Stripped planking

Hi guys have been looking on this site for months .
I am building a stripped plank deep v boat around 5.2 long.
I am thinking of using biscuits between the planks in the hope of keeping my gaps the same ,am also thinking this will help some what in keeping the boat fair.

I know this is going to add alot of time to the build ,would it be wurth it ?.

Many thanks .

 

No
Use straps and staples or screws, faster and easier

Like this

http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/6736/size/big/cat//ppuser/16678

 

Beware using biscuits they arnt that strong ,make a groove and use 5 ply strips instead !!
Or a round on one side and a matching scallop on the other so they are close fitting together . The strips can be totally glue the edge from end to end . The scallop and round can be done with a spindle moulder or a pair of 12mm shaft routers ,one cutter in each router . .I Made a 36 foot Yacht hull plug recently and that was what we used and worked a treat . One table set with a router on each side so the strips can be done really quickly and easly .

 

Biscuits can't be used, because the angle of each strip changes slightly in most areas of the boat and at the turn of the bilge it changes a lot from one strip to the next. This is why the cove and bead method is so desirable. Also biscuits will dramatically weaken the strips, plus they need to swell up from moisture base adhesives (PVA's, etc.) to work properly.

Make sure your station molds are fair, before you begin to plank. This will greatly help the fairness of the strips as they're attached to the molds. Strip plank designs have a built in amount of strip thickness, that's intended to be removed during the fairing process (assuming a designer knows what he's doing). So if the design calls for 75 mm thick strips, then the faired dimension will be in the 70 to 72 mm range after it's all sanded and ready for fabrics.

Unless you're going for a bright finish, you don't really need to cove and bead the strips, just let the gaps show. You can go back and fill them with thickened epoxy before you fair the hull, which will fill and gaps and seal up the hull. I don't use cove a bead, unless the strips are really dainty or if a bright finish is desired. Most of the time you don't have very big gaps, but the turn of the bilge and the ends of the boat may open up a wee bit from twist, so I just select an angle and plow off one side on the table saw or with a hand plane, at this angle so the gap closes up.

 

Do a search for "Andre Bilodeau Core-Cell Bead & Cove construction, and order his book. very helpful.

 

Many thanks for all replies. The bead and cove method looks very interesting