Questions and requests for advice as I'm starting out

[JohnNevets]

So got the 4th coat of varnish on the outside of the canoe. Built a set of slings. And have removed it from the forms, and put it on the slings. Man does this feel light. But it is also flimsy. And looking at the inside, it has a lot of scraping it needs, no surprise there. I started doing a little bit of it, but sitting in the slings, it was moving way too much. I've tilted it a little bit and clamped it to one of the supports on each sling. That feels better, but still not super rigid. The height is also not great, a bit lower than I would like, but that I can work with. What else do folks do while scraping the inside? Do you install a temporary thwart to help support the sides? The quick clamps are holding the canoe fairly well for lateral motion, but the whole thing still moves more than I want front to back. But I think I may have to just live with that. I have some more carpet remnants left. I thought about just throwing some on the tables I had used to hold the strongback, and clamping it on one side to that. but I would for sure need a prop rod, or 2 to hold up the other side. Not sure if that is a decent idea or not. Some pics, but none with the quick clamps on. The first is of just the final coat of varnish, all shiny.

 

[stripperguy]

I do much the same as you have pictured, couple of supports with scrap carpet material.
I keep the supports about 8 ft apart, depending on the hull. I make sure that the hull is supported in such a manner as to NOT distort the design shape. Easy enough to verify with a form or two.
Oh, and I don't scrape, I sand only.

Here's a look at a stripped Kite that I built a while ago

 

[Alan Gage]

I usually have enough scrap plywood or thick foam to cut a couple of inverted canoe forms (use existing forms as a pattern). I screw these to the strongback and the hull sits in them.

Like Stripperguy I'm not much of a scraper. I'll use a scraper for chisel for the few really high spots or tight places that the sander can't reach but I do 95% with the ROS.

If the hull seems floppy (not often with a stripper) then I'll install a temporary thwart or else just put the center form back in place. A temporary thwart is just a random chunk of wood that's cut too long with wide kerfs that slip over the edge of the hull.

Alan