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Here is a case where scaling a design worked quite well. Historic lines for Voyageur canoes are available, but the real boats were cargo haulers and very narrow-bottomed. If you build to original lines and fail to add about a ton of gear in the bottom for ballast, most are quite tippy. We were looking for a design that could be modified at the stems and sheer line, but which had more waterline beam for stability when used unloaded, no tumblehome and fairly straight lines toward the ends to approximate, within reason, the shapes of the original canoes. Scaling and modifying the big Freedom was easier in this case than modifying an existing Voyageur canoe plan. Strip thickness and glass layup also had to be increased to get the strength needed for the hulls to hold their shapes and in case of impact (as I remember, the final decision was a total cloth weight of around 20-25 oz. per side). Test paddles have found the boats to be quite stable, fast and solid. Pretty darned nice looking, too.
I'd be interested in knowing what kind of clarity they achieved with that much glass. I've had a hard time even with 9oz and wished later I'd used two layers of 6oz. I used the 9oz on the outside of a 27'er with 12oz biax on the inside but I suppose as the Freedom had no bulkheads the glass would have to be heavier.
I don't know and wondered the same thing. That one is the only photo I've seen of the completed boats, so I don't know much more. When I did my 22' Voyageur canoe I used 10 oz. with an double layer over the bottom and a build-up to about six layers in the lower stem area in case I ever hit a rock with a bunch of people aboard. The plan from the start was to paint the boat, but once the glass was sanded it went fairly clear (at least above the waterline) and we decided to varnish it instead. The sides are passable, considering the cloth used, the bottom less so and the small areas on the bottom of the stems have so much glass on them that it pretty much obscures the wood. Here's a shot of one stem bottom where there is a transition from two layers to six.
The John R. Sweet Company claims that their Silane-treated fiberglass cloth is clearer and less green than Volan-treated fabric. I imagine that the combination of Silane fabric and a modern clear-coat epoxy like 105/207 might do better than the results which I got 25-30 years ago using heavy Volan cloth and the resins that were available back then.
Todd,
Those are awesome!
Four?
I need to get eyes checked!
They would really look impressive coming around that point all rigged up with sails!
Cat Steven's Longer Boats Are Comin' To Take Us!
Gary, I e-mailed Rollie and asked about the final fiberglassing layup schedule and finished resin clarity and this was his reply:
Todd,
Glad you like them! We had them all out on the lake Sat. & Sunday for training and they looked and performed so well. So neat to see them out on the lake. They attract a lot of attention no matter where we go, whether on the trailers or on the lake. We ended up doing 2 layers of 10 oz cloth on both the inside and outside going from gunwale to gunwale, so where we over lapped them there was actually a 2-3" triple layer. Almost like a rib every 55â€
