I specify butt straps because they are simpler, faster and have a neat result for amateurs every time. But I do place them in the hull where they won’t affect curvature of the ply. What are their advantages for joining ply compared scarf joints.
The above photo was taken on the third day of our Canoeing trip on the Loire River in France. The two black canoes didn’t even exist a week ago.
When I wrote the original article on Disposable Canoeing I had no idea at all what it would lead to me and a bunch of adventurers, wine and cheese connoisseurs. Most of us didn’t even know each other! The picture above is the result of this adventurism, but what happened to make it happen?
What technology was involved to make the boats faster to build than most stitch and glue boats and what weather conditions did we have to overcome to make it all happen.
How much fibreglass is really necessary to prevent damage to a plywood boat for most users?
For a long time I’ve been suspicious that both designers and builders are in a never ending spiral of more and more heavier fibreglass.
I argue, with data from the Turner designed Jarcat, that the weights of glass are clearly excessive for most uses and users of small boats.
One of the most important things as a designer or sailor is to keep an open mind, but also to be able to analyze things in light of real experience and prior knowledge. These are online and paper resources that force thinking in different ways.
This article, after a bit of a spiel, goes on to give some great resources that “opened my eyes” at different times in my life.
They focus on areas of structural design, sailing, sail aerodynamics and touch on a bit more.
I built the Quick Canoe in a day and a half. This is way slower than some of my customers.
It is the first time I have been disappointed building a complete boat this quick.
The risk of high expectations!
But a day and a half with the problems I had is pretty good.
Is it revolutionary?
The Quick Canoe uses Duct tape to hold the plywood together while the glue or glass tape sets up. This can save a huge amount of time.
The Quick Canoe is designed to take maximum advantage from the method.
Slideshow and pictures resources to show some of the methods for building the Eureka Stitch and Glue Plywood Canoe.
Melanie in the UK wrote to me. She has just bought an old Mirror dinghy and started sailing for the first time.
Problem is that the boat leaks and she doesn’t want to stop using the boat until the end of the season.
I have a philosophy of keeping older boats on the water and not pulling them off for months on end until you have the time to do the job.
So the article here is useful to see what can be done with an old leaky plywood sailing dinghy to keep it going.
It is perfect sailing weather at the moment in the UK and it is better she is out there learning but with the worst of the leaks gone.
With a disciplined approach she should be able to get all of this done in a week or so. The general leaks fixed permanently and the rotted area reinforced so that the boat won’t break.
This is the second of my talks in the USA. It focuses a bit more on construction and some of the methods that can be used to keep a boat light and simple, but very strong and stiff.
It also discusses how there is a “creep” in boatbuilding and design that increases the weight of boats way over what is really needed for a strong structure.
The OzRacer is the first boat he has built and Alex is not necessarily taking the quickest way – But he is reporting daily about his building and his ruminations on different subjects.
Modified method for building the classic stitch and glue Eureka Canoe makes the stitching process more controllable – these methods have been added to the Eureka Canoe Plan and the Quick Canoe Plan.
We have moved much of our activity to the Facebook Groups. See the links in the Menu above. But there are so many great questions asked and discussed on the Oz Woodwork Forums..
Any paint or varnish can be turned into a non skid paint without buying anything more than some coarse grain sugar. The texture provides good footing and has no sharpness that will hurt your feet.
Peter Hyndman has been building his Eureka Canoe forever. I think it is still not finished – however he did document it beautifully
Interview/Podcast with Michael Storer on why Australian boats are different, why traditional rigs have some distinct advantages.
The basic problem is that end grain is highly absorbent so it can steal the resin from the join leaving insufficient for good bonding.
Just a simple wooden box with a lightbulb inside and a switch on the outside. The swing down lid has slots so the tops of the epoxy pumps are outside the box or a hinged lid you just flip up when you need to pump.
Teak and other timbers make great veneer decks. There are a couple of tricks with the sealant between the planks though
