My first post here.
Nice looking canoe. Silly question: Is that a square stern or simply just one have?
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My first post here.
Nice looking canoe. Silly question: Is that a square stern or simply just one have?
JEM, Welcome!
No it's a double ender! Just one half built for the prototype because it's completely symetrical.
Check out Michael Storer's website: http://www.storerboatplans.com/Eureka/Eurekacanoes.html for more information!
Cheers,
P
Rats. I saw Midge's name and hoped he was posting news of progress :rolleyes:
Richard :D
Maybe Sunday, since the Rowboat plans aren't ready yet!
P
:D :D :D
How many times do I have to tell ya!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by bitingmidge
Simple solution is:
Http://www.majorpanic.com/images/woodwork/BB/Adams10.jpg
News on the Eureka front!!
I started to set out the real thing on Sunday, then discovered in the three years since I set out the prototype panels (oops!), I had misplace the panel setout drawing, or maybe Michael had just repossessed it it when we did the mock-up!
Anyways, he emailed me a new one, and I set about doing stuff. Pics are two different batches, because I didn't need to use the long fairing batten, and I had a photo from three years ago!
Marking out is really simple, just set out a grid at 300mm intervals along the sheet, and a centre line lengthwise. Mark all the panels to Michael's dimensions on those gridlines, and join the dots.
I used panel pins to mark the dots, and a 19 x19 oregon fairing batten held against the pins by part of my collection of blunt objects.
For the tighter curves, I have a selection of skinny battens which are really timber venetian blinds, and they need to be held in place by hand. This takes two people usually, which explains why my hand looks a bit like it's working harder than it likes while my other hand takes the photo!
Oops! No way to attach photos yet! Another day, another post!
Cheers,
P
So I've got a real head of steam up now!!
I'm pretty good at marking stuff out, but not so good at cutting, so I keep a mm or two (or three or four) away from the line. I do tend to use a thick felt pen in this situation, and try not to hit it when cutting! :eek:
This time I have had a bit of a revelation, because I've got this swag of LV LA planes in my kit now, and the LA Smoother and LA Block with the razor sharp blades (thanks MathewA) are such a pleasure to use on the edge of the ply that I want to just cut anywhere and plane it all back!
This is one of those jobs where a cheap jigsaw is more than good enough, mine cost $20 ten years ago, and the equivalent would be $15 now.
So, I've now cut out the first two panels and used them as a template to mark the others, only one set out mistake so far (fixed!) :eek: , when I just slapped down the bottom panel template I made for the trial fit, and didn't bother to check where on the sheet of ply it was. Don't do this, there is about 15mm of tolerance before you don't have enough room to cut all the panels out of two sheets!
I don't know why it's not obvious to a novice, but it's not;- so use the first bits as a template for the rest, and don't spend forever setting out!
Cheers,
P:D
You know that head of steam I had up a week ago?
Well typically, things got in the way (as they always do), I ended up on the road for four out of the last seven days, and that's not an easy way of building a canoe!
So here's the pics I couldn't post last week, and today's update:
1) Using a cheap jigsaw! :rolleyes:
2) Two panels finally trimmed, being used as a template to setout the rest
3) Butt joints: This is a bit of an experiment. In the past I've held the joints together with packaging tape on the outside, and lifted the "hinge" to separate the join a bit to jam some glue in, before gluing butt straps over the top.
This time, because of the thin ply (4mm) I've chamfered the join, which allows (I hope!) a tighter butt on the outside face. I've filled the join with glue while gluing the butt straps, and this also gives a slightly larger gluing surface area. Seems to be fine so far!
4) Outside of the joint taped with packaging tape. This keeps the joint tight while the butt strap is being glued on, and saves all manner of juggling with moving bits while getting everything in place.
If you are lucky, you'll see a couple of dings in the ply :mad: . I had swept the floor, then put plastic down, then forgot about everything and SAT on the ply while sanding it, to keep it from sliding everywhere. Unfortunately a few imperfections (grainy bits) in the concrete managed to bruise the timber in all manner of places.
I'll give it a go with a steam iron later, then see how I feel about it. Might end up painting the thing yet!
5) The panels all glued together. Currently they have their first coat of epoxy on what will be the inside, and I'm off to the shops while it goes off enough to give it the next coat!
cheers,
P
Eureka!
He's working on it:eek: :rolleyes:
Richard
Thought I'd better do something.
There are 1,439 disappointed viewers of this thread so far!
P (Waiting for the epoxy to dry!)
:D :D :D
Update!
Pics show:
1) Butt strap finished, glued and bevelled. About now I got this bright idea to bevel all the panels so I'd end up with a lovely tight external joint, and as I thought I'd have a crack at clear finishing the boat, this would be a nice thing to do.
The seams will look fantastically neat inside as well.
More on that later! :eek:
2) Sanding the epoxy coating. OK so everyone's seen a ROS (Random Orbital Sander) before, but the pic is to remind all that epoxy dust, especially when green, is not good to breath. Throw away the dinky little dust bag on your sander and use a bit of gaffer tape to connect it to the ShopVac (or house Vac!). You'll be amazed at how clean the whole operation becomes.
3) Stitching begins, here are the first three panels getting sorted.
4) Overview of the boat. (Sorry the pics a shocker, will try again next weekend!)
5) Another view of the stitching almost done...almost because :o :o well read the next post! In the meantime, it was pretty good almost no twist eetc etc, so the practise can't have hurt!
Cheers,
P
Righto! Confession time!
You'd think that after prototyping the panels, yours truly would know better, but a true idiot can never find his limit, even on a simple stitch and tape canoe!
There is a gap you see...well four really, one each side of the identical bow/stern panels.
Here was I getting all tricky, and making a really nice neat join on the outside by bevelling the panels. I had completely overlooked the fact that the boat had been designed and dimensioned for all panels to meet on the INSIDE,
End result, on the particularly convoluted front/back bit, a 4-5mm gap. It looks like 10 or 12, but it is only 4 or 5.
Michael laughed, admonished me suitably for taking too much time to build the thing, after all each day building is a day less on the water.... but I still like the building process!
All I need to do is pull it all apart, scribe the new line, bevel it all again and stitch it back together. Shame that this was our last free weekend for a bit!
But them's the joys of boat building!
cheers,
P
:D :D :D
What a difference a day makes!
Thought about it all night (Not!) then remembered two of the essential ingredients for projects like these: Brute strength and Ignorance.
Well there's plenty of the latter round here, but we're a bit short on the former, so made do with what was lying round.
Another call to Michael to reassure him it was MY 4mm error :eek: and off to work with the trusty (and now very blunt) block plane.
A few minutes to lop off a small 4" x 4mm (to mix my metaphores - ah well the Seppos'll understand half of what's going on! :D :D and a few more lengths of wire, and we have a fit!! That's the interesting thing about stitch and tape construction, there's a fair bit of leeway for error, yet the when the panels fit perfectly, the boat forms a usable or even better(!) hull shape
Pity we've got guests arriving in half an hour, or I'd be sticking in the first fillets tonight!
Cheers,
P:D
Take a bow? She's looking good mate. Have to give one a go.
Does the fibreglass tape only go in the inside? If so any joint gap showing on the outside is filled with epoxy? Or am I off track?