17' 0" Freedom

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Patricks Dad
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Patricks Dad »

Finally got back to the shop today. Sanded out the hull...

Image
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
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Cruiser
Posts: 867
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:21 am
Location: Bowmanville, Ontario

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Cruiser »

Nice job Randy, looks like a nice even finish.


Brian
Snowman
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Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:21 pm
Location: Gatineau, QC

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Snowman »

Beautiful!
Snowman back East
ckebsww
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2016 11:17 am

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by ckebsww »

Hey all,

Finally finished my Freedom 17 after 2 1/2 years of work. Hull is red cedar sourced at Menards. Trim and other parts are a mix of Walnut, Ash, Maple, Sassafras, Poplar, and Turpentine wood. Turpentine wood is from Australia and is typically used in the U.S. as flooring. I re-sawed some into strips that were steamed for the stems. It is an extremely hard, very dense wood. 6 oz Fiberglass and Raka Epoxy finished the hull. I double glassed the stems with a bias ply strip. McCloskey varnish for the finish.

Sliding bow seat, styled from the plans from GreenValley. I also made small aluminum fittings at each thwart and at the yoke for using as tie-downs with bungy cords. Total weight is somewhere in the 56 lbs range.

Paddles were copied from Bending Branches 12deg bent shaft models. Basswood shafts with maple, walnut, and cherry strips for the handles and blades. 2oz fiberglass on both faces of the blades.

Here's the eye candy (if I can get google to work...):

Image

Image

Image

Image
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Patricks Dad
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Patricks Dad »

Looks great! Congratulations!
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
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Cruiser
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Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:21 am
Location: Bowmanville, Ontario

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Cruiser »

Beautiful job, it looks awesome ......

An interesting side note, I finished my Freedom last year .... here is a pic showing the Bow:

Image

Those Chinese letters mean Serenity .... that is a coincidence

Brian
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Jim Dodd
Posts: 1359
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 11:08 pm
Location: Iowa

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Jim Dodd »

ckebsww wrote:Hey all,

Finally finished my Freedom 17 after 2 1/2 years of work. Hull is red cedar sourced at Menards. Trim and other parts are a mix of Walnut, Ash, Maple, Sassafras, Poplar, and Turpentine wood. Turpentine wood is from Australia and is typically used in the U.S. as flooring. I re-sawed some into strips that were steamed for the stems. It is an extremely hard, very dense wood. 6 oz Fiberglass and Raka Epoxy finished the hull. I double glassed the stems with a bias ply strip. McCloskey varnish for the finish.

Sliding bow seat, styled from the plans from GreenValley. I also made small aluminum fittings at each thwart and at the yoke for using as tie-downs with bungy cords. Total weight is somewhere in the 56 lbs range.

Paddles were copied from Bending Branches 12deg bent shaft models. Basswood shafts with maple, walnut, and cherry strips for the handles and blades. 2oz fiberglass on both faces of the bl


Here's the eye candy (if I can get google to work...):

Image

Image

Image

Image

Serenity ? Looks more like Exciting to me ! Nice ! Well assembled, and finished !
Congrats !

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
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Patricks Dad
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Patricks Dad »

After about 6 weeks of using the outside of my Freedom 17 hull as a mold to make two composite copies, I'm finally back to working on the original. I'm about ready to glass the inside.

Image

Hopefully will be able to do it tomorrow.
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
Snowman
Posts: 233
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:21 pm
Location: Gatineau, QC

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Snowman »

Hi Randy,

Do you have any details you could share for your side project? It sounds interesting.

Your main project looks awesome!
Snowman back East
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Patricks Dad
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Patricks Dad »

Still a work in progress but I coated the outside of this hull with a layer of heatshrink plastic to ensure nothing would stick to it. Then I wet out a layer of kevlar, a layer of carbon fiber and a layer of glass. Once cured, I pulled the composite hull off the "mold" and repeated the whole process to create a 2nd composite hull.

These hulls are now hung up from the ceiling of my shop. I glassed the freedom 17 this weekend. Next move will be to add a layer of foam in the football area and foam ribs to the composite hulls (using the inside of the cedar strip hull as a form to heat shape them) followed by a layer of kevlar to complete the lay-up. Add gunwales, decks, seats, a yoke and I'll have 2 composite copies of the Freedom 17. Pictures to follow somewhere.

Note also, royalties are due to Bear Mountain Boats for the extra copes beyond 1 build from the original plans.

BTW, Jim Dodd is the expert on this process...
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
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Patricks Dad
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Patricks Dad »

Here's a video of me removing the first composite hull off the Freedom 17 original...

https://www.facebook.com/goprairie/vide ... 681264713/
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
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Cruiser
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Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:21 am
Location: Bowmanville, Ontario

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Cruiser »

Everything is looking soooo good Randy, that is one of the best copy hulls I have seen done.


Brian
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Cruiser
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Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Cruiser »

Randy,

What was the order of your layup and what weight cloths did you use?


Brian
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Patricks Dad
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Patricks Dad »

I started with a layer of 5 oz kevlar
Next was a 6 oz layer of carbon fiber
Finally was a layer of 4 oz S-Glass

Inside I'll add (in the football and ribs up the side) 3/8" structural foam
and cover that with another layer of 5 oz Kevlar.
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
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Jim Dodd
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Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 11:08 pm
Location: Iowa

Re: 17' 0" Freedom

Post by Jim Dodd »

You did an excellent job Randy ! Your Shrink wrap looked way better than mine !

It amazes me how smooth the interior of the hull comes out !

Looking forward seeing your foam !

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
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