19' 9" Chaa Creek Expedition

[Cruiser]

I have to agree with Randy, he mentored me through most of my Freedom Solo build as well. I did exactly what he did with the uniwales and they worked out well.

On my current Freedom Sol build, the only reason I am planning thinner gunnel strips (instead of a uniwale), with the hull exposed, is that i like that look a lot .... both will work and are pretty straight forward, this is just one more of those decisions you get to make on the look of your boat.

If you decide on the uniwale, as Randy said, you will need to widen it some .... but I wouldn't go crazy on that, as it has to bend with the boat .... I would suggest maybe going out to 7/8", any more and it may not flex enough to install easily.

Brian

[jimlgordon]

Separate outwale and inwales seems like it would be easier to bend and clamp in place for gluing than a "uni-wale". Glad to hear about the scuppers... they seem like a lot of unnecessary work.

[Patricks Dad]

Actually, I found that installing a uni-wale was much easier than clamping separate gunwales. They both get done in one operation and only a few clamps are needed to hold it in place. You just start at one end and work your way to the other bending as you go (you do of course need to make sure they are the right length with all the same considerations you need for an inwale). A few straps around the whole hull to hold the uni-wale down in place is all that is needed. No issues with aligning or trimming the outwale to match the inwale and the hull edge. It's a much much easier operation.

Depending on the beam of your canoe, you may have more or less of a radius of bend for the gunwales (I would guess it is actually a larger radius curve than the Freedom Solo that Brian and I have built). EDIT: some quick math shows that your radius is quite a bit larger so bending will be easy.

One important consideration with smaller gunwales (independent of it being a standard inwale or a uniwale), is how you will be installing your seats. You need to think ahead and make sure you have enough material there if you plan to hang them from the inwale. In my case, I installed a short flange on the inside of each uni-wale to make extra room for hanging a single seat in the middle.

You can find a bunch of pictures of my freedom Solo build here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... ed02c625b8

[Cruiser]

One of the things I plan on changing this build is to not hang the seats from the gunnels and opt for a hull cleat instead. I had a sliding seat installed initially, but I found it never got adjusted .... the boat has such a good balance.

Of course already having the boat, the seat height/location needed is already dialed in .... like everything else on a canoe build, you have a lot of options.


Brian

[Jim Dodd]

An alternative to a sliding seat, is to make the seat deeper than a standard canoe seat. I find that by just sliding my rear, fore and aft. I can adjust the trim quite a bit, it is also more comfortable than say a Bell, or an Old town seat.
A pic.


The smaller seat was made as a replacement for a Bell Magic. The bigger seat is what I make for my canoes.

Jim

[jimlgordon]

Moved my break apart, segmented, strongback to the wood shop. It was just quickly, and lightly bolted together to see how it fits in the shop and rolls around. I will adjust and tighten it later.

[jimlgordon]

nice seats! I have been wondering about sliders or some kind of adjustable mount for seats.

[Cruiser]

I initially installed a sliding seat in my solo and after the first trip removed it and made something better to replace it.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4480&p=27822#p27822

Sliding seats seem like a good idea, but I have seen so many go off the rails .... they are workable, but for the effort you really have to think about whether you really need them. In a big boat like the Cha, I am really wondering how much use they will really be versus the trouble building and installing them.

I found that shifting a bag a bit was a far easier proposition.

Brian

[jimlgordon]

wow, I found a table saw works so much nicer than a band saw for cutting strips... yeah, the band saw has a small kerf but it easily wanders even with a fence.

[Cruiser]

Do you mean circular saw or an actual table saw?

[jimlgordon]

nice big sawstop table saw

[Cruiser]

Consensus is more or less that using a Skilsaw is about the easiest way to make strips, has a little more flexibility than a tabletop.

Not a criticism, just an FYI for future consideration.
Brian

[Jim Dodd]

Consensus is more or less that using a Skilsaw is about the easiest way to make strips, has a little more flexibility than a tabletop.

Not a criticism, just an FYI for future consideration.
Brian

X2 !
You just can't beat a Skilsw, and strongack combination, for producing good strips ! Unless you have access to a tablesaw with infeed, outfeed tables, a power feed system, and a gang blade, that will produce multiple strips. Then you maybe have the skilsaw beat

Jim

[jimlgordon]

skillsaw for strips... I have heard about that but was skeptical

[jimlgordon]

Straightened up and tightened the segmented strongback and set up a few stations.