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Freedom 17 Strip build

I'm planning on cutting the sheer after fiberglassing inside and out. I think the gunwales will be built up from strips with maybe a cherry veneer cap? Incidentally, do I really need inwales, why can't I just make the outwales slightly bigger?
 
If you don't have inhales, how do you plan on hanging the thwarts and seats? Man that canoe look good! Just like candy!!
 
Dave,

It's looking great! Really nice patterns. grain and coloring. I have to go back and review how you stripped those patterns, they really are a nice focal point.
As far as inwhales, section is section, doesn't matter from a structural rigidity point of view whether all the section is outside the hull, or split between inwhale and outwhale. Seats can easily be cleat mounted, thwarts might be even easier to install without any inwhales.
I personally like some inwhale, if only to make the hull easier to pick up and move around.
Again, it all comes down to intended use and personal preference...
 
Holy crap! That is amazing. I am sooooo glad you did not use staples on that. Now the challenge is to make the trim complement the rest of the boat. You can either do two piece open gunwales, scuppered, or do a capstrip type of closed gunwales. I like the classic look of open with scuppers.

You could do thinner than normal inners with a bumped out area for mounting seats and thwarts which would be truly custom and exotic. Coupled with a thin outer and then a veneer cover strip a la Hurons? Longer than normal heart shaped decks like a Morris? So many ideas. I am starting to visualise a one piece capstrip though with the slot routered in the bottom, maybe mahogany?

Now you will need to build another one that you can actually paddle...lol. This one will be too pretty to put in a dirty old river.


Christy
 
Thanks for all the compliments, FYI I only take pictures of the good parts. It has it's share of close enoughs. SG good point about the handhold aspect of the inwales, I'm still on the fence, I think I could just use cleats and be done. Something to think about.
 
How do you see yourself using this canoe? I never scimp on gunwales, because I use mine hard and gunwales provide the strength that holds everything together. If I was going to reduce any gunwale, it would be the outer, as it doesn't provide that much structural support.
 
I'm not planning on skimping on the gunwales, just moving them to the outside. The X-section is still the same so the strength should still be there.

OK here's a more general question... when I sealed the wood with epoxy, most of it came out perfect but I have a little spot where I left some glue, a couple sections had sanding scratches that I missed and dark spots from epoxy runs that wet out the wood more than other areas. Can I fix them up now or will it just end up looking worse? The defects aren't horrible but they stick out to me because I built it. Mostly I'm worried about the uneveness of the epoxy application think that will come out with the next epoxy application.
 
At this point, since you haven't glassed the boat yet, I wouldn't think fixing the glue spots or dark spots from the runs wouldn't be that big of a deal. I'd sand out a fairly large area around them back to bare wood and then give that area another seal coat. If you tried to do just the immediate area of the defect I'd think it would be harder to hide and easier to accidentally sand a large divot in the hull. A large area might blend in better with the surrounding hull.

I'd expect it to be unnoticeable after the fiberglass and fill coats and if anything can be seen the final sanding before applying whatever your outer protective layer will be should finish blending it in.

Personally I wouldn't fix them because I hate going backwards but we each need to decide what we can and can't live with.

Alan
 
Every artist suffers this fate:

To fixate on the flaws and have trouble to recognize the beauty that everyone else finds so attractive.

Just glass it and forget it, you're just gonna drag over beaver dams and gravel anyway!!
 
Thanks all for the nice comments, I'm stuck now though....my son just broke out in hives all over his face and hands. Not really sure if it was from the epoxy, his room is next to my work shop but it's pretty well closed off so I doubt he had much if any exposure. I think the hives started before I began the epoxy work but not 100% sure, so I'm going to wait a little bit to see what happens. Hopefully it's not from the epoxy, but to play it safe I might be waiting for the weather to turn so I can work in the garage.
 
Probably not for the epoxy, but could well be from the cedar sanding dust. Some people are super allergic to cedar dust or even splinters!
 
Yes especially the white cedar. Karin has huge problems with the dust from that.She will be sick for weeks from a good whiff of white cedar dust. Red doesnt seem to bother her as much but we still have her use a mask. I am looking at buying a full face respirator for her, maybe with an air supply pump.

So, yes, look at the sanding dust as the culprit.

Christy
 
I don't know, it could be completely unrelated to the canoe. I have a buddy who breaks out in hives everytime his wife changes laundry detergent. I've broken out before, think it was from something I ate, eventually had to have adrenalin shots. Allergy to expoxy usually comes after direct and multiple contacts with the skin when your body can no longer tolerate it.
 
Hopefully the hives is from something else ! The dust is more a breathing thing, like Hay fever.I also believe contact with the epoxy is more a problem than the fumes. Having said that, I wear a mask when working with epoxy as a precaution.
Sanding cedar is best done outside ! I also would like to obtain a hood like Dennis at Northwest Canoe uses. Lungs aren't repairable !

Jim
 
Not to beat a dead horse but since we're drifting into cedar dust and preventative measures I'll just mention again how happy I am using an orbital sander with a dedicated dust collection port that's hooked to my shop vac. The amount of dust it captures is unbelievable. I no longer wear a respirator when sanding my hulls. When I get done my shop, hair, face, eyes, and clothes are no longer covered with dust. I don't even bother blowing myself off before leaving the shop after sanding. I made two full rounds sanding my latest hull with no respirator and it wasn't a problem. When I started attacking the stems with a block of sandpaper I picked up a cough and runny nose within 3 minutes. I put on the respirator to finish them then I was fine.

If your orbital sander has a dust bag it can usually be removed and an adapter either bought or cobbled together to connect it to your shop vac. Definitely worth the effort.

Alan
 
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