Solo on the Light Side

[Cruiser]

Stripping Part 1

Since this is a staple less build, some of the clamping solutions need to get creative. Whenever there is a concave section, as it is here,it is never an easy day, find it is best to not short cut and just work out some decent supports. There is no question, building stapleless is more difficult than using staples, if you can't see the holes or they don't bother you, don't build staple less ... if they drive you nuts, welcome to the "Gluttons for Punishment Club".

The current plan is to break the stripping up into 3 parts, 1 - First 6-8" of concave section starting at sheer 2 - rest of stripping just short of closing 3 - closing the football

So ... all the forms are set, strips are selected... now to get that all important first strip set on. Personal preference for me is to strip parallel to the waterline and this usually involves using the sheer of the middle 4-5 forms and allowing the strip to find its balance to the end. However this particular design is not from strip plans and the KeeWaydin hull just doesn't have any flat spots ...

This is a pic borrowed from Glenn's Keewaydin 15 Review ( https://www.canoetripping.net/threa...-trip-reports-in-winter-cold-and-wind.129842/ ) .... you can see that there are a lot of curves and virtually nothing flat



the easiest solution to follow the waterline is to just use the middle form sheer and draw that on each form to the bow/stern



since this is a stapleless build, I needed someplace to rest/support/fasten the strips at the ends. I took a few scraps of 3/4" birch ply and made a couple of end caps



lined those up with the sheer marks



and screwed them in place



On this canoe, the first 6" up from the shear are a bit tricky/wavy/pita to do, so I just made up custom strip forms for most of the difficult areas from scrap ply

here are is the starting pile, with the cut out drawn in



lining up with spring clamps before fastening with C clamps, the strip rest bottom lines up with the drawn in sheer mark, the curvy part is adjusted so it doesn't interfere with where the strip touches the form



center form gets an extra piece to make it centered on the form, others are fine on the side facing the canoe end.



Jimmi Clamps are a staple for my builds now (thank you Jim Dodd) but my regular size ones are just too large for these smaller strips, so smaller clamps were purchased and outfitted

Regular versus new smaller clamps



new inner tubes



the new tubes have a powdery lubricant inside, that is better washed out after you cut them up, pile of washed 4.5" inner tube pieces and clamps



to put the tubes on the clamps I just locked one Allan Key in the vise and opened the tube with the other



The three stages after the tube is slid on, 1) initial 2) pushed in 3) seated with a rod ... and I present "Minni Jimmi's" ... I am making one other change to these clamps, the 3/16" tubing I ordered tends to bend when zip tied to the clamp, so I have opted to just use 48" pieces of 3/16" dowel along the strip ... I am happy with how well this works



Finally, time to lay in the first strips





Minni Jimmis in action



That was a short lived "woot I am started" ... turns out that when you buy from Home Depot the little caps on the clamps were applied after the little dab of adhesive dried, meaning every one pulled off as soon as I removed the clamp

So this is Minni Jimmis dismantled again



clamps top part sanded down



then a drop of Goop was added and all the clamps recapped then retubed, lesson here is to check your caps if you make Jimmi Clamps

This first 6" of stripping is the most difficult, so I am taking my time, this is a shot of the first few strips and they seem to be fitting well



and a close up of that skarf joint



and as always, I inspect each strip, to get rid of crud, before I install



the caps at the end were a good choice, I added some elastic cord and an eyelet. This allows easy down and "in" pressure to be added to the strip ends



The narrower strips are definitely easier to get a good fit to the form



Stripped to the top of the custom holders ... done with the concave section, This doesn't look very wavy, but photos can be pretty deceptive, that's why I posted the first shot of the Kee .... it was one of the better pics that show just how curvy this boat is.



Now I have to reconfigure how to hold the strips for the next convex section of stripping .... stay tuned

 

[Jim Dodd]

I really like your idea with the plywood jig ! Clever way to keep the strips tight to the forms, in the Tumblehome area !

I would definitely use it, but this time, I'm going back to staples .

I'll use the Jimmie clamps, between the forms, so I guess, I'm reducing the staples at least.
You are way ahead of me !

I also want to compliment on how efficiently. you have your relatively small work space set up !

Jim

 

[Cruiser]

I really like your idea with the plywood jig ! Clever way to keep the strips tight to the forms, in the Tumblehome area !

I would definitely use it, but this time, I'm going back to staples .

I'll use the Jimmie clamps, between the forms, so I guess, I'm reducing the staples at least.
You are way ahead of me !

I also want to compliment on how efficiently. you have your relatively small work space set up !

Jim

Thanks Jim, on a side note about stemless, specifically the interlocking method. I figured out how a lot of it worked, but several searches also turned up posts you've made about some details (before I joined here), but nothing all in one place.

Have you ever considered doing a primer for the method, covering all the details in one place, it seems you already have enough pics?

I think it would be a useful reference for someone trying the method (like me). Example, I quickly figured out that the strip sequences goes (example) L-R-R-L-L-R-R not sequentially back and forth R-L-R-L only to find you posted that here 10 years ago, ditto with the transition from the interlock to center flat sawn joints, once they roll sufficiently.


Brian

 

[Cruiser]

Stripping Part 2a

The strip hold down solutions, for stapleless stripper builds is literally a "Wild West" scenario with all sorts of solutions to similar problems. Wading through it all can be a bit of an exercise (read that as PITA).

It may be a useful exercise to talk a little about some of the stuff I have tried and how I ended up with the system that is going to be used this time.

For the first build (Freedom Solo 16'), I used large zip ties and palletizing tape. The zip ties held the strips to the form, the palletizing tape was stretched a bit and wrapped around the strips at each form, the cove was protected with a dowel



This works surprisingly well, as the palletizing tape tightens after application and puts a nice amount of pressure at each point. Since it is wrapped around the bottom of the sheer edge it also gives a lot of inward pull, keeping the top edge from flexing. The down side is it's a whole process, the tape can't be reused so while it is cheap, it creates a lot of waste and takes a lot of time.

The next iteration (Kipawa) was to replace the zip ties with cam buckle straps, with little guides to hold the strap on the form edge



The straps work as well, but tightening them will quickly give you sore muscles as it is awkward and hard to do. The palletizing tape is still generating a lot of waste and taking a lot of time.

The Freedom 17 build replaces that palletizing tape with shock cord and sticking with the cam buckle straps to hold everything to the forms



This worked quite well, but those buckles are a pita to apply and does take a toll on the arms when tightening, the shock cord is pretty easy for hold down though

This next pic is from a modified Freedom Solo 16' build, sticking with the strap/shock cord method ... but the thing to note here is the impact of perspective .... same canoe, photos of one side and the other, the lighting makes the shape look completely different IMO, the first hides the tumblehome ... the second shows it. As an aside the second pic also shows why strap hold downs won't work well in that first section of a hull with tumblehome.





My last build saw (lengthened Kee 14 clone) the introduction of a new strip hold down system, the Jimmi clamps ... time to replace that shock cord and maybe try some stretchy belt style hold downs for snugging to the form



I used gray latex exercise/physiotherapy (Theraband) material ... it worked just OK, but there just wasn't the strip alignment I had with the other systems, it was a bit of a struggle. Enough so that I won't use it on this build and would classify this as a failure in performance, success in ease of use. The Jimmi clamps are a keeper though.


The trick here is to figure out the "why" of the hold down systems success and failures. All of the original hold down methods were successful performers, but had issues with use/waste and had a couple of things in common.

They looped from the sheer to the strip edge, creating a "inward pull" towards the canoe inside and the strap kept the strips held to the form. Sort of like this crude drawing, hopefully you get the idea



The strips usually twist on their journey from bow to stern, the leading edge then tends to flex up ... the one big change here was the introduction of the Jimmi Clamp, it excels at pulling the strips together but it eliminates that inward pull. That means the only thing holding the strips to the form and trying to keep them unflexed is whatever strap mechanism you have. The strap is exerting force in the wrong direction to effectively counter the strip flexing, hence the issue keeping the strips laying flat to the form.



This outlines some history and what the hold down system needs to over come in a stapleless build and that the goal you are chasing is something that works and is easy to use with minimal waste .... so on to the next part of stripping.

On this build I will need two hold down systems, one on the Bow/Stern assemblies and one on the rest of the forms.

The Bow stern assembly is too narrow for anything other than an external form that allows a wedge to be used to force the strip against the forms, to do this

The form shape plus 3/4" was lofted onto scrap ply (dots are form shape, line is plus the 3/4")



Cut out and edges lightly sanded



then installed with an even gap at the bow and stern middle assembly forms




I marked the remaining forms with a series of dots above the installed strip line, 2" down and spaced every 2", drilled pilot holes and ran 2" #8 wood screws in so there was roughly equal amounts on each side. A pilot hole an screw where also installed at the top center of each form.






Then each of the original holddowns where released, received a 1/4" hole and where replaced so they held the strips in place. This pic also shows a piece of shock cord that was added that provides moderate stretch and pressure when stretched to the screw at the middle of the form top.



and this is how the new hold down looks when used, you can see that by using a screw lower down, you add that inward holding power and if you need a little more pressure you can just move the shock cord end farther along past the middle to increase the pull.





The system is working quite well, the regret I have is using the quick and dirty solution of just running screws through the ply. It works, but it sucks a little as well.

This photo shows 2 things ... 1) how well the strips are fitting the curves and 2) the back end of those screws ... it is almost like they reach out and scratch you, you can think you have clearance and BAM, another scratch. If you try anything like this, try using something a little friendlier than screws



Also I have been keeping the shop at about 55 F to extend the glue setup time a little, this is a pic of the glue and application bottle, I find keeping the bottle full, makes for easier application.




Heading out to the garage to get screw scratched and get more strips on.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Great Camera work Brian.
Your strip clamping method is pretty elaborate, but effective.
These bungee cord straps are the Brain Child, of another Jim Dodd .
They work great.
Both wood blocks hook on the Shear strip, the one with the slanted hole drilled in it, is adjustable, and looks by friction. So Quick and easy to use !

Zip tying 1/4" plastic tubing to the Jimmie clamps and the Bungee clamps helps protect the Fragile Cove lips.

As for how to trim the strips at the stems so they interlock ?
I will post again.
Showing how to trim the strips, is in one of my other Build threads, but yes, a dedicated Thread should be in order !

JIm

 

[Cruiser]

I saw Jim post those, I always wondered (FB isn't great for build threads) if they adjusted or just apply more and more pressure as the strip stack gets wider. That was one of the things I was trying to design into what I use, something that would allow strip holding without fiddling as I added strips.

 

[Jim Dodd]

These bungees adjust quite well !
Quick and easy.
I didn't take a lot of pics at the time, one last one.

 

[Cruiser]

Stripping is moving along pretty well ....

This is a pic of the last strip before I remove the Bow support piece



and a closeup of the profile filed for the next strip



The very next strip is the rollover point where I will be swapping from interlocking to long angle straight joints. You can see the swap out and changeover to shock for strip clamping



The hold down system is a keeper, it is working really well



and the stern section is running a couple strips late, because the front has more rocker and I am running parallel to the waterline, so it still has the support bracket for strips




Done with interlock, this is now ready to convert to plain joints



Since I have never done the ends this way, I cut a few trial pieces to see how the fit worked, these are just short trial pieces



The conversion was a little easier, because the first strips at the bow, still used a interlock at the stern ... I didn't really need to fit the length at all. Just get the front cut right and fitted, then trim the ends.



Starting the run up the side to the middle



Almost there, I like to draw in the rough centre line as I go, gives me a clear vision of how many more strips I need to add



Stripping is done to the centre line



Rough chisel work, getting it close to the "rough" line (the rough line is located with a little safety margin)



Sort of a status shot, imagining it closed and trying to see what it will look like



Back to trimming that line, erasing the rough line



and re establishing an accurate "cut to" line



The new line is drawn in ... when you do this trimming, it is always from the centre to the ends, in this case you can see the trim to near the line in the back part of this pic.



In the above pic the sanding tools are laying on the back top of the canoe, the large flat one is to flatten and get on the line, the angled one is to make sure the final sand has the right angle





The established line and again it worked out, even though I still sweat it every time.



I wish the pic was better, but the conversion strips did end up fitting pretty well, may have to fiddle a bit when I finish stripping, but not too bad for a first attempt



Now for all the fiddle work closing the rest up


Brian

 

[Gamma1214]

Looking great! I really like the color combination.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Very Nice Brian !
The Center line looks perfect !
I've always cut the center line with a Jap saw, leaving a little, to hand plane.
The Sanding block is a good method to get it perfect !

Are the pics with the forms, with green tape, from a different canoe ? They also appear to be thicker strips.

Now the part I enjoy most, fitting the strips !

Jim

 

[Cruiser]

Very Nice Brian !
The Center line looks perfect !
I've always cut the center line with a Jap saw, leaving a little, to hand plane.
The Sanding block is a good method to get it perfect !

Are the pics with the forms, with green tape, from a different canoe ? They also appear to be thicker strips.

Now the part I enjoy most, fitting the strips !

Jim

Like I say Jim, you always see the details ... I didn't have a pic of those, so those are from the last build. I found the painters tape still sticks a little, so I am using clear shiny tape this time. And those (sanding stick pics) are the infamous 7/8" I used on the last build ... the 5/8" on this build are night and day different (better) for this build.

They also have a 3/16" C&B (on 3/16" strips) which is also a lot more secure in the bends and twists IMO. I think using the 1/4" set (on 3/16" strips) on less curvy/twisty boats is fine, but if you have any amount twisting, curving it looks to be best to match the B&Cs to the strips width and get all the seating possible (again IMO).

I think the saw and plane would be perfect for other softwoods (i.e. pine) that some folks use, but this is mostly northern white cedar, so trimming with a chisel and using the sanding sticks is fast.


Brian

 

[Jim Dodd]

Yes, on the tape. The Masking tape, often sticks to the inside, but comes off while scraping or sanding. I use Plastic tape on the stems, for sure. Don't need any sticking there !
Hard to tell, but did you follow the Shear, or will you stair step it, on the ends ?
I know you are working in tight quarters , and hard to get some photo angles.

Jim

 

[Cruiser]

I extended the sheer point from the centre form to the ends, to keep the strip line parallel to the water, so yes, I will step the ends once the football is closed up.


Brian

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Expected final: under 3 pounds (with inside chamfer, top sides rounded over and narrowing the ends)

A "traditional" gunnel is 3/4" x 3/4" inner and the same as an outer... that gunnel arrangement in cherry, for this build, would weigh ~13.5 pounds and in ash ~ 14.9 pounds

Wow, a 10 to 11 pound saving with uniwales, if I'm reading this right!

Another thing the Uniwhale doesn't allow for Scuppers. I got to have scuppers.

I like slotted (scuppered) inwales too, but saving 10+ pounds would overcome that preference.

 

[Cruiser]

Wow, a 10 to 11 pound saving with uniwales, if I'm reading this right!



I like slotted (scuppered) inwales too, but saving 10+ pounds would overcome that preference.

It isn't just the Uniwales, they aren't magic, they are just something most folks don't do, so it's a different approach ... and lets face it, we are all a bit different here.

You can achieve similar savings with pretty much all forms of gunnels, including scuppered, just don't overbuild for purpose. Sometimes those full size gunnels may be required ... but I suspect for most adventures, trimming the gunnel size affects nothing but weight.

Brian