, steam-bent or laminated—are strong, effective, and reliable solutions. Add a touch of varnish, and you really have something. However, for many small boats and performance craft, a wooden knee would have to be overly large and clunky to be effective. In such cases, shop-made hardware fabricated in brass or bronze is a good alternative. Thomas Fleming Day, the founding editor of The Rudder magazine, knew practical-yet-elegant hardware when he saw it, and he favored rod-built bracing for some of his small craft. Tasteful and strong for its size, such hardware is just the ticket for space-challenged small craft. Best of all, it’s quick and easy to make from either bronze or brass stock.