Building the Strongback Part 1

 As you can see on the left, the mould stations are finally complete. It feels strange now working on something besides them, but I have gotten all to use to it. Sadly, the stations are not perfect. But even though the forms at times are off by about a  1/16 in, I consider them "perfect." The first process after making the mould stations is building the strongback. As Ted Moore's in Canoecraft states, "The strongback is the backbone that supports the mould sections and controls the finished shape of the canoe and, as such, must be perfect as possible, level in all directions, straight, and solid." The second picture at right are the legs to the T-Beam. There were many different strongback designs I could have followed, (or made up my own) but Ted Moore's plan appeared to be the simplest and stongest. Built with a 2 x 10 plank 30 in. long, and two 2 x 4 planks 24 in. long, my strongback has two more legs than Ted Moore's plan, because I feel like it will be more stable. The 2 x 6 pictured is temporary and was placed there "just for looks" to help you envision it better.

Mistakes happen...

Today, as I cut out stations 0 - 2, I realized how large this canoe is at the middle. Working with the smaller stations for so long had me convinced that all stations were that size. I was wrong. Working with the bigger stations meant more room for error and thus even though I was able to circular saw, band saw, and sand them, I was a bit off with my measurements. At first, I was a little flustered, but then realized I don't live in a perfect world and that David Hazen in Stripper's Guide to Canoe Building was right when he said, "I have to remind myself not to mess around with the suffering, whipping myself for making mistakes. Perfect boats do not exist. The only question it makes sense to ask is, "What's next?" So, taking a step back from my mistake, I realized I could attach a small strip of wood to the bottom of Station 1 to make it even. and then when that is done, sand all the bottom's of the stations to ensure that they are even.

Pictured below, are all the stations but zero and one. Look's better in real life. The picture doesn't really capture the amount of work attached with them...

Building the Mould Stations Part 3

 This weekend has been a canoe packed, but I have enjoyed every bit of it. This blog post is more informative of what I did today, and so therefore it is shorter because of the repetitive  nature of the construction process of each station. Having completed three stations at this point, the process is time consuming. (That is only if you want favorable results.)  Part III of the construction process started with cutting the screwed together plywood into sections with a circular saw. Then, my dad thought of the idea to use a "straight edge clamp" for the Circular Saw, to ensure an absolute straight edge, rather than just the Circular Saw because it will ultimately attach to the top side of the "strongback." Then using a saber saw and a band saw, pictured at right, I then sanded the crudely cut outline with an oscillating horizontal sander. Sadly, the sand paper broke, which ended my day, but I look forward to finishing each station and the stern/bow and attaching them to the "strongback."