Bookmatching the bottom of the Redbird.

[shawnkielty]

Bookmatching the bottom.jpg

[Cruiser]

A man of few words ...lol, a little description would be helpful

[shawnkielty]

I often choose silence as an alternative to talking. I am following the advice from Ted's book to book match the strips on bottom of the boat, but mostly I am stripping. I am going pretty slow, because I am old, and not sure of what happens next. I am about to get right to the end of the stems, and it's profoundly unclear to me what happens after that. I did notice that the project appears easier now that I am past the bilge and really on the bottom of the boat.

[Cruiser]

I am in no rush finishing either, I would rather get it right and not have a redo.

There are quite a few detailed builds on this site (I have posted some), if you get stuck or aren't sure about a specific point in the build just ask, there are several builders here who love to help.

Brian

[Cruiser]

Shawn, you are close to the jump off point of stripping, that is where you near the end of the inner stem ... you can see here on my last build, this is approaching the end of the inner stem



then you start stripping on just one side till each strip passes the center line,



At that point you are setup to cut the center line, which Ted does a pretty thorough job documenting.

Brian

[shawnkielty]

I appreciate the pointers. I have been reading Ted's book and it is help, as are your pictures. You have two different methods keeping the hull against the form. This is interesting because that is one of the things I have found difficult to do. I put a few screws into the form around the sheer line which got things to stop moving around.

I think I am 2 strips from the end of the stem. Curiously, in your photo, is the inner stem covered by strips as it gets around to the keel?

[Cruiser]

Hi Shawn,

In pic 2, as the strip start laying flat after the bow curve starts heading back to the keel, you just start trimming them so they cover the stem a bit. You cut them down towards the inner stem rather than flush.

Last build link viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2006&start=60 if you look near the bottom of page 5, then the bit on page 6, it should be a clearer as to why you want the strips to start covering the inner stem. Basically, it is because you will be fitting the outter stem in and it gets a slight taper, you need to have the strips covering the stem, so that you have material to cut a place to set the stem in. I had a lot of trouble finally understanding this, the build posts (with the book description) hopefully will clarify it for you.

Brian

[shawnkielty]

It's certainly clear now, t0hanks. Mine looks a lot like yours, at the point of starting to cover the stem as it gets to the bottom. Cutting a notch out really had not occurred to me, so it seems good that I am talking to you.

RBstemStripped.jpg

[shawnkielty]

I am running out of full length pairs of book matched strips, before finishing the bottom of the hull. Fortunately for me ... in a moment of completely unexpected and accidental brilliance ... I numbered both end of the strips, so the cutoff pieces are all numbered in book matched pairs. I should be able to close up the hull, with book matched strips.

[Cruiser]

Nice ...sometimes those extra steps save your butt, well done

[shawnkielty]

I cut the centerline. I was more than a bit nervous about this step.

RBCenterline_sml.jpg

[Cruiser]

Nice job, that looks nice and straight, I just did that a week ago, our builds are at a similar stage. My posts here are lagging as I just didn't have the time to post in 2 places, if you are interested, my build is here

http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/for ... uild/page5

Keep posting, there are lots of folks that like to follow along.


Brian

[shawnkielty]

Brian,

It's true, we are at about the same place. Your shop and build both look very clean and organized (I don 't want to show this to my wife -- she'll start cleaning my shop). It's coming along, there's major delay due to rain here for the last few days. Spending some time sharpening tools and cleanup.

RBClosing.jpg

[shawnkielty]

Hi Brian,

I think I am ready to fit the first of the outer stems. Having read Ted's description and looked at your Freedom build, I think the routine goes like this.

Taper the sides of the bottom of the outer stem down to 3/8".
Cut the mortise in the hull to fit the tapered stem.
Glue the outer stem to the inner stem.
Shape the remaining outer stem.

Does this sound right?

Additional question. When gluing the stem are you using straps alone to clamp the stem into place and avoiding the screws (and the holes) recommended in Ted's book?

Thanks

Shawn

[Patricks Dad]

Your description is correct. Use thickened epoxy to glue your outer stem in place. But first apply a layer of unthickened (but catalyzed) epoxy to the joining surfaces, let it soak in a bit and then wipe off excess before proceeding with the thickened epoxy.

Note that the inner side of the outer stem will mate with the 1/8" edge of the inner stem as well as the ends of the strips that join with the inner stem. The endgrain of these strips will absorb quite a bit of epoxy so give it all it wants before you move on to thickened epoxy. Otherwise, you could get a dry / weak joint.

I only use epoxy and straps. No need for screws.