Building the Gunwales Part II

 The second step of building the inwale was to make the scuppers. The scuppers are helpful in to ways: they enable the water to drain out of the canoe when flipped over and they allow gear to be tied down. Scupper lengths vary from an inch to multiple inches. My scuppers were 3 1/2" long and were spaced 3 1/2" away from each other. The scuppers were not only cut on the chop saw but also routed to give them a curved edge, which would complement the whole curviness of the canoe. They were then glued onto the inwale outer strip at the correct spacing and then clamped down with multiple binder clips from Staples. After the glue dried, it was  sanded with a belt sander to ensure a smooth surface. Then finally the next step was to build the deck.

Building the Gunwales Part I

The first step after the interior was sanded was actually not building the decks but was constructing the gunwales (gunnels). Even though, the decks were the first piece to be installed, I built the gunwales first. Because my white oak board was only ten feet long, I had to scarf the pieces together. The outwale or (outer gunwale) was only a strip of white oak 3/4" x roughly 3/4". The inwale (inner gunwale) was 3/4" thick yet was slightly different than the outwale. There were two components to the inwale: the outside strip and the scupper. The long strip was 3/8" thick as well as the scupper. The next blog post will show the assembly of the inwale, since the outwale construction was very basic. 

Sanding the Fiberglass (Interior)

Sanding the fiberglass on the interior was much more difficult than sanding the exterior. Because of the tumblehome of the canoe, the curve was hard to sand with the orbital sander. Also, while applying the epoxy to the inside, the epoxy wanted to run because gravity was forcing down. Near the bow and stern stem piece the epoxy began to pool, so I used a sander extension on the dremmel to make it smooth. Sadly, while applying filler coats of epoxy, some epoxy got on the outside of the canoe which had to be sanded off. Sanding with 80, 120, and 220 grit, the interior of the canoe is finished except for a last sanding and then varnishing. Some canoe manufactures even used to sell canoes this way (without trim and detailed interior). The next step was to work on the two decks at the bow and stern.

Fiberglassing the Interior

As Ted Moores states in Canoecraft about working on the interior, "most amateur builders find this stage the least pleasant because it is dusty, uncomfortable, and frustrating to work on the awkward inside curves." As all ready stated about the sanding, the awkward curve is very difficult to sand. That being the case, multiple coats of epoxy resin needed to be poured onto the 4oz. fiberglass, because smoothing out the curve is more difficult on the inside than on the outside. Doing the same process as before, the fiberglass was smoothed out and hooked to the edge of the stern-line with clothes pins. The cloth was wetted out and after it dried the excess cloth around the stern-line was removed with an exacto knife. 6 oz. Fiberglass taped was placed on the keel-line to help strengthen the places where the strips didn't fully touch. Three additional coats of epoxy were applied to fill out the weave and ensure smooth continuity on the surface of the interior. However, near the stem the epoxy began to pool between the white oak and the cedar strips, which started to glob together and was hard to fix because of the tight space to work in. Nevertheless, most of this area will be covered with the deck and will not be visible. The next step was to make the gunwales.

Sanding the Interior

Sanding the interior of the canoe was not as time consuming as sanding the exterior. At least, it may have felt that way because I had the entire day to work because of Spring Break. Even though I had more hours to work, the process was more difficult because of the tumblehome or the curve of the canoe. Using an orbital sander, the sides of the sandpaper were quickly used up because more tension was being placed on them. The sanding was very tedious and tiring just like the exterior, and so I began to listen to another audiobook. Noticing many openings between the cedar strips, I decided against using wood filler, but used epoxy mixed with cedar sawdust. This was a good idea, except that it turned the color of the wood darker than I was expecting, but it does not look bad. It just darkens the naturally lighter cedar. I put to coats of this epoxy mixture on to ensure filled in cracks and a smoother interior. But like Ted Moore's states, you know what the end result of fiberglassing can look like, so you feel more compeled to take your time. The next step was to fiberglass the interior with 4 oz. cloth.

Flipping the Canoe over

This is probably the only time, flipping the canoe is a good thing. When floating down the river, a flipped canoe isn't all too great. Nevertheless, before the canoe was flipped over, it needed something to hold it when flipped. I know some canoe builders use saw horses, but I didn't want to scratch the bottom of the hull on wooden horses. So generally following the plans to build a cradle, from Ted Moore's Canoecraft, I built my own deviation from it with scraps of lumber from my garage. After the two cradles were built, I unscrewed the stations from the strongback and pulled up on the stern, but it didn't budge. Realizing some epoxy had glued a station #7 to a 2x4, I broke the epoxy bond and the canoe lifted off the frame. It felt weird seeing the underside of the canoe for the first time, since I had become so accustomed to seeing the outside of it. There was a lot of glue and wood filler that had made it's way through the cracks and holes, but, in all, the inside looked really good. It just needed a lot of sanding.

Sanding the Fiberglass

After the third coat of epoxy dried, the next step was to sand the fiberglass smooth. Especially near the fiberglass tape and the double draped cloth towards the stern, the fiberglass had to be sanded down smooth to create the "glass" look. Starting with 80, 120, and 220 grit, the canoe felt smooth yet some of the cloth was nearly exposed after the sanding. So I mixed up another batch of epoxy, and spread it smooth over the entire canoe. Even though there were very small streak marks from spreading the epoxy, I decided that wet sandpapering the canoe would be futile because it would have to be done again. Also, I waited to apply Marine Varnish for the same reason. The canoe looked very "canoey" but I still had the entire interior of the canoe that needed to be finished.