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.