Need Help with Wood-Strip Composite Question

[Mr Efficiency]

You strip over temporary molds, sheath and finish the outside of the hull, then remove the molds and sheath the inside like laying up a fiberglass hull inside a female mold. Then install all the interior structure.

Van de Stadt calls it the "strip-core" method and has an article you can buy that explains the process.

Thanks for the explanation, are the strips secured by short screws from the inside, through battens, and you release it from this temporary mould by unscrewing it ? How is the shape preserved when it is sprung off the mould ? A cradle to hold it in shape while the inside is glassed ?

 

[Steve W]

Because the strips are longitudinal the mould only consists of transverse forms which you cover the edges of with packing tape to prevent sticking, then you hold the strips to the forms with duplex nails or you could use screws, everything is done from the outside. It is quite time consuming screwing from the inside, which I have done with a one off foam cored boat. You fit a cradle to the hull while it is upside down and leave the mold in while turning.

 

[Steve W]

If you are smart you can lay up large foam cored cradle pads which support a large area and can be reused on the permenant cradle later for a perfect fit. Its so easy to do while the hull is still upside down.

 

[Mr Efficiency]

Because the strips are longitudinal the mould only consists of transverse forms which you cover the edges of with packing tape to prevent sticking, then you hold the strips to the forms with duplex nails or you could use screws, everything is done from the outside. It is quite time consuming screwing from the inside, which I have done with a one off foam cored boat. You fit a cradle to the hull while it is upside down and leave the mold in while turning.

So how are the nails/screws released, if from the outside and already glassed over ?

 

[Steve W]

The whole thing has its shape by the time its planked up and even though you have tape on the frames it still takes some effort to break it free. We typically had permenant gunwhales incorporated in the mould which are screwed from the inside through little angle iron brackets, I had forgotten about that, its been about 25 - 30 years since we built a few sailboats this way.