Cedar Strip Canoe Build...

I have one of Jeff Horton's canoe kits; it's a single seater 15'-8"'ish, but he now he has the 2 person model! After we are settled, it will be finished ASAP! Really thinking about one of the kayak kits he has. I spent a few summers in Wells-Grey Provincial Park, BC canoeing all over the place. Haven't done kayaking yet...but why not!
 
A canoe and a small skiff are on my long term build wish list. I've never actually used either so dunno why I want to build them :huh: just do. Anyway seeing all the steps laid out is certainly interesting to watch.
 
Feb 01 Build Report:

First we worked a bit more finessing the shape of the inner stems. This is done with a block plane or spokeshave. You want to end up with an edge that is only about 1/8” wide. We just lay a piece of cedar along the forms and use that to eyeball the shape. Near the strongback, this is pretty easy as it is a basic V shape. But up top, near the keel area, it is a much wider V, so it takes a bit of care.

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Another view:


Then it is time to start fastening cedar strips.
But wait! Getting ready for that first strip takes time.
We start with clamping all these notched jig pieces along the bottom edge (gunwale edge) of the forms. These are to support the first strip as it’s position is finalized.
(you need every C-clamp you own and then some for this…


Then we lay the first strip there, bead side down, and make adjustments.
Along the edge, as shown here, is pretty easy. Then we had to fuss a bit to make sure it fit well at the bow and stern. We start with aligning it to the edge of the form, but for the ends you just need to bend over and eyeball the curve and see. The eye will show you if there is an unsightly dip or wobble that needs addressing. Then we staple the first piece into position. These staple holes are later covered by the gunwales, so they are not unsightly.


On the other side we check every spot for level before stapling these also.
I also forgot to mention, we check the spacing between each form, to make sure we are maintaining the 12” spacing. The forms can tend to flop around at first.


Each form is also checked for plumb, and we tack a strip along the keel to hold them in position. This is a temporary piece.


First glue on the entire craft is when we glue the first pieces to the stems at the end.


My buddy elected to go with the “staple—less” method. NO STAPLE HOLES. This is a bit more work along the way, but the end result is a hull with no tiny holes.

First we clamped all those L-shaped jig pieces to each form so that they ready for use. We also cut a bunch of wedges from scrap bits of cedar. We need wedges for the top, and wedges for the face. Finally we practised a dry fit with one piece of cedar so that the whole gang knew what we were doing. Then it was time to go live and we laid a bead of glue down the cove of the strip, fitted the jig pieces into position and clamped them tight. And finally forced wedges in. Note that the jig pieces are not clamped tight to the strips; you leave a small gap so that the wedges can be forced in. Those will lock the beads into the coves.



And then we moved over to the other side where we got fancy and glued two strips at once and then clamped it. You do this by first laying a bead of glue into the strip that is on the form, and then also into another strip, and then fit two strips into place.



Clamping near the stems is tricky, but manageable.


And then we went back to the first side and glued in two more strips.


This is the glue we are using. We went with this new titebond as it is supposed to set very quickly. We’re not that worried about water resistance, given that the whole canoe, inside and out, will be encased in fiberglass and epoxy resin.


At the end of the session we have to hoist it up onto braces, since the shop is a multi-use facility and we can’t just leave the canoe out.
 
Really appreciate the effort you're putting into detailing all the steps, makes it understandable and come to life.

I definitely need more clamps :D

I've seen some pictures and build examples where the forms have a permanent piece fixed in place below the keel (or spacer blocks) to stabilize them. I assume there is a reason that this wasn't done here (maybe to make the forms easier to remove later?)?

Also did you put anything on the forms other than the duct tape as glue release?

One problem I can foresee is that once you've put all the effort into the layout and building the forms, etc.. it would be tempting to not stop at just one :D
 
Enjoying this thread.

Love strip build canoes and kayaks. Have plans. But I hate working with epoxy! That is the only thing that keeps me from building one or finishing the little sailboat I have had sitting in my garage for the last 9 years. Just hate working with it and sanding it.

Went to the Wooden Kayak Rendezvous once in Port Townsend, WA. What a treat. Some of the boats were works of art for sure.
 
Yesterday, Feb 08, I was not able to help out at the Canoe build. So I do not have any progress photos, just a few pictures this morning after all the work was done yesterday. They did make a lot of progress this Saturday, adding more cedar strips to the forms. Both sides of the canoe are now up to about 13-14 strips each. Next week we should be curving over the top towards the keel. Here are some photos of how the canoes look today:



Clamping near the ends is tough, so they added these u-shaped frames for a place to clamp wedges that keep the strips pressed into place.








Thanks for reading.
 
Feb 12 - Wednesday.
Being a weekday evening, we could only get together for a bit over an hour, but every little bit of progress helps!

We had to "slow down" and only clamp one strip at a time now. We are curving over the top of the form, and we need to force each strip to follow that curve. That is hard enough with one strip.

Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but as each strip is glued, we work from the inside towards the ends, clamping as we go. The wedges are very important, as they force the strips against the form, to make sure they're following the curve.



It's getting harder to clamp at the ends...


If you look to the left side of this photo, you can see the wedges better. There is usually a face wedge, which pushes the cedar strip against the form, and also a top wedge, which pushes the cedar strip down to lock into the previous strip.


Ya do what ya gotta do to make sure the strips are in position!
 
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