Knees on a boat are a framing part that carries a load around a bend. A knee connects two parts at a right angle or nearly a right angle. On Skorpa I am using knees to connect the deck beams to the side of the boat.
The curved part of the knee that faces the inside carries a compressive load. The upper part of the knee and the deck are in tension when a load is applied. The middle of the knee is not doing too much mostly just keeping the side in compression separate from the side in tension. The holes make the knee a little lighter without detracting much from their strength. They also make a handy place to tie things. And the holes make the knees look nice. I may have gone a bit overboard drilling holes.
Knees support the side of the cabin and the cockpit coaming.
The knees in the cockpit coaming have special holes to provide wiring to the compasses and for a tiller line to run the perimeter of the cockpit.
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