Alan's Bloodvein II

[Gamma1214]

Sure was. I'm still a little freaked out by it and I can now see why you throw a filet inside in that area.

Honestly, I was going to round them off hard but the bow is pretty high, the chine runs out pretty far and I'm wondering if that was part of the problem I ran into on the Merlin. I know for sure that 3rd strip laid in there much more easily than the 2nd did (now that it wasn't forced to twist radically)

 

[JohnNevets]

If I'm understanding both what you did, and the directions in the Kite plans, I think you handled the hard chine the same way they describe to do it there. Run past, and than butt up to it. Looks like it worked, and it's something I'll be dealing with in a bit as well.

 

[memaquay]

I think I've built six or seven solo's with the hard chine, and I never once did it that way. I've done it a few ways, but one of the most effective was to just start the first strip right at the chine, so that the strip above it would still fit in the bead and cove. Then I planked down to the gunwale, sometimes adjusting the width of the gunwale strip on the fly, sometimes when it was off the stations.

 

[Gamma1214]

I'm up for trying new things... might try that on the next one.

The only thing I'd bet I WON'T be doing is like I did on my Freedom (1st strip right at the chine, 2nd along the sheer and tapered every strip between the two)

 

[Gamma1214]

I cut the extra from the chine today.

I decided to do it before doing much more stripping so that, if I made huge, gaping holes in the side, at least I wasn't completely stripped and ready to sand.



I know that one typically uses a plane to remove the excess and I have planes and spokeshaves at the shop. At the same time, we tend to use the tools with which we have the most confidence and, for me, that's usually a rasp.

(If you really love to hammer, everything looks like a nail?)

Anyway... I started by cutting the majority off with the pull saw



and then used the rasp to clean it up. I'm pleased with the result and extremely pleased that there were no gaping holes resulting in an impromptu weanie roast this afternoon.



Speaking of holes, I did make a couple and, for anyone considering building, remember that these are just wood and wood can be cut apart and glued back together if you need to.

In my case, I needed to a couple of places:

The first was where the 2nd strip (from the sheer) twisted from the stern into the tumblehome section. I knew that I'd lose alignment of the bead & cove by stripping the chine the way that I did but I wasn't careful enough and the strip pulled away from the forms so much that I was worried it would be paper thin by the time it was sanded.



Again, it's just wood, I've got glue and can clamp creatively...

I took a utility knife, cut between the strips to break the glue joint,



added a generous amount of glue to the opened joint and clamped it securely. I was able to pull the strip into alignment pretty well and I left it clamped that way to dry overnight.



The other area was where I didn't get adequate adhesion when I glued on the strip above the chine and the lack of glue caused part of a strip to pull away while I was rasping.



this too was generously coated in glue and clamped into place.

In this case, the squeeze bar clamp thingy (sorry, I have no idea what it's actually called) didn't have enough grip range so I used a large(ish) c-clamp and added some scrap wood to the inside so that it could pull straight



At that point I started stripping the rest of the hull and got a fair amount done.

Tulip Poplar is notorious for pulling minerals from the soil, and the minerals typically stain the wood purple. Although it is considered a defect in grade lumber, I used a few of the mineral-stained strips in the hull simply because it's characteristic of the species.



Hopefully, it will look OK when finished.
Let me know if it really bothers anyone as I still have lots of Unicorn Spit and could tie-dye this one like I did the last.

 

[stripperguy]

Looking great so far...I do like those purplish strips.
Don't remember if you're planning on decks and/or bulkheads, but strategically placed colored poplar could be very unique and attractive as decks and bulkheads.

 

[gadabyte]

the purple likely won't stay purple for long, it'll fade to a dark brown or gray unless adding fiberglass and epoxy into the mix changes something (seems doubtful, but i've only witnessed what happens to it with typical furniture type finishes).

 

[Gamma1214]

I don't use decks (extra weight IMO and I'm already disadvantaging myself by using heavier woods) but I suppose the purple could find its way into a float tank panel...)

I'm ok with it whether it stays purple or not. I'm curious about the effect of the spar varnish on both the purple and the Sassafras (I put a Sassafras strip 2 strips up from the chine; adds some color and might draw your eye away from any ugliness I create while trimming / shaping).

I've noticed that the Sassafras strips in the Raven are staying green (colored) much longer than the gunwales, seats, etc and much, much longer than the paddles which are oiled. The UV blockers in the spar might keep the purple tones and, possibly, even the green shading of the Poplar. I might even try to make that happen by varnishing ASAP after glassing.

Interestingly, I always thought that UV light was what drove the color change in wood. It certainly seems to play a role in Sassafras turning brown but the Cherry in the Freedom solo seems to be darkening the same under the glass as in the gunwales & paddles.