There is a good deal of variation in traditional baikarka lower-bow shapes. Some are thick, resembling a tanker's bulbous bow, and some are slim like a knife blade. I am making the slim version.
The bow gets wrapped in skin and would trap water and rot unless channels were cut to allow water to drain out. So the first step is to carve the edges of the bow to allow drainage:
The chamfer around the edge is hollowed out to provide a passage for water to drain.
Ordinarily, the chamfer would run the length of the keel, but I plan to put an outside keel strip on for wear protection, so I've just smoothed the bottom edge of the keel so the skin won't wear and have otherwise left it flat.
Since I store the boat indoors upside-down, I don't expect issues with water collecting along the keel.
The keel gets two curved joints that will allow it to flex with the waves (spread open so it shows for the camera). The joints let the wave's energy pass through the boat instead of slowing it down.
The tail piece is wider than any boards I have, so I glued up three together.
Cutting the center out of the tail reduces its weight. It gets chamfered around the hole and along the top edge. The bottom edge is straight and flat where it will connect to the keel.
Test fitting the tail piece to the keel. I won't trim it to final size until I flip the boat and put on the deck stringer, which the tail piece also connects to.
Next up is shaping and sizing the hull stringers (4 on each side, nicely rounded and fitted for length). Then lots of lashing!
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