How long do my strips need to be.

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Pedro
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:28 am
Location: Sandy Beach, NSW, Australia

How long do my strips need to be.

Post by Pedro »

G'day,
I live on the east coast of Australia. I have managed to get hold of eight clear WRC boards with which I hope to build a canoe. They are 3/4 by 5 1/2. The longest is 16' 2" the shortest 16' 1/2". I intend to strip, bead & cove them myself.
I have purchased Canoe Craft with the plans cataogue.I'm keen on the Cottage Cruiser which is 15' 6" long. My questions, are my boards long enough for full strips? Is it possible / practical to shorten the plan a little, should I join the strips or consider a shorter boat? Any advice would be great.Thanks to BMB and this forum I think I'm addicted.
Regards Pedro.
"Things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." - Albert Einstein
canoeblderinmt
Posts: 415
Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2004 12:04 pm
Location: Butte, MT

Post by canoeblderinmt »

Pedro,
DON'T modify the plans. If you do a search on the forum, you will find much discussion about the effects of changing the hull design. Not Recommended. It is perfectly fine to butt join the strips. The strength in the hull is the sandwiching of the wood between the fiberglass: there is really no strength in the wood itself, so a butt joint is fine, and fast to do. Just match up for color, and make the joints on a station so if you need to put in a nail or staple to hold things together you can.

Send up pics as you go, OK Mate?

Greg
" Choose to chance the rapids, Dare to dance the tide..."
Pedro
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:28 am
Location: Sandy Beach, NSW, Australia

Thanks Greg.

Post by Pedro »

Thanks Greg,
I thought the shortening idea might be a bit loopy. I will order my Cruiser plans tonight and get started as soon as possible and I will post pics of my progress. Thanks again mate.
Pedro
"Things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." - Albert Einstein
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Glen Smith
Posts: 3719
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

This is what the "FAQ's" section says about modifying a design:
"Q: Can I modify an existing Bear Mountain design.....can I make changes to your plans? What will the result be?

A: We suggest you proceed with caution here. It is hard to predict the performance of a design once it has been changed without taking into consideration the science of yacht design. We have asked Steve Killing about changes to Bear Mountain plans and this is what he had to say: Changing the length by 6 inches to a maximum of one foot will make me cringe a bit but ....go ahead if you must. The best technique is to change the spacing between each station - that keeps the boat fair and after a bit of modification to either the stem profile or the last station next to the stem, will produce a fine boat."

If you are thinking of shortening the boat to accomodate less than full-length strips, I would say "forget it"! I built my first two boats using full-length strips and 5 or 6 more using shorter strips. The short boards are easier to handle during the ripping and routing stages, the short strips are easier to handle during the stripping process. Well matched grain and color will make butt joints next to impossible to detect.

Enjoy your project.
sedges
Posts: 325
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:37 pm
Location: georgia

pretty close

Post by sedges »

I have always had boards 12 inches longer than the boat and they over-shoot the stems by a few inches. If your 16' 2" strips are not long enough you will only have a few strips on each side that you wil have to add length to as the stem sweeps back pretty quickly.
Pedro
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:28 am
Location: Sandy Beach, NSW, Australia

Strip lenght

Post by Pedro »

I thought I'd answer my own question (How long do they need to be) now that I'm stripping. For the Cottage cruiser (15' 6")the longest strips need to be at least 15' 10". This makes me very happy as I wasn"t looking forward to joining.
"Things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." - Albert Einstein
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