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Hi all,
I am about to start stripping my freedom 15, and my question is this:
When fitting the 1st strip should i follow a fair curve on the sheer, or use the sheer line on the molds? the freedom doesn't have a high bow or stern and i am not sure which will look right, bearing in mind that i will also be fitting a feature strip to the sides also,
Steve
I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was !!
Not quite sure I understand your question...your choices both sound the same to me:
follow a fair curve on the sheer, or use the sheer line on the molds
But I had a similar question when I started to strip my Freedom-15. I ended up running the first strip on a fair curve nearly (but not quite) along the sheerline defined by the molds. I think I ended up with only 2 strips at the bow and stern above the first strip to fill in the sheerline at the ends.
I did allot of looking at pictures in the gallery before starting. You will find builds with the first strip following the sheerline from bow to stern (indeed the recurve is very small) as well as those that don't. My motive for not completely following the sheerline was a worry about stripping around the bilge. I was worried that I'd hit the bilge near the middle of the boat before the ends making it difficult. I don't think that worry was warranted. Stripping around the bilge was easy on this boat.
Hi,
Sorry for the confusion, what i was trying to say was if my 1st piece follows the sheer line on the molds would my accent strip look odd, as it would be turning up slightly at both ends, or would it look ok, as as you rightly point out the recurve is minimal
Steve
I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was !!
I'm just about to start stripping my boat - a Freedom 17. I'm stripping parallel to the waterline. My thinking is that the Freedom 15 or 17 is a pretty sleek canoe to begin with, and the horizontal lines will just enhance the look. I'm also putting in an accent strip - as I tell my wife - it's a racing stripe!
Hi Bill,
Great to hear your starting the stripping, i hope to start during the xmas holidays. I think thats a good idea to strip parralel to the waterline, and as you say it should keep the sleek lines. i have not yet decided what length to build to, as i am restricted by space constraints, a 17 would be a very tight fit in a 17ft garage. I will lengthen the freedom to 16ft, it will be a struggle with space, but if i breathe in hard (and lose some weight) i should be able to work on both ends. I have looked at the plans and lengthened it on my cad and i can't see any problems. I wish you the best of luck with your build, and hope to hear from you again, perhaps we could share build info as we come accross any problems.
Best Regards
Steve sdgresty@aol.com
I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was !!
I followed the shear, I just thought that it would be easier that way.
Maybe tonight or tomorrow I'll try to get a better picture of the accent strip from the side. it's tough because I can't back away from the canoe very much. More pics in the links below..
Hi Sluggo,
Your canoe is shaping up nicely, your accent strip looks good even following the sheer line on the molds. mmmmm Decisions, Decisions!! How did the hot glue method work out for you? I would imagine you can fit several strips at a time using that method.
Checked your gallery & blog looking real good, I hope mine works out that well I will be well pleased.
Regards
Steve
I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was !!
So far I think the hot glue works very well. I haven't tried removing any glue yet though. Using clamps and things for stapleless seems like a bit of a hassle to me but it's probably okay once a person is used to it. I'm not sure why more people don't go the hot glue route. It's fast, it holds the wood and you can put as many strips on in one session as you want without having to wait for the wood glue to set.
So far I think the hot glue works very well. I haven't tried removing any glue yet though.
Depending on the adhesive quality of the hot-glue used, it may cause tear-out when it comes time to remove it if you are not extremely careful. Did you not perform a test with the hot-glue before adopting this method?
Yes, I did a test with my hot glue. It comes off fine from what I could tell. What I mean is that I don't know how much work it is to remove a bunch of hot glue dots compared to removing staples compared to using clamps.....
