i’m ready to start some kind of boat project. i’d like to do a sof but theres a lot of sharp oyster shells here. i’m considering another s&g but i’d rather not use exotic plywood imported from a tropical forest. i prefer hard chines so a typical stripper might be the answer, but (theres a lot of buts here) i am thinking…would it be plausible to make edge glued flat panels, then assemble the panels like a s&g, thus saving the effort and materials of making the strongback and molds needed for a typical stripper? phil bolger proposed this idea in a design for a 28’ sailboat (‘Burgundy’)
Half & Half?
standard S&G hull gives you the hard chines and (relative) ease of assembly and then topped off with striper top deck (where it is most visible).
sing
I built a cedar strip
replica of my skin on frame with flat butt edges and it turned out pretty good. With hard chines it goes together really fast. I have built two S&G kayaks and this stripper was easier than I thought it would be. Also cedar is so much lighter and stiffer than 3mm plywood. You can take a look at the kayak at my Webshots page and if you want I could trace the forms onto paper and give you the rocker dimensions I used and you could build it. It has turned out to be a fun day paddling kayak that has decent stability for a 19" kayak. http://community.webshots.com/user/dongoss100
Strength?
Most S&G boats get glassed on the outside only, yes?
Maybe you’d need to make your strip panels, glass one side (inside), then prentend that they are plywood.
Wow…a beautiful job and design!
Great job Don. I have looked at your site before, but still marvel at how you replicated your sof into such a beautiful stripper.
I just completed my first sof, and have built a hybrid Night Heron. Am of course figuring out what I want to build next…likely the Black Pearl by Bjorn Thomasson.
http://www.thomassondesign.com/edoc/eblackpearl.php#info
The Black Pearl may be another option for dannyb9 to consider?
Again Don…great job and really helfpul pics…
Bob
no
most s&g are glassed inside and outside of the hull, the decks are usually glassed outside only. The black pearl is a pretty pretty boat but god those overhangs front and back looks totaly un nessesarily long and pointy.
less twist
i agree however i am concerned about twisting panels with this (untried?) method. the long overhangs would mean less twist at the bow and stern. i guess i’ll just have to try it
easily done
– Last Updated: Aug-13-06 5:40 PM EST –
Yes, it can be done quite easily. Here's a boat I did using that method:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/549558682/2827395410050807370POFLwt
http://community.webshots.com/photo/549558682/2366659250050807370HHreSO
As you and mintjulep noted, the twist at the ends can cause some problems, as in the panels will probably crack if they aren't glassed on one side (as I learned from experience). If I remember correctly, it's only the bottom panel that has enough twist that it's a problem. You don't have to glass the whole panel - just the parts with the twist is sufficient.
I glued the panels up first, then ran them through the planer to flatten them and reduce the amount of sanding that would be needed. The next step was cutting the panels out - no different than with plywood. I hoped I could get away with not glassing the panels, but the bottom ones cracked in multiple places after they had been wired up for a day or so. I unwired them, glassed the outside with 6 oz. glass and wired them back up. After everything was wired up and in shape, I glassed the inside, then sanded the glass patches off of the outside before I glassed the outside of the hull.
If I were to do it again, I'd try a couple of small test panels, one with 2 oz. glass on one side and the other with 4 oz. glass on one side, to see how much it would take to keep the panels from breaking. I don't think you would need 6 oz. even at the ends, but that's all I had and I was in aw, crap/damage control mode when I did mine.
addition to post: I just looked at Don's photos, and the way he did his hull avoids the problem I ran into when trying to twist a whole panel.
Anyway, it's a pretty straight forward process.
Wow
That’s a beautiful boat. I swore I wasn’t going to build any more, but I have a boat I’d like to duplicate as a lightweight stripper, and it looks like your method avoided the problems I ran into the first time I tried it, soooooo …
Another thought
Many people build S&G kayaks using Luan door skins (1/8" luan). They do have occassional voids and you can hold a light to the backside of a sheet and see them - and work around them. In CT USA, the panels cost around $8 for a 4 x 8 sheet. I built two boats using it and I do coat the entire outside hull with glass and I glass the floor of the cockpit too. Never had a problem. I do paint the hulls and put a strip deck on them. But for time saving and cost, you can’t beat it. No doubt Okume is way better as a product but I don’t feel it’s necessary. The last rolling boat I built I never even checked for voids. Luan offers a real cheap way to build a S&G and I can say I never had any problems and I do beat on them. Okume bends much nicer on compound curves however and has a much nicer skin.
its about renewable resources
lauan has the same problem for me as okoume etc. it comes from a rapidly disappearing rainforest. yes! i’m a tree hugger! move me to b&b? ; } anybody here read robb white? awesome georgia boatbuilder, recently passed at great loss. he liked poplar, local and fast growing. i’m thinking a cypress or poplar stripper next
Wondered about Luan
I was considering looking into 1/8" door skin as a possible S&G material.
When you mentioned using a light to look for voids, I wondered what kind of light, 100watt work light or one of the big 500 watt halogen units. How bad are the voids in door skin luan.
Also wondered how you splice something that thin, can’t imagine cutting a tapered splice.
As for our tree hugger friend, I can agree with your resource comments, but what really drives me nuts is the developers who buy 100 acres of woods and cut out 90% of it for a danged golf course. Why not use a corn field instead. Myself - -I live in 5+ acres of woods with Federal wetlands on two sides. Took a permit and redesign to put in the driveway - - No way I’m cutting any more than needed, and I hate lawn mowers. 20 steps in any direction, and it’s solid woods - - Love it!!!
Plantation Raised?
The claim I’ve seen is that Okoume is made from plantation raised African mahogany. Don’t know if it’s true, but that’s what I’ve read. The term indicates to me a sustainable harvest (trees are a renewable resource, after all), but who knows…
‘plantation’ = tropical rainforest
my research shows ‘plantation’ is a euphemism for tropical forest. ‘management’ = harvesting. its not a pretty picture.