A Slow Boat To Nowhere

[algale]

Looking much better than some of the previous shots. It should be a piece of cake from here on in.

Good work.

Thanks, Paul. As you and I have discussed off-line, there are places where the strips are standing away from the stations/forms to minimize the spiling. The sides are coming together, however, just as you predicted they would.

[algale]

I think it looks great.i envy you for having a hand made boat ,when it's done.That isn't an easy task.Maybe some day .I'll do one.[add it to the list]

Thanks. Still a long way to go....

[algale]

So, I had grossly underestimated the number of strips I would need not once, but twice, so I had to stop again and mill some more strips.

After jointing and planing the rough cedar boards to 3/4 thick and on average 6 inches wide and 8 feet long, I rip 1/4 inch strips off the edge of the boards on the Shopsmith Band Saw using my Kreg Fence and a 5/8 inch variable pitch Shopsmith blade. Using the floating tables for infeed and outfeed supports works very well. The first batch of strips was made with the table saw but with a 1/8 inch kerf blade you effectively lose a 1/4 inch strip in sawdust for every two strips you cut. The band saw with its far thinner kerf is far more efficient and the variable pitch blade leaves such a smooth finish that I can use the strips right off the blade without sanding them or planing them. They will all get sanded on the canoe anyway.

Then the edges have to be milled with a bead and cove. For this I have a makeshift router table using a set of old damaged 520 rails attached to some hardwood strips that are attached to melamine. I am using a Dewalt DW611 which comes with two bases. The fixed base is attached directly to the bottom of the melamine board and height is adjusted via the base's twist collar. The boards are fed in across the table right to left using a combination of floating tables for infeed and outfeed support. An old 2x6 that has been jointed serves as a makeshift fence. Crude, but it works.
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This batch of strips (I hope it is the last batch) is all done and ready to be installed.
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Now it is back to the boat and closing in the the "football".
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I see light at the end of the tunnel.

[skou]

I see light at the end of the tunnel.

Look out! It's a train coming from the other way!:D

Seriously, that is coming along just fine!

steve

[shipwright]

Looks great Al. All downhill (in a good way) from here.

[algale]

Looks great Al. All downhill (in a good way) from here.

Paul,

After our last email exchange in which you encouraged me to balance following the forms with keeping things fair and not to obsess too much about either, I decided to incrementally crank down on the top most strips to see just how far down I could get them before the spiling problem became too obvious according to my own entirely subjective standards. I was able to get them a lot closer with minimal spiling with the bonus that bringing down the topmost strips pulled all of the other floating strips down quite close to the forms as well. I then continued stripping and the last two strips on both sides of the hull are now resting flush on the forms and appear fair to my (untrained) eye!

I am now happily filling in the football with the herring bone pattern.
I had read that cutting the angles to fit the herring bone was difficult. But the bottom of this canoe is fairly flat and, at least so far, I am finding that these angles are much easier to cut and fit than the compound angles needed to join the strips at the stems.

Thanks again for all the consultations.

Al

[shipwright]

You figured it out yourself. All I did was help you look in the right places.
Good work. I'm glad it's working out for you.

[algale]

Edflorence had requested some photos of the "football." With any luck these are the last photos of the hull while it is still open.

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[algale]

Edflorence had requested some photos of the "football." With any luck these are the last photos of the hull while it is still open.

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[algale]

The last strip was a doozy. I made a pattern by taking a rubbing, glued two strips together, adhered the pattern and cut it on the Shopsmith bandsaw.

Let the staple pulling begin! (I think I'll spare the forum photos of that part of the project).

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