Rudder & Transport Problems!

Dress rehearsals
If we can work out a way whereby one person can get this 15�8� canoe onto the car top, won�t this be better than bothering with a trailer. Also an excuse to see the project in some daylight.


There you go � straightforward. Now off on-line to purchase a roof roller and canoe trolley.

In woodwork terms the weekend has seen the rudder yoke made and fitted to the folding rudder. Also the leeboard shaped.

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Floors & Knees

Floors and knees now in place. As the weight increases with each component, thoughts of car top transport are now being replaced by trailer designs. Not part of the original plan!



A watertight boxing is formed around the mast positions in the forward and aft deck. Copper tube is then set in place to drain any water which will come through the mast holes and take it back into the cockpit. Hopefully this leaves us with watertight bouyancy (and storage) areas forward and aft.

I even get to start bulding the folding rudder - progress indeed. Now to find the bronze fittings to match.

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Cockpit Coaming

Two 3.5mm Ash boards are laminated around the curved carlin to start to form the cockpit coaming. A third plank will be added (and a top lipping) once the deck is in place. Four knees support the carlin each side. The whole structure quickly starts to gain further strength.

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Bulkheads

Bulkheads fitted and making a former to laminate the curved carlin around

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Deck Beams

Setting out the positions for the masts and deck beams.




A breasthook forward and aft. Not strictly necessary I guess in the decked version, but for the small extra weight will add much strength and will also nicely pick up the deck above.

'Canoe Builder Senior', starts to fit deck beams

A small rebate plane helps with cleaning up the inside of the hull

The inside of the hull looking somewhat more finished

Caulking the planks (with epoxy), should add some further strength (and will require even more sanding).

You don�t need to own a green boiler suit to build a canoe! but it might keep you warm.

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Keel strip

Finally planking is complete and we feel as though we are moving forward again. Keel and outer Stems are glued in place ready for some further shaping.

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Start again!

Correction!

So the two offending planks have now been removed (with a hot air gun as suggested by Chris). No chances are being taken second time around, with each mould removed one at a time and slots cut to receive two ribbands running the length of each side of the hull. One ribband to define a fair curve for the top of the sheer plank and one to pick up the lap between this and the lower plank.

Like so many new jobs one learns from experience, and if we were starting off again I would follow the method recently described very well by Chris Perkins in Water Craft magazine (no. 73 Jan/Feb 09). Chris reduces all the mould sizes by the thickness of the ribbands and fits these along the course of the �lands� between each plank overlap. Whether or not this would be different in thicker ply I�m not sure but with 4mm it is well advised.

The photos show we are just about ready to fit the final planks. We have also fitted false decks at both bow and stern to further ensure we end up with some symmetry about the hull.

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