Freedom Solo 16'

[Cruiser]

Small update ...

Slight change of plans made on the fly, I was going to sand out the finish and add the additional layers of FG at the bow and stern after the boat was released from the molds. My thinking was that it might be easier to work with the recurve top section more easily with the boat right side up.

After initial (rough 80-100 grit) sanding, there were couple of spots that I felt had gone a little deep, so I decided that I would recoat with a thin epoxy coat before moving on to the final sanding. Since the rough sanding has already been done, you achieve a very smooth epoxy finish, which is ready for final sanding (150 grit). The only additional work this entails is the application of the epoxy, which took about 40 minutes start to finish.

Rather than do the bow/stern FG wear strips after release, it made more sense to do them before the epoxy overcoat, as this would save work later on.

FG strip being cut on the bias

Two layers of FG applied to the bow, after initial sanding

FG strips blended and sanded smooth

Normally, I wouldn't consider doing power epoxy sanding in the shop, simpy because the dust is a pita ... however, when I bought this new ROS, I got a shopvac adapter .... I did the whole boat and there was no dust anywhere

The strips blended in very well, this is the bow with 2 layers

And the whole boat is shiny again, waiting to be dull again ..... the sanding never ends

Brian

 

[Jim Dodd]

Amazing how those Bias strips vanish ! You really don't need to recoat with epoxy, as varnish will do the same thing !

Those outer stems can use the extra support of those Bias strips.

Love your ROS set up ! I really need to set up a vacumm on mine !

Looks Great Brian !!

Jim

 

[Cruiser]

Thanks Jim .... the recoat is just one of those building techniques we all adopt, I like the glass buried in epoxy. The coat I use is thin, so it doesn't add much weight and doesn't take long to apply. With the extra smooth finish the final sand goes quick as well ... and though I can't offer any proof, I find the varnish seems to be smoother in those areas, than it otherwise would be.
Getting that near perfect glassy varnish finish appears to be part technique, part science and part voodoo .... this may fall into the voodoo area.


Brian

 

[Cruiser]

I am just about finished the inside sanding ... I just remembered, there is a reason I like to sand outside.

Take me to your leader

Brian

 

[Jim Dodd]

I am just about finished the inside sanding ... I just remembered, there is a reason I like to sand outside.

Take me to your leader

Brian

HA HA HA !!!

I'd love to see the look on Trump's face, when he see's you !!!

You must be Near sited !

 

[Cruiser]

The outter glass is complete and dull again ... the boat released from the molds very easily, I was a tad worried that the new end shapes may cause release problems. I removed all the screws holding the molds to the strongback and all the middle molds slipped right out, once inverted the bow/stern mold also slid right out.

I use this set of holders to get the boat on it's side, so that I have better access ...

I like to get the scraper set working on that tumbleholme region first ...

And finished sanding .... just a few places to add some filler

One little detail I added on the inside sheer, was all the station locations, mostly to be able to locate where the spreader bars go and to be able to check station widths. These notations will be eventually covered by the gunnels.

Cleaned and glass ready for epoxy ... the shape of the bow/stern is a bit of a challenge to get the glass situated. Just before I added the glass, I mixed up some thickened epoxy (with a dash of colour) and went around filling any cracks that needed it, then I wiped each off with a mineral spirit dampened rag. These were still soft when I started to add epoxy.

And the glassing is done ... those ridges down the middle aren't as bad as they look, that is the angle of the lights, they are there, and I think I have finally figured out what causes them. The supplier rolls the glass and it seems flat ... but they then take the roll and stand it vertically, setting it down with a bit of a thump. I think this shifts some of the inner cloth and creates those deformations.

I will leave a few days to harden, then move on to gunnels and decks. The spots I filled are invisible and have blended in perfectly...no sanding or wetout worries ... I will remember that trick for the future.

Brian

 

[Jim Dodd]

Years ago A good friend purchased some 4 oz E-glass, that had the same pattern. No matter what we did, we could not get it to disappear ! The Suppler sent replacement, and it also had the same crease, that wouldn't go away !

Out of curiosity, was this 4 oz you used on the inside ?

Any secrets for getting a good glassing on those inner stems ?

Jim

 

[Cruiser]

This was 6 oz. cloth and I think that standing the roll up and tapping will cause the roll to shift a bit internally near the middle. This in turn make a creased/buckled section ... as you roll it out it is in the same place and as you get closer to the tube, it gets more pronounced ... this is my working hypothesis anyway. It was flat when it was rolled on the tube, I stood and watched, but when the clerk wrapped and put the rolled goods in the box, he let it drop the last 4" with a thunk, I believe that is exactly where the ridge comes from .... so imagine what shipping might do to rolled goods. I for one will pickup my glass from now on and make sure it is handled correctly.

I pretty much follow CC ... wet out around the stems .... cut the cloth up the middle of the stems while it is still dry ... one thing I do a little differently, is I use a "T" cut at the base of the stem to allow the glass to tuck in better ... then I finish doing the wet out . I am a little careful with how epoxy I brush on at this point .... it is hard to sqeegee out excess, so I try and use as little as possible here.

I did break out a 2" Jen foam brush to finish the ends/stems, but the rest was all sqeegee, which seems to be the most effective tool for inside work. I also don't sqeegee the excess off too soon, the epoxy needs to start setting before that step occurs IMO ..... what did I ever do before Siri and the voice timers

 

[Cruiser]

Progress on gunnels and decks

Gunnels are 5/16" x 5/8" cherry outside and 5/16" x 5/8" with a 1/4" 45 degree chamfer on the inside. This is putting on the outer gunnel, inside are already done, can you ever have enough clamps.

I always like to try something new for decks, sorta my thing. This is a stack of alternating red/white/dark cedar strips. There is a diagonal marked, which gets cut to give 2 halves.

Each half is resawed and glued up with a slightly wedge shaped piece of cherry to form the deck blanks.

After a quick planing, the deck blank is sized with lines.

Sized deck getting final cherry trim cap installed

The decks are less than 1/2" thick ( deliberate, saving weight), this is a blank getting 1 oz FG on bottom, after wetting out the receiving area is also wet out and thickened epoxy is used to seat the deck in place

Fiberglass trimmed and initial shaping started on one side.

1 oz FG for the top as well ... this glass is very light, but makes the thin decks strong.

First look at the what the decks will look like, was a bit of work to get here, but I really like the view.

Working on thwarts, seats and yoke ATM .....

Brian

 

[Jim Dodd]

Awesome Brian !
Love the look, and the rounding of the deck, really catches the eye !

Looking forward to the seats, and thwarts !

 

[Mrindy]

Wow, that deck plate really pops! And I think you win the prize for most clamps ever used on a single gunwale, epic picture. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Cruiser]

I have been a little delinquent with this build, sewing up new gear, a spring trip and general spring chores took up a lot of my time.

This is the instalation of the footbraces, they are from Duckworks and I have used them previously and I like how they look and work .... and for a solo, footbraces of some sort are a required option IMO ... there are quite a few ways of adding them, this is just what I like.

The braces are held to the canoe with these "footed" bolts, I take the finish off with emery cloth, to help the epoxy bond well. The left one is sanded, the right one is bright

Mark where the post will be located and roughen up the area

Use the base plate to precisely align the bolts, attach using thickened epoxy and fancy side to side hull clamps

Cleanup and flatten the area once it is all setup

Apply a square patch of FG (~4"x4", 6 oz) and a coat of epoxy, level edges and sand out

Apply 2cd coat of epoxy to finish and match surrounding area (I leave the cloth textured on the inside)

The footbrace can be installed at this point, it will be removed to finish the interior, then re installed.

Brian

 

[Cruiser]

The boat is basically finished, glassed inside/out, decks/gunnels attached, so only trim work and final varnishing remains. I like to do 1 coat of epoxy on the gunnels (to harden and seal), then finish sand that before varnishing, it seems to give a better end product ... but it is that bit of extra work.

This build has focused on trying to mind the grams, so the yoke was completely redesigned with this in mind ... so here are the yoke details ....

First up ... a couple of support rails were steam bent to shape (after drying, same molds used to epoxy them together) ... I am making 2 of these yokes to retrofit another solo boat, so you will likely see the extra yoke in the pics

Next I marked out a shoulder yoke from a piece of 2" x8" NWC ... including carving marks, channel marking for routed channels for the support rails

I use a Kutz All carver on my Angle grinder, here is one blank marked up and one partially carved

Assembly of all the wood parts, I used epoxy through out

After assembly, the rails are shaped, the assembly sanded and given an initail varnishing

Now on to connecting this to the boat .... I decided to use helicoils, I picked this method up on my first build and think it is a worthwhile tip to have in ones building "bag O tricks". I took a few picks to make it all clear without too many words.

First you need the helicoils (left, look like springs .. these are 1/4"-20), a drill bit for the bolts (1/4"), a drill for the helicoil (17/64") and a 1/4"-20 STI tap bit ... the STI part is important ... you can get these coils in almost any size, this is just what I decided to use

The yoke is put in place and the 1/4" drill bit used to drill through both the yoke and the support tab on the boat .... drop in a bolt then do the other side, creates perfect allignment

Drill out the support tab with the 17/64" bit and tap the hole using the STI tap

And the wood is tapped for the helicoil

Now we get to use the insertion tool (OMG quit snickering) .... just load the coil on the tool (you usually need to buy a kit that includes the bits and tool for the size you want to us)

Now put a dab of epoxy so that all the treads on the wood are covered, then just screw the helicoil in so that it is just past the surface of the gunnel

I used a couple of screw cap hex bolts with a press fit knob, just place the yoke and use the knobs to fasten it in place

This is a fairly deep and sculpted shoulder rest (full 2" thick), with rockers to tilt it further helping stay secure on the shoulders, while in use. Finished out, the package weighed 600 grams (1.3 pounds) which I think is pretty light for a full, deep dished yoke. I portage on every trip, so I opted out of the idea of making a less comfortable yoke ... I wanted light, but I also wanted it comfy to use. The rails are 3/8" x 3/4" and could be reduced a bit ... you can see the seat in the background, once it is woven, I wil post that as well.

Brian

 

[Cruiser]

The last detail before getting to varnishing the canoe is to complete the seat.

This is a standard seat design for me, I find commercial seats 1) aren't wide enough (at least for my bottom) 2) tend to be too flat ( my bottom is round) and 3) the front edge always digs into the back of my thigh.

This design has curved rear and front horizintal struts, with the front strut having about 1" more curve, so it dips in the front, roughly so that the angle from rear to front approximates the angle of my out stretched legs ... the molds used to steam bend the struts is also used to epoxy them up.

A small dado is cut in the assembled strut for the cross member support to fit into. To clamp the pieces together, once epoxy is applied, I just run a cap screw into the dado area. Once it is setup, I take the screw out and use a jig to drill a neat 3/8" hole and put in a hardwood dowel, it looks better and I believe is stronger.

This seat will be mounted on cleats, so they need to mounted to the canoe now, so that the seat can be fitted properly. The cleats have been sculped to look less boxy and the backs have been shaped to fit the compound curves of the canoe area where they will be afixed. The attachment point is laid out with painters tape and the area roughed up well.

The cleats are epoxied in, using both thinned and thickened epoxy, they are clamped in place with sized strips, which I found works surprisingly well.

The seat was aligned and fitted to the cleats, then holes were bored through the seat and cleats (to make sure they aligned). The cleat holes were rebored and fitted with M6 locking helicoils (you can purchase locking coils vs free running). If you look at the pic, you will notice the 2 flat areas on the installed coil. These act to lock the bolt in place .... replacing lock washers and bolts. This allows using this sort of cleat, which wouldn't be possible with a traditional cleat using bolts and washers.

Now on to getting the seat holes completed, 2 templates are used ... this keeps everything sysmetrical one the sides and ends.

I like to use a smaller pilot hole prior to moving to the final size hole. Here the seat has recieved the layout and all the pilot holes... it is now officially a holey seat.

All the final holes and counter sinks done (ease the rope transition)

Final shaping, to remove some of the wood and give a bit of shape ... a camber is added to the struts and all edges rounded, then the whole frame is finish sanded ....

Finished seat, ready for filling

Weaving underway ... takes about 75 feet of material to complete this weave, so I am using a 100' piece

And the finished seat ready for installation

You can see in the above pic that the gunnels have a coat of epoxy applied, this has been delaying me a little on getting the final varnishing started. I am making sure that epoxy is fully cured before I put varnish on it, otherwise there is a good chance the varnish will have drying problems. I should be varnishng this coming week, looking forward to getting this one on the water.

Brian

 

[Jim Dodd]

Comfy looking seat ! Nice mortising also !
I hate waiting for varnish to dry ! By that time, I'm really ready to get the hull in the water !

Looks Great Brian !

Jim

 

[Cruiser]

Our seat designs are a little bit different, but I did steal the mortise idea from yours Jim ....


Brian

 

[Cruiser]

Well, the new boat is done and all trim installed, planning to get it wet this weekend.

For now a few pics, I will make a final post after I get it wet and include some weights.

Brian

 

[deerfly]

exceptional, start to finish!

I feel like a complete amateur now, lol...

 

[boatstall]

Wow
Just Wow.

Beautiful craftsmanship. She looks fast just sitting still.
My only relativity to your build is using helicoils, and the same 11amp angle grinder and kutzall shaping disc. Great combo for removing stock.
Can't imagine how big your grin is going to be when you launch her.
Kudos on your build.

 

[Mrindy]

Wow - that is one sexy boat! Congratulations!