First stripper build: Prospector-16 Help & comments appreciated

[Roybrew]

I made my first seats 14 and a half inches deep, and weaved them with plastic, yes artificial stuff, cane. I weaved them a little tight. Then when I made the seats for my wood strip, I made the seats 16 inches deep. Same material, but weaved a little looser. They felt more comfortable then my first set. I think next time I'll try natural cane, and I think I would like the curved seats, some one here made some but I can't remember who.

I'm enjoying following along on your prospector build. Looking forward to seeing it shined up.
Roy

 

[Jim Dodd]

Jim: I like the slightly larger seat idea. What is the size of the caned area on your bigger seat? Looks to be about 12" by 20"????

I'll get measurements for you tomorrow .
Jim

 

[scratchypants]

I hope I'm not being annoying interjecting my little snippets here - by no means do I have the experience as some of the others...

For seat height, I take one of my shoes and make sure it can pass freely beneath - a matter of safety / avoiding hang ups.

 

[Kliff]

Great photos, and advice. Thanks Roybrew. That helps a ton. Are your seats equidistant, or stern seat further back?

 

[jffdejongh]

Like scratchpants, I have my seats as low as I can and still easily get my feet under out out quickly.

 

[Roybrew]

Great photos, and advice. Thanks Roybrew. That helps a ton. Are your seats equidistant, or stern seat further back?

Stern seat is closer to the rear by about 8 inches? I want my wife to have plenty of leg room in the bow and I wanted the stern seat a little closer to center so I would have good butt room, but I didn't want to be to close to center thwart. I've also read that the stability is better if both occupants are closer to center. As far as seat height goes, I wear a 13EE shoe. Yep my wife looked up my family tree and found bigfoot hanging out in it. I figure seat height can be varied if need be. I never expect to be tripping in this canoe. I don't think I'd feel right taking it out with out her either.
Roy

 

[Roybrew]

I just went down and measured seat distance to be sure. from bow to front of seat about 51".From stern to back of seat 39". The seats are 15 and half inches deep, I rechecked the seat depth because pictures didn't look right.
That's all I know, at least that's what I did.
Roy

 

[Jim Dodd]

I'll get measurements for you tomorrow .
Jim

Just peddled my bike down to the shop.
Inside dimensions 9" x 14", outside 11" x 16"

Roybrew's bow to front edge of bow seat, is pretty close to mine. I believe mine is 53".
Shape of the hull can be a factor.

His seat looks great.

I contour a 1" drop at the center of my seats.


Jim

 

[Kliff]

Thanks guys. That really helps. Started machining wood for trim work yesterday, and the feed rollers on my planer disintegrated. Ordered a new set, coming from Austria. Probably won't have them any time soon. If I get the glass work done and I'm still waiting, I'll use my other planer, and sander. Yeah, Jim I saw your contoured seats, and am planning to do that as well. Seems like it gives you better overall seat drop, with sligtly less drop at the gunwales.

I was planning on synthetic snow shoe webbing for the seats, but Roybrew's caning looks fantastic. I've caned a few seats before, but will have to blow the dust off a book to do it again. You guys keep showing me all these fancy pictures of your outstanding craftsmanship, I'll never get this thing done. I have to keep reminding myself of two things: I'm in no rush, and I'll certainly be doing more. This project has been challenging in new ways, a good diversion from life, and oh so rewarding.

 

[TexasRiverRacer23]

I just went down and measured seat distance to be sure. View attachment 132026from bow to front of seat about 51".View attachment 132027From stern to back of seat 39". The seats are 15 and half inches deep, I rechecked the seat depth because pictures didn't look right.
That's all I know, at least that's what I did.
Roy

Beautiful seat work!!!

 

[Roybrew]

Thanks for compliments you all. I really did just get lucky with this one.

I agree with you Kliff, it is very rewarding, and challenging for us first timers.

 

[Kliff]

Well, I finally have the outside sanded, to the point where I wetted it to raise the grain. A few glue stains reared their ugly heads. Hopefully I'll be final sanding it tonight, glassing it tomorrow. This leads me to another question, of course.

I'm using 6 oz cloth, planning double layer on the football area, and two strips on the stems. Do you suggest waiting for initial full hull layer to be set to the touch before second football layer and stem strips, or add these while still tacky? I've done a fair amount of glass work before, but never a canoe. Also, what is the approximate time to set for Raka 127 & 350 hardener? I know temp & humidity play a big role, just looking for approximate. I'm used to West products. First time with Raka.

And yeah, I need to clean my work area before glassing.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Yes. let the wet out coat to cure before adding the football layer !
Otherwise you will have a mess trying to lay the cloth on wet epoxy ! Ask me how I know ?

The Wet Out coat should be dry to touch in 6 hrs or so. Your touch will tell you .
You could let the wet out cure over night, and be fine. I don't like to wait, so in 6 hrs I'm putting the football layer on.

When I wet out the football layer, I also apply resin to the side as the first fill coat. Apply fill coats while the previous coat is still Tacky ! Don't wait ! Depending what time you start, you may be up late at night putting that last fill coat.

Hull looks great ! Good to sand glue spots, and any swirl marks left by a ROS.

Get everything lined up before mixing that first cup !

Have extra brushes, gloves, and a friend to help ! Oh and an old hair dry works great on out gassing bubbles ! Count on them appearing ! If they don't ? You are lucky !


Wish I was there to help !

Good Luck !

Jim

 

[Jim Dodd]

Be sure the hull is dry, before adding cloth.
You don't want mold to grow under the cloth.

 

[Kliff]

I don't think I need to ask you how you know to let first layer set up. I was planning to add football layer while still tacky. Not any more. Thanks for reminder on hair dryer. I've used a heat gun in the past, want to make sure I have it ready to go.

Planning to wipe the hull with denatured alcohol after final sanding, let that dry, then go on glass.

Going to wait until daytime temperature reaches max, and starts cooling, to minimize gas-out. Don't know if I need to or not, but rather do it, than wish I had. Figure if I have glass cut, trimmed, and ready to go, first layer of epoxy goes on at about 3:00 pm. Second layer at 8:00-10:00. Get up early Sunday and finish.

Any helpers that want to see the progress in person, feel free. I'll give you my address. Jim, I'll have lunch ready for you, and a comfy room for you to spend the night. Thanks for the offer.

I'm not using Random Orbital Sander on the canoe, at least not yet. I have a bunch of them, and they all leave swirls. Drives me nuts. I've been using 1/4 sheet palm sander, and a mini belt sander, that I believe is 2*14 belt. I've got belts up to 400 grit, but been using mostly 100-180. That has been a real handy tool for shaping stems, and working on the hull.

 

[Kliff]

Geez, I just looked up my sander for kicks. It's a Porter-Cable 371. No longer in production. Guess I better be careful with the one I have. Like I said, I really like that thing for well controlled light duty sanding where a normal sized, two handed belt sander gets a bit scary.

 

[Roybrew]

The hull looks great! I like the accent strips, and the dark stems. Awesome

 

[Roybrew]

Be sure the hull is dry, before adding cloth.
You don't want mold to grow under the cloth.

Wow I never thought of that. That would suck.

 

[Jim Dodd]

I'm afraid if you wait until 3:00pm to start ? Your last fill coats won't go on to a tacky surface.
If the previous coat is still tacky ? The next fill coat will stick, and not run as much. You will also get a better bond, and clearer finish.

I would start in the morning, and watch it !
One of the biggest mistakes builders make after wetting out ? Is walk away thinking everything will be fine. Stay with it, for at least a few hours, and watch for outgassing.

 

[stripperguy]

I always put my half layer under the full layer, and I carefully lay all the cloth out and sweep away any wrinkles long before I mix the first batch of resin.
I wet out both full and half layers at once, although it does take a bit longer for the inner layer to thoroughly wet through.
You didn’t mention it, but I also prefer to put a seal coat of epoxy on the hull before draping the cloth. Obviously the seal coat needs to be completely tack free before laying any cloth on the hull. I have found that the bare wood can suck in some epoxy and starve the cloth if not sealed before wet out.
Definitely hang around for an hour or two after wet out to squeegee the entire hull and remove any entrained air and eliminate any runs.
I apply my stem strips as soon as I have all the cloth wetted out.

As you build more boats, you’ll refine your technique to find what works best for your skill set and expectations.
We all have differing methods but a common goal…a beautiful functional canoe at a fraction of the cost of any production boat!

Good luck today