Classic Boat Supplies now stocks a wide range of copper nails for boat building and other applications.

Sourced from the United States, these square-shanked copper nails are available in a variety of gauges and lengths needed for traditional copper roving and riveting.

Visit our online shop for more details and prices of our copper nails. Note that discounts apply for purchases of 1kg or more.

Copper roving is a traditional boat building technique used to attach the hull planking to the internal frames of a boat. The result is a 'carvel' or 'lapstrake' hull style where each plank is clearly visible running from bow to stern on the finished boat.

A Summary of the Copper Roving Process

First a narrow hole is normally drilled through the plank and frame to avoid splitting. The copper nail is then hammered from the outside of the hull, through the plank and through the frame.  

As the square-shanked copper nail appears through the frame, a second person places a copper rove (basically a concave copper washer with a small central circular hole) over the nail and holds it in place with a rove punch.  This tool allows the nail to be hammered home while the rove remains flush with the inside of the frame. (The proverbial square peg through a round hole if you will.) The nail can then be snipped off a small way from the rove.

A peening hammer is then used to squash the protruding copper nail to a round, flat finish while someone holds a weighty object against the head of the nail to prevent it working loose.  This nail/rove combination effectively creates a copper rivet that locks the plank to the frame.