Light Weight Solo Tripper Build

[Patrick Corry]

Thanks for providing so many detailed, and high quality photos of your build. This is so helpful to those of us who are just starting this type of project. The last series of stem photos is fascinating; while I am not considering that type of stem, it's fun to observe your process!

Thanks, Pat

 

[Alan Gage]

I agree with Patrick. That stem info was good stuff. It's been poorly covered in the books I've read and I don't recall any builders showing it in as much detail.

Alan

 

[memaquay]

I use cam buckle straps to glue the outer stem on. I have four or five old ones that I use in case epoxy gets on them. Very similar set up to the one above.

 

[Cruiser]

I use them to hold the strips to the forms ...so I have a dozen or so. I usually use cam buckles or the shock cord, I use both a lot in the build and at that point they are not being used elsewhere anyway.

You can never have too many hold downs or ways to clamp IMO.

Brian

 

[RickR]

Those cherry outer stems will be beautiful! Thanks for documenting the process with photos and prose so well. Outstanding craftsmanship!

 

[Cruiser]

I appreciate all the comments, thank you.

 

[Cruiser]

The stripping is complete, the stems are attached ... now the work to get ready fro glassing can begin

This is where we start



A spoke shave, small low angle block plane, and ROS are the primary tools to get this hull sanded/fared/tight

The first step is getting the stems shaped, this can seem a daunting task, but it isn't really that hard. There really isn't that much actual shaping or any guess work. It is all about extending the lines of the hull through the stems.

Looking from the front, you can see the start of the right side shaping, I will use the spoke shave or plane, depending on which one seems to be working better (that may sound strange, but both are quite capable and the wood determines which I use at any given time). Don't rush this, keep the removal light .... you only have a 2 stems to do and lighter removal means you can't make mistakes quickly. Also, heavier cuts may result in splinters or tear out, which you definitely don't want.



Continue on, extending the line of the hull through the stem .... this line changes as you move around the stem, always be aware of the hull line for the area you are working on.

This is a top view pic of the stem front, once that area is close to finished, see how the hull line is extended through the stem



The top (canoe bottom) of the stem, will be mostly trimmed away, transitioning from leaving almost the full stem thickness (at the front tip) down to just a bit more than the 1/4" that gets buried in the tapered channel.



A note about the shaping process ... if you follow the idea of just extending the hull line through the stem, the thickness and shape, will look after itself. Near the bottom (of the canoe) you will end up with a sharp point (no flat) that overlaps with the opposite side, the hull lines will intersect somewhere inside the stem, effectively trimming the thickness as you move along.

This is a front profile showing the changing line and how it falls on the stem as you move along the stem



Once the stems are done, you can start on the hull, I start with a light cut, on a low angle block plane and just take off the strip edges where they protrude. I don't get fancy, I just want to take off the high points. The sander will look after the rest. I do recommend that you do not try to use a spoke shave on the hull strips, cedar has a habit of splintering and you may end up with tear out (I suspect this will be a valid point for all woods).



The sanding regime i am using on this build is initial sanding with 80 grit (ROS), manual block sanding with 80, finish sanding with 120 grit (ROS), with a final manual block sanding with 120 grit.

Half hull rough sanded (ROS) with 80 grit, notice I have left the stems just as the shaping left them, with sharp edges, that will all get sanded/shaped to a rounded shape at the end, no need to waste time on them at this point



I knew that using the wider strips (7/8") at 3/16" thick caused some issues with the curvy shapes on the boat. The issues became obvious with sanding and i have quite a few areas that need to be addressed with filling.

The normal filling technique I use is to use epoxy to fill voids, spread the glass and continue while the filled ares are setting up. it provides a seamless filling, glassing operation and the filled areas just disappear. In this case, there is just too much fill work, so i have decided to do the filling as a separate operation. The hull as it sits, is sanded with 80 grit (ROS and manual block/fairing) and 120 grit with the ROS



I will interrupt the sanding schedule at this point to do all the fill work and use the final manual 120 grit block/faring step to final smooth the filled areas, that will be the next post though.

Be safe, be distant

Brian

 

[memaquay]

Nice look to the stems. I tend to plane mine flat to the contour of the hull until the vertical drop to better facilitate the brass stem band. Are you thinking of putting stem bands on?

 

[Cruiser]

This is a 30 pound build, bands are definitely not on the diet. I haven't found very many landings that I have to run the canoe up, in fact so few I don't do anything on the front but an extra layer of FG.

Brian

 

[Cruiser]

So, just a quick run through of how I am filling the various areas ... mostly from where the strips didn't clamp together tight enough, most likely because the strips are pretty wide and have a lot of resistance to bending ... also there were a few areas where th strip "kicked out " of the cove and bead and I missed it, I believe this is because I used a 1/8" raduis set (1/4" bead & cove set) on the 3/16" strips, instead of a 3/32" (3/16") set.

The end result was that I needed to do some extra work filling, each build I try new things, so at least a learned a few new things from this.

Painters tape is placed close to the edge of the area to be filled, leaving a narrow gap of strip with the area to be filled in the center



Then the taped area is wetted with thickened epoxy .... the remaining epoxy, in the batch, is thickened with cabosil and enough wood flour of the same type of wood ( you could use whatever you like actually) to give a reasonable colour match to the wetted colour. This is put on with a brush and forced into the voids using a light putty knife, then a bit more is painted on, to give a slightly elevated portion along the taped area.

The tape is then removed and left overnight



The next day the areas are gently scraped flat, with a carbide scraper ... I mark each fill area with that small portion of tape, so that i know where they are when I get to the sanding part



When I said there were a few areas ... I might have been under stating how much filling I did, each small green flag is a filled area, much more and it would be a lawn





This is a small fill area at one of the accent strip unions, it is a pic when filled, then a flattened/wetted pic to show final ... I think it seems a good match and will likely fade right into the layout





This technique can be used for pretty much any opening or imperfection that requires filling ... the "usual" method uses the tape, wetout and putty knife steps, but if there are just a few areas, you can do a wipe over (of the taped area) with a cloth dampened in mineral spirits, remove the tape and move straight to glassing. Bypassing the scraping and sanding that would normally be done.

In this case, I didn't feel comfortable trying to get all these fill areas dealt with and then try to move on to glassing, so I took the routine way of scraping and sanding next day.

The stem profiles have been rounded over to final shape and this is a wetout shot of the hull after filling was completed. Tomorrow, I will be doing the final hand sand (leaving it overnight after wetout).



So glassing is very close. One other point .... I totally skipped over cutting the sheer ... I was pushing a bit to get it done before supper and just didn't take any pics ....

Brian

 

[Jim Dodd]

I use the same technique with the tape ! Lately I just mix very fine saw dust, with wood glue. it's a lot quicker and easier, than messing with epoxy. And I don't worry about getting it on my skin.

Great job Brian !!

I was wondering if the 1/8" radius bits would work on the 3/16" strips. Evidently a little too much radius. I've been looking of a smaller radius bit set !

Jim

 

[Cruiser]

Glue would work Jim, as long as you aren't trying to void fill. I use both, but I wanted the epoxy to fill the underlying void ... glue is hit or miss (for me at least) for larger voids, fine for smaller stuff, plus I had a few to do .... so I needed time to work. As I said though, I don't usually have filling to this extent to do ... i usually use the epoxy and apply glass right over it and I have the first coat down before it sets up, bypassing a lot of these steps.

I think the 1/8" radius is OK for 3/16" strips, they fit shallower and the edges are more robust .... the issue comes when you try and follow compound curves, they tend to "kick out" of the groove, my thinking it is because of that shallower fit. I fully intend to get a 3/32" set.

Brian

 

[RickR]

You are forgiven for no photos cutting the sheer! Beautiful hull!

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

Gorgeous work.

Bob

 

[dogbrain]

Cruiser, do you completely fair your external stems to the rest of the hull? The reason I'm asking is that I have seen a number of strippers with them that protrude, almost like a keel, but only on the ends. I'm not sure why people do it that way since i know its not part of the design. It seems like it would introduce some strange handling behavior.

The filled spaces between strips gives the hull some nice translucent lines when seen with the canoe on the car. Ive had a few comments from people worried that those "cracks" will let in water.

mark

 

[Cruiser]

Hi Mark,

I do fair the entire external stem to be fair with the hull lines, I concur with your observation about the ones that seem to protrude, like an ice breaker or battering ram. That was a bit of why I went into the explanation that the shaping of the stems isn't too difficult and doesn't really require "carving/shaping" in any artistic sense. Just let the hull lines follow through and the the stem will be trimmed to fit the hull.

The only additional treatment I do is to round the edges ... sort of a changing round, getting wider at the top and bottom, a little less so in the mid section, so it suits the bevel at any particular section.

Second the filled ares being interesting with sunlight shining ... same reaction from my friends a few times ... not so much now though, been on too many trips for them to continue thinking that way


Brian

 

[Cruiser]

Well, yesterday was quite eventful .... I had planned on solo glassing, the weather was to be perfect, warm and sunny.

The night before, I cleaned up all unnecessary "stuff" in the garage and relocated as possible, then I did a thorough cleaning, vacuumed the hull and got the better half to help me roll on the fiberglass.

The glass gets covered with a clean sheet of plastic for the night, so nothing nasty settles



I use East System epoxy from Noah's ... in a "Canoe kit", which includes the glass, rollers, roller frame etc. ...
pretty much whatever you need to cover the boat. The cost was $429 Canadian, which is a LOT cheaper than any of the alternative kits. I believe it is because it is produced in Canada, instead of being imported. This will be my 5th build using East System and I have been very happy with it so far. Please don't take that as an advertisement or endorsement, I am just sharing what i do.

One of the first things was to review the glassing process, we all develop our our own techniques, mine is to use rollers to apply the epoxy and then squeegee ... just what i use. I looked at one of the BearMountain Boats videos, which I think is really worth a view

(cloth tip starts around 1:30)

Although I apply epoxy differently, the tip given to pull the glass from the ends, to avoid bunching the glass near the bottom, is a totally effective method and for the first time, I had absolutely no bunching issues.

I have shop epoxy, but I like to start with fresh for glassing, so new epoxy, new pumps



Layout all the stuff used during glassing, there is enough to do without having to get something ... the work station



I prepump the resin into mixing containers and weigh each one as I go .... in this case I did 8 shots into each tub and then weighed each. Seems like a lot of bother, but the resin pumps fairly slow and it is easy to get lost on an 8 count and I hate repumping. If you look at that weight sheet on the lower right you will see I messed up #5, but it was very easy to fix doing it this way.

A single shot from each pump creates 22 mls (.78 oz) of mixed epoxy, so i am using 176 ml (6.2 oz) per batch, I started with 8 tubs and had to make 1 more to finish the initial step.



Some pics of the initial coat







Now if you have any amount of tumblehome on the boat, you are going to run into an issue of the glass wanting to hang straight down, which will tend to pull it away at the sheer. I spent 10 minutes chasing several areas, then I just did this



Just take a couple of clamps and move the drop angle of the cloth by clamping it to the form, do not tension it, just make so the drop angle is more to the inside.

A couple of shots after 2cd coat





This morning, untrimmed



And a few after trimming







And the aftermath of the epoxy station



So I will be leaving this to full cure before sanding on the forms, will fill the time with decks and seat work ... but I have apparently been volunteered to make a few masks for the family .... I knew that taking up sewing to do my camp gear had been a serious error, at Christmas when my wife handed me her new pajamas and asked me to hem them ... I severely miscalculated that hobby.

Be safe, be distant


Brian

 

[Patrick Corry]

Outstanding photos and description! Thanks.

So, one detail that has evaded my understanding is what to do with the fiberglass cloth at the stem. I see by your photo (labelled- this morning, untrimmed) that the cloth is simply cut beyond the stem and epoxied. This is apparently trimmed (and sanded?) before you do the first fill coat, right? What happens to the small portion of the stem that is not glassed and only covered with epoxy? Is that not an area of concern?

In a wood/canvas canoe the canvas would be overlapped and tacked to the stem, later to be covered with a stem band. I had assumed that perhaps the fiberglass cloth was overlapped both ways over the stem during the glass install phase.

Again, many thanks for the clear photos and detailed descriptions. By the way, kudos to you for doing that nice work in such a tight workspace! Now I realize why your strong back is on rollers- you wouldn't have room to walk up and down both sides without!

Pat

 

[scratchypants]

Very timely, Cruiser as I fit the last strip on mine last Sunday. This is my first build (Noah's Marine Bob's Special) and I too will be using East Systems. I, perhaps foolishly, decided against bead and cove and instead opted for rolling bevel.



I must have measured that window in the background about 25 times as that is how this canoe will be leaving my shop.

 

[Cruiser]

Thank you for the kind words Pat. The fiber glass is not wrapped and I suggest you never try and do that with a narrow stem like this, it just won't make that tight a turn.

The FG is cut a few inches longer than the boat, so extends past the stem a bit. Once the glass is stabilized (there is enough epoxy around the stems so it doesn't move), it gets cut along the top center to allow it to stand up as you epoxy the end. After you have finished with all the epoxy work and get to the morning after (as in the post) trim around the boat and also do the stems, trimming even with the stem (lay the knife on its side). All the exposed edges are sharp be careful.

I like to add a double layer of cloth, cut on a 45 bias along the stem, this covers the area you are asking about and gives a little extra material for protection. I will likely add it in a few days, once things have cured a bit more, but before it is fully cured. I will sand out just a 3" area on both side, feathering the edges, add the 2 strips and do 3 coats on that as well to get it all buried. The order can be adjusted to fit your timeline.

I covered this in my last build ( http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/...-solo-16/page5 ) starting at the top of this page, hopefully that explains what you are asking.

SPs, that is a good looking hull. Not sure your usual practices, but I would really take your time getting the hull ready, I actually blocked this one and I can definitely see the difference. Good luck and please post pics, so we can see what you are up to.



Brian