Now that ribs have been connected to the keel, shaped up by temporary frames, it is possible to begin to lay out the planking. In wooden boats it is not only a (desirably) watertight skin covering the framework of the boat, but a lifting structure itself. The first plank, called "sheer strake" in English, and called "cinta", "belt" in our dialect, is paramount to distribute stresses all along the boat, and to make it stronger, it works with an opposite inboard plank called "dead beam", "dormiente".
Soon after the cut, the mahogany plank is submerged for a few hours in warm water. Then, still wet, the stern end of it is connected with clamps to the stern, and then, rib by rib, it is bent and clamped along the side of the boat, thanks to elasticity due to the immersion in warm water. At this point, after checking that ribs are in the right position, the plank is drilled and nailed to them, and becomes the "cinta", the sheer strake of the boat. The same operation is performed on the opposite side of the boat, checking accurately for symmetry, and the two sheer strakes join to the stem.
