Lashing

The next stage of our canoe is the lashing.  I admin I was skeptical about if it would be strong enough, or if the ribs would move.  I originally though that we might need to do a few more wraps than shown in the instructions, but after we completed one rib, I was convinced.  The lashing holds the ribs in place.  It does allow for minor movements, but I think this is by design.

The method is to start at the keelson and move toward the gunwale.  Then repeat on the other side.

Stringers and ribs

The stringers are 1/2" square.  They go lengthways along the boat.

The stringers are zip tied to the station molds.

The ribs are about 1 1/4" and 1/4" thick.  They are bent and placed outside of the frame to dry.

Our steaming setup is a 3" galvanized pipe about 5' long.  We put it over a kettle and sealed it with a dish cloth.  It did manage to scratch up the kettle quite a bit.  

The steamer took about 20 minutes to fully heat up.  Once hot, the average time was about 5 minutes in the steamer for each rib.  For the two end ribs that have steep bends, we left them in the bender for the whole time (probably half an hour or more).  Typically you can't bend them enough to make contact with the keelson.  In this case, you put a block between the keelson and the rib.  However, our bending was so awesome that the end ribs rest right on the keelson.

The ribs are bent around the outside of the stringer and the ends are tucked in behind the gunwales.  This helps them keep their shape as they dry.  In some instances where the wood wouldn't stay down close to the stringers, we zip tied it.  You can see this in the photo on the two end ribs.  

Once the ribs had a chance to form and dry in place (about 20 minutes or so), we moved them to underneath the stringers where they will ultimately go.  Then we zip tied them in place.  The rest of the ribs on the boat have had this done.

Attaching the keelson and stems

The keelson is the main spine of the boat.  It's yellow cedar, and it's nearly 1" x 1"

Here we attach the keelson to the station molds.

These stems are cut out of 3/4" maple plywood.

For this version, we decided to glue the stems to the keelson.  Technically you should only have to lash it, but this felt more secure.

We did attach lashing, but mostly for ascetics.

Stuff!

The list!  

Sinew - this is what we use to lash the frame together.

Blocks - these get attached to the frame, and the seat posts get attached to these.

Piping - this allows us to create a nice finished edge where skin rises above the gunwales.

Double sided tape - for temporarily holding the skin in place.

Webbing - this is used to add a ridge along the 

Cable ties - used to temporarily hold the frame together

Copper pipe - these hold the seat rests in place

Needles for stitching and lashing

Brass screws

Pegs for pegging the stringers and gunwales to the stem

Brass Nails to nail the gunwales to the ribs.  It's better than lashing because it doesn't create any raised surfaces

Concrete screws

The Japanese pull saw, used to trim the ribs, stringers, etc.

The wood!

Not shown, the precut and stained stems.