I've been inspired by many on here to give cedar strip building a try. I'm no where near a carpenter/wood worker so I'm just working at it slowly.
The plans call it a Wilderness Express (from the carrying place) - hopefully I will be able to call it that as well and not a planter when I'm done. I have strectched it to 16.5ft vs the 16ft as the plans design.
It took awhile but I've set everything up and the mold is ready to go.
Next is to bead and cove the strips

(also my 1st attempt at posting a picture)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79870860@N02/7320836958/in/photostream

Great to see another stripper take form. Have you visited the Bear Mountain Boats Forum? It is one of the best sources of info on the web. You will find an answer to any question you can come up with and the people are friendly and welcoming. Are you using staples are doing without? It is really not that hard a project requiring only perserverence and patience ---- but substantial amounts of both. Good luck.

Good start. I'd say the set up is the hardest part. Once you have the forms the stripping goes pretty quick.

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That looks much better than mine did at this point, very nice and the casters will help roll it outside on nice days. Is the strongback attached to the rolling portions?

I second the Bear Mountain forums, wonderful help there whenever I needed it and also plenty of build threads so you can look at photo's when you need to see how things are supposed to be done. I know words sometimes are not enough.

Please keep us updated as the build progresses.

Looks much better than mine did at that point too!

Please do keep us informed!

You guys are too kind. I haven't put up any close up shots... haha

I have spent a ton of time on the Bear Mt site and no doubt will be there lots more. It is a great group
I'm going to try stapless but I'm thinking of stapling the first strip just to be sure it doesn't move around. I guess I'll see when I get there....

I stole the rolling boxes idea from Sandy Point. The strongback is not attached. 2 2X4 on either side of the strongback attach the rolling boxes together while the strongback just nests in the middle. They've been pretty handy so far. I just have to remember that I have to line things up with the center line and not a level since rolling the thing around can't guarantee that everything is plumb.

Good to hear that set up is the hardest part. It did take a lot longer than I thought! At least it looks like I'm "doing something now" as my wife says

I've built two of the Wilderness Expresses, first one according to spec, second one I stretched out to 17 feet. The sixteen footer is a noce solo canoe as well.

I went stapless as well and it worked fine. My first strip I used finishing nails through blocks of cedar same thickness as the planking. I knew the outwale would cover the holes for the most part. On light planking nail holes can be filled with round toothpicks glued in, snipped off and sanded flush.

I went simplistic. I had the cove up and used 1/4" dowel in the cove then pulled fibre tape and masking tape around to pull the strips together. Only used a couple rolls of tape.

I used 1/2" finishing nails for the whole thing (one per strip per station). If you don't use Mihun09's toothpick trick (I didn't), you end up with rows of tiny dark dots where the epoxy has filled the nail holes. This makes the construction look much more authentic (IMO, LOL!).

I suspect the decision on whether or not you use staples depends partly on the design: how much tumblehome you have and how much twisting the strips have to undergo to fit the mold. Try it stapleless and see: if you decide you do need staples, don't lose any sleep over it.

If you think building the frame took much longer than expected, just wait until you get to the trim!

By the way, eventually you might be looking for long brass bolts for hanging the seats. You will probably not find them in Lethbridge (at least I didn't find anything in Calgary, and I looked everywhere). Just order them online from Noah's in Toronto. At the time I bought mine, their website indicated ~$20 shipping charge for $5 worth of bolts, but in fact they shipped Canada Post for a reasonable $3 or so.

RH - You're the one that recommended the Express to me (and I really thank you for that). If it all goes wrong I'll have to blame you though OK?

Karin - Finishing nails sounds like a good idea. I will try that.
Only tape you say?!? I've been grabbing all manner of cheap bungies, straps and bands that I can get my hands on in anticipation of this -- good to know I'm probably over thinking it.
Your thread is very helpful by the way

Joe - Trim? What trim?... I figure I'll be done in a year or so...
This particular design doesn't have much for sharp curves (another reason why I picked it) so it shouldn't be too bad for a blundering novice such as myself


One thing I've learnt that you all neglected to say is that the beer consumption rate is a lot higher when doing a project such as this. I'll have to budget for that next time

That won't be the only extra expense you'll find.

As for fastening to the forms, I used a mix of staples and finishing nails. On the Prospector I found places where the staples weren't strong enough and I use nails instead.

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Loon Island Outdoors
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As I did the turn of the bilge I had an issue with the hull not staying against the forms and needed to add nails/blocks in a few places to keep it tight, but for the most part it floated against the forms. You shouldn't need to actually staple or nail it to the forms.

You should really try hard to clean up excess glue on the outside and especially the inside before it sets, it is really, really annoying trying to clean it up after you pull it off the molds.

I should note that during my build, not a single drop of alcohol was consumed. I wish, but I stopped drinking 10 years ago.

Cool beans. You will have lots of fun building your canoe. I helped a bit where two hands were needed and found it really enjoyable. The finished product is awesome.

I watched during our build as Karin adopted different methods of securing the strips and it all pretty much worked regardless of what we did. It is good to have that second set of hands to put them on with and as she said, make sure you wipe up as much of the excess glue as you can or you will spend HOURS scraaaaaaaaaaaaping it off the hull. Very tedious. A little work with a damp rag can rescue you from that.
Her build thread is pretty useful. And if you have any problems just email her, she loves to share her thoughts on this stuff.

Back at it after near a month of camping and paddling. Going slow...

I think I'm going to need a TON of sand paper - it sure looks rough...
I'm also happy that half the glue is going into the grooves and not on myself - although its probably 50/50...

I'm trying all sorts of different stapleless methods at once to see which one I like the best.
So far the bungies are mostly just a pain. I find them difficult to apply the pressure in the amount and the location that I'd like. Maybe when I get more experience and move faster I'll like it better(?)
The tape works really well but it sure seems like a waste of a lot of tape.

I haven't really worried too much about joining the strips. Mostly just butt joints - seems easiest. If I do scarf I'm thinking just 45 angles. Is that what most of you have done?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79870860@N02/7651097136/in/photostream

I have done scarf joints two ways. One way is to scarf the entire board before cutting strips. The other way is to make a cutting jig for strips and a gluing jig. For five or six canoes, I did that and had full length strips. However, it is very time consuming. I like to build fast, so now I just butt joint. I'll basically butt them wherever they will join, not always on the form. I've never used staple-less methods...I can plank a canoe like the Express in a day using staple, don't think I could stand the wait times for staple-less.

To save your self some sanding, use a small block plane with a sharp blade to take off the rough stuff.....saves a lot of time.

Have fun!