I am close to closing in the hull of my Bobs Special and I ran out of strips. I went to the local Home Depot and bought a plank of cedar to strip down. The best plank I could find had several small knots in it. I made several strips and there are several that have small knots. They look really nice and I don't mind them being there, but I'm worried about two things:
1) will the area around the knot be a weak spot for the hull, and
2) will the epoxy and fiberglass adhere to the knot area properly
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike in Phialdelphia
Cedar strips with knots
- Juneaudave
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- davidb54321
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Mike,
As Dave stated, knots that are tight and within the edges of the strip should not give trouble, and will add character to your boat.
As Dave stated, knots that are tight and within the edges of the strip should not give trouble, and will add character to your boat.
David Bartlett
"I don't fully understand everything I know!"
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"I don't fully understand everything I know!"
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A knotty canoe is cool.
It can add character to a boat.
I would guess that any knot larger than 1 cm will fail when worked.
The strength in the canoe is the epoxy & fiberglass.
The cedar, today .....is cosmetic?
It was used in the past because it resisted rot, light and there was a lot of it.
Doug
.
It can add character to a boat.
I would guess that any knot larger than 1 cm will fail when worked.
The strength in the canoe is the epoxy & fiberglass.
The cedar, today .....is cosmetic?
It was used in the past because it resisted rot, light and there was a lot of it.
Doug
.
"Some people hear the song in the quiet mist of a cold morning..... But for other people the song is loudest in the evening when they are sitting in front of a tent, basking in the camp fire's warmth. This is when I hear it loudest ...." BM
- Glen Smith
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I purchased some boards of Eastern White Cedar that were very knotty. If a strip broke at a knot, it become two shorter strips. After ripping the strips and routing the bead and cove, very few strips actually broke and they got used in one boat or another. Using a spokeshave to fair the hull was a bit tricky aound the knots because of the swirly grain. The knots caused no problems with the epoxy. Most people like the looks of the knots and they feel my knotty boat has more character!
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Just make sure sure the knots are nice and tight. I once had a couple areas that where loose knots and did manage to wiggle around during the lay-up of the glass. If they are Nice and tight knots,then you should't have a problem.Knots are extremely hard,and might have a staple or 2 that won't work in that knot area.
I built a Bobs Special a few years ago. It was my first canoe and some of the cedar had some knots. At the time I wasn't happy with the knots at all. But in time I have gotten to really like them. They're kind of a focal point. Knots look good. You have to use a little more care when fairing them in .
Dave
Dave
Knots
Here is a picture of one of my canoes made from eastern white pine with many knots. No problems.
Bud
Bud