Gunwale profiles

[Alan Gage]

The epoxy is setting up on the gunwale scarfs now and this evening I hope to start cutting the profiles. Which begs the question: what sort of profiles is everyone using? The simplest would be to just use my 3/8" round over bit in the router but after milling some small test pieces I wonder if a 1/2" round over wouldn't look better? I could probably scare one up somewhere this afternoon.

And what about that square edge at the bottom where it meets the hull. Looks like a nice place for moisture to collect. I could angle cut this on the table saw so that it's not a square corner and that would let the water roll off when the boat is upside down. But that makes cutting the round over more difficult. Is that bottom edge enough of a problem to worry about or should I just leave it square?

I also need to find some stainless wood screws. Don't know if I can find anything locally or not. Is there anything in particular I should be looking for or staying away from?

The finish on the gunwales will be epoxy+varnish. Material is mahogany. The outwale will be rabetted to overlap the top edge of the hull.

Alan

 

[memaquay]

I use 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch on the outwale. The 1/2 inch faces the bottom of the hull. It feels more comfy when I carry it. I leave the inside edge square. On the inwale, I just use 1/4 inch on both outside edges. I don't bother with stainless screws, I just use regular wood screws, stiff fine on a couple of canoes that are 15 years old.

 

[Mihun09]

I've always left them square, do a round over on both to avoid finger rash. Usually do 3/4" thick by whatever height suits me. It is going to be heavy regardless and I don't weigh those things.

 

[stripperguy]

Alan, you name it, I have tried it!!
I do like a tapered lower edge, especially on the inwale, that lets trapped water get away more easily when you carry. I've done sandwiches where the hull is exposed, didn't like it. I've done the inwale/outwale with rabbet too, but if the hull is not very uniform in thickness, the inwale/outwale joint gets messy. I prefer a narrow U-section, just epoxied in place. If ever I need to removed the gunnel, I just plane and sand it away. With that said, I have hulls with 20 year old gunnels still firmly in place...
And my latest gunnel, carbon fiber over foam, is my favorite so far, but I understand that you are already committed to a wood gunnel.
For wood, I much prefer mahogany over any other hardwood or softwood.
As far as screws, any brass, bronze, or austenitic stainless would be fine. A good source is McMaster-Carr, but that won't help if you need the screws right away.

 

[Alan Gage]

I've done the inwale/outwale with rabbet too, but if the hull is not very uniform in thickness, the inwale/outwale joint gets messy.

I've been wondering about this. Most of my hull along the shear is pretty consistent but there are a couple places where it got sanded noticeably thinner and I'm not sure, if I plane the rabbeted outwale flush to the hull after installation, if the inwale will conform to those variations or leave gaps. I suppose it will depend on how gradual the transition is. I'm very tempted to just epoxy both inwale and outwale in place but my one worry is that if the joint comes out awful I could always start over from scratch if they're only screwed on.

I prefer a narrow U-section, just epoxied in place.

Do you mean only a single piece on the inside or outside or do you mean a single gunwale with a kerf ripped down the middle that slides over the edge of the hull?

And my latest gunnel, carbon fiber over foam, is my favorite so far

I will certainly be doing some experimenting with that on future builds and am very much looking forward to it.

Alan

 

[Momentum]

Hey Alan,
I can only speak about the one set I have made that are now proudly attached to my Hiawatha. As you may recall, I too did the rabbet in the outwale to cover the hull. I epoxied and screwed the inwales in place (brass) , and then just epoxied the outwales. I had a few small spaces between the hull and outwale, but plan on flipping the boat and just filling them with epoxy.

As far as a profile is concerned, I tapered the outwale from the 3/4" thickness to a little under 5/8". The bottom edge of the outwale got a 1/4" radius, while the top edge will get a 3/8" round over. Inwales just got 1/4" radius for both edges.

Hope this helps

 

[Iskweo]

There is a place in Minnesota or somwhere close that we get screws from. I can't remember the name right now but I will ask karin to dig it out. They were pretty reasonable and brass if I am right. That may work nice with mahogany.


Christy

 

[stripperguy]

Do you mean only a single piece on the inside or outside or do you mean a single gunwale with a kerf ripped down the middle that slides over the edge of the hull?




Alan

The second one...a single piece of mahogany for the entire gunnel. A simple kerf (or kerf and a half) on the underside. I sometimes cut the inwale part shorter to end at my bulkhead, with the outwale part extending closer to the stems. As a general rule, I don't extend my outwales to and around the stems. I like a cleaner stem/deck transition. I fit the gunnel dry, do all the profiling, round overs, sanding. Then fill the kerf with cabosil thickened epoxy, and work the gunnel into place. If you experiment with this type of gunnel, you'll see that you need to keep the height rather short, as the gunnel doesn't want to bend to follow the rise at the stems. A flatter sheer line is better, at least as far as the one piece gunnel goes.

Did you find/decide on your screws yet?

 

[stripperguy]

Ooh, I just remembered another inwale/outwale section that I tried.
Outwale was rabbeted, leaving an "L" section. Outwale overlaps the sheel line, and I had the inwale butt up against the bottom of the outwale, where it hangs over the sheer. I left the outwale a little wider than necessary, then sanded it in place to blend with the inwale. That way, I had the inwale/outwale joint somewhat protected, and compensated for variations in final hull thickness.

 

[Alan Gage]

Ooh, I just remembered another inwale/outwale section that I tried.
Outwale was rabbeted, leaving an "L" section. Outwale overlaps the sheel line, and I had the inwale butt up against the bottom of the outwale, where it hangs over the sheer. I left the outwale a little wider than necessary, then sanded it in place to blend with the inwale. That way, I had the inwale/outwale joint somewhat protected, and compensated for variations in final hull thickness.

That sounds like a nice way to do it. I didn't leave enough material for that when I ripped the gunwales a few days ago though.

Still haven't done much with them other than think. I'm leaning very heavily towards just attaching them with epoxy and will probably stick with the rabbeted outwale. Very cold and windy here and I hate to crank up the heat in the shop enough to dry epoxy knowing I'll have to leave it up overnight at least. I actually brought the gunwales into the house to epoxy the scarf joints for that reason. So right now I'm not in a big hurry to mill them in case I change my mind about something.

Thanks for all the input!

Alan