Thread: inwale spacers

Ah! Dave is right to call me out on this. Forum regulars know that I have a bad habit of posting in a semi-caffeinated state -- enough coffee to be able to type but not enough yet to fully engage my brain. The result can be overly harsh at times. I apologize.

I was mostly trying to address the more/less work issue. As Dave states, the build method in the plans is easy. Very easy. One thing you can be sure of is that MIK has refined the build process to make it as easy as possible for a first-timer to get the job done. Whatever is in the plans is probably the easiest way to do it.

That doesn't mean you can't deviate. Many builders do. And the result can be very beautiful and/or practical. But any such deviation will almost certainly be more work. So factor that in when making your plans.

I will also stress the following: If the tops of the spacers are not flush with the rest of the sheerline, you will definitely have a less comfortable seat. The sheer as designed is quite comfortable to sit on and hike out from for considerable periods of time. Dropping the spacers even a couple of mm will make this less true.

If you do desire to cover the sheer with something more comfortable, make sure it is removable. Dave may be right about the origin of the inwale/spacer design. But it also provides a way of tipping out water, sand, salt, etc. when the boat is beached. You won't want to prevent this from happening.

Originally Posted by wvjohn

I love how some builders have that nice inward curve on the inwale spacers. Any tricks to doing that? Hopefully not requiring an expensive piece of equipment.

Here is how we built GIR's western red cedar inwale spacers, using a drill press and sanding bands. We borrowed the drill press and bought the cylinder sanding bands & tools from a local fine woodworking shop because the big box hardware store did not have them. Clamped on a few boards to create a jig and sanded away. Started with 80 grit, then 120 and finished with 220. Did the same spacer design on the tiller spacers. It took my son and I about 4 hours to shape all the spacers. If you use this idea be careful about how much pressure you put on the sanding bands. They can become too hot and the glue will release. Also if your spacers are a harder wood that western red cedar this technique may not work well.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f169/t...3/index13.html - post #185

jdg - GIR

I didn't have to do any of this as my canoe has ribs, so has square ended "spacers" -

However, the semi-circular ends on the spacers in a ribless design look very nice. I would try using a drill press to do this job, with a Forstner bit to get a clean cut instead of a router. It should result in a simpler jig and an easier set up, probably quicker too. Worth a try . . .

Edit: Oops! Just re-read the thread and of course post #3 shows this idea, although the jig still seems a bit complex . . . but I'm notoriously lazy.

I would reluctant to use any of the red cedar I found around here when I was sourcing the wood. All I could find was really crappy looking fence slats, a bare 3/4 inch, probably 11/16. They were knotty, rough sawn, and totally unsuitable for any structural purpose IMO.

That's not to say you won't find much better cedar in your part of the country but, since the chines are probably the most highly stressed members in the Goat I would be very selective, and cautious. Lacking a very high ring count I'd suggest increasing the dimensions by a few millimeters, too--both thickness and width.

If you can find it I'd say cypress may be a very good choice. Eastern white cedar, AKA juniper, would be another.