Semi-stripper
ancient kayaker

ancient kayaker: Semi-stripper

Solo canoe, 3.66m x 71cm, part 4 mm marine plywood (yellow), part Western Red Cedar strips (green). Laminated ribs hold everything together. This construction was used to avoid the need for glass reinforcement, which is usual these days for stripper canoes. Since she is only partly stripped, I named her Rose Lee after Gypsy Rose Lee, a famous burlesque performer who was also only partly stripped for her performances. The build sequence is very similar to an Adirondack Guideboat. I started by laminating 26 identical pine ribs, carving the stems and cutting out the plywood bottom plank. The middle 22 ribs were attached to the bottom plank and temporary stringers clamped to the ribs to form the basic shape. 4.5 x 16mm cedar strips were glued to the ribs and each other to form the rounded bilges, then ply sheer planks were added to top off the hull. I finished her with gunnels and clamps in the traditional manner, and outer stems or cutwaters of laminated ash. A non-traditional feature was the way the half-ribs are attached: instead of being glued together and mounted in pairs normal to the center-line, they are mounted individually, normal to the strips i.e., radially. This eliminated the need for beveling them. It creates an unusual look viewed from above. When I get some nice weather I will post an image of the actual boat: this is from the FreeShip design file. See http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/wooden-boat-building-restoration/hybrid-construction-36215.html

ancient kayaker, Jan 14, 2013