Alan's Bloodvein II

[Gamma1214]

I had gone over to the shop the day after glassing and used a utility knife to cut away the cloth that hung past the sheer and Monday I pulled it off the forms



The first order of business, at that point was to smooth the sharp edges of the glass at the sheer line so I installed the cradles on the strongback, gently moved the canoe onto them and rasped the sharp edge level with the sheer strip



That done, I could work on the inside without worrying about getting cut and I removed all of the tape strips then used the surform rasp to knock off the glue drops and level any high spots. I rasped in a cross-hatch pattern and it took about an hour to do the whole canoe.



I also did the face of the float tank panel the same way, then sanded it with the orbital and 40 grit paper. Honestly; feeling the float tank after the 40 grit, I'm wondering if I need to go any finer.

I mean, I openly detest sanding and the inside is the worst but... the epoxy will self-level so it should have a decent ability to cover scratches, I only do a wet-out coat on the inside as I want some texture on the glass for better grip and it seems that there would be more "tooth" with 40 grit.

Do you think I could get away with making sure the strip edges are level but not sanding beyond 40 grit?

Another decision that will need to be made is the seat:

I have been hoping to use the first one that I made for the Raven (then cut too short) and I have been mounting seats to tabs epoxied to the hull so that the seat acts as lateral support. I've been able to eliminate some thwarts but doing that and figured that I'd do the same here. The only issue is that the tumblehome moves the sheer inboard enough that I can't wiggle the seat in without flexing the hull quite a bit.



To be sure, I could flex it, drop the seat in and leave it loose in there while I finish the trim but I like the seat removable in case it needs repaired or replaced and my gunwales, as well as the thwart will be both glued and screwed so flexing the hull to remove the seat will not be possible once the boat is complete.

Alan had done a pedestal seat but I'm not a fan of pedestals or buckets. I guess I could hang from the gunwales but that would mean a second thwart since the seat will not provide any support.

I could also bring something up from the floor, attach it to the sides at the appropriate height and mount the seat to those (like brackets on each side) and I may gain the advantage of an adjustable seat that way. I'd also be likely to add a couple of pounds (not a deal-breaker if not overdone, I guess)

My granddaughter's first birthday party is on Sat and my daughter needs help baking & getting ready so I'll have a few days to consider options. Opinions are appreciated.

(opinions about the canoe, not my baking ability or the wisdom of asking my help for party prep. Maybe I shouldn't have to be specific but I've been around here long enough that I've come to expect some of you to misbehave.)

 

[stripperguy]

Gamma,
I faced a similar hull flex seat install dilemma when I built my DY Special...
On that hull, my seat support cleats were positioned well below the severe tumblehome, the only way to install the seat was to flex the shear line outward.
I had already epoxied on my gunwales, between the gunwales and the compound curves of the hull, the hull was quite stiff. Even so, I could (with some effort) flex the sides out by a total of nearly 4 inches, all elastic deformations...no yielding.
You should have no problems flexing your hull for seat install.

Below are a couple pics, only ones I can find, showing seat cleat install, hopefully you can decipher how much that hull needed to flex to remove/install the seat frame.

 

[Cruiser]

I install the seat (with cleats) back 7-10" from CoB, which is usually a few inches from the actual boat center. I measure the width required at the install location, which means I get the seat to wide to fit every time.

You need some wiggle room with the seat width anyway, so I go 1/4" under and move to the centre (widest point), place the opposite side on the max tunblehome width and usually only require a modest flex to get the seat past the sheer.

At that point it is just a slide into position.

Brian

 

[Neophyte]

(opinions about the canoe, not my baking ability or the wisdom of asking my help for party prep. Maybe I shouldn't have to be specific but I've been around here long enough that I've come to expect some of you to misbehave.)

Probably wise to be specific around here. I expect a full build report on the baking.

 

[Alan Gage]

I think you would be fine stopping at 40 grit as long as strip edges were smooth and there were no other large dips, humps, deformities that might cause the fiberglass to bridge. I think the aesthetics would suffer (ROS scratches would be "filled" with epoxy but likely still show) but that may or may not be very important to you (based on your previous tie-dyed canoe I'd say likely not so important).

I think I've stopped at 80 grit on a few hulls. From a few feet away they look fine but when looking close you can see the swirly scratches from the RO.

Alan

 

[Alan Gage]

I've also become a fan of hanging seats from the gunwales. It's just so quick and easy with no fiddly-fartin' around. Raising or lowering is just a matter of making a different set of drops. Swapping out seats is easy. Adding an extra thwart on account of it is very little work or weight.

Alan

 

[Gamma1214]

I expect a full build report on the baking.

This is as close as you'll get. I'm not sure about other parts of the world but, around here, cookie tables aren't just for weddings anymore



I need more practice drizzling chocolate but round 1 is done. I'll make 2 more kinds tomorrow & call it good.

As for the boat. no, I'm not nearly hung up on aesthetics enough to ever see sanding scratches but I'm trying to become more aware of what others notice so I'll probably go over it with 80 as a compromise.

Even with the extra thwart, hanging the seat might be less weight than building supports from below although I think I'll need to beef up the gunwales too (at least where the seat will be). I think my inners have been less than 3/8 inch in the past.

I could (with some effort) flex the sides out by a total of nearly 4 inches, all elastic deformations...no yielding.
You should have no problems flexing your hull for seat install.

Was that with thwarts installed? I glue & screw mine to the inner gunwale instead of attaching underneath so they are a permanent part of the boat & I doubt I'll gain enough (I think I'll need about 3 inches)



I suppose the smart move might be to figure I'll be hanging from the gunwales and then try to flex the hull enough to wiggle the seat in after thwarts, gunwales, etc are all done. I'll either be able to get it in there and need to install cleats or I won't and I'll need to beef up the gunwales where I want the seat.

I install the seat (with cleats) back 7-10" from CoB, which is usually a few inches from the actual boat center.

That would be another advantage of finishing the trim before deciding how to mount the seat.

I'm figuring on going a little more conventional with seat location and the CoB might be further forward than it appears. The stern narrows more quickly than the bow which probably makes this hull ideal for tripping with a pup but I suspect that extra room for Sadie moved the CoB forward.

@Alan Gage , I can check your build thread but do you know offhand how you placed your seat?