Well, now that the holidays are past, it is time to get back to building the Petrel. A lot has happened since my last update. The cheater strips are done, for now, and I have finished the sides up to the chine. Rolling bevels are a challenge, but I made a purchase last summer that has made the process a lot easier. I bought a Lie Nieleon 102 Low Angle plane at the WoodenBoat show last summer. Finally getting the chance to put bronze to wood was enlightening. This plane works like no other wood working tool I have ever used. I cuts ribbons of shavings with ease.
Cheater Strips 101
The Petrel, being a tradition Greenland design, has pronounced up-swept ends. This poses a challenge when filling the forms with strips. The ends have much more surface than the center of the boat. Enter the cheater strips. I'm not sure where the name came from, but they are vital to the construction of this kayak.
I set the pattern of the first cheater, by extending a full length strip the length of the boat. This gives me an a pattern to work from and cut the first taper. After marking the taper, it was time to cut and fit.About 20 minutes of cut, plane, trial fit and trimming, The first taper was complete. Slowly trimming to fit is important because, this is the foundation of the rest of the strips. This is where the investment in the plane became apparent. The tapers came to a point that was paper thin. This allows a smooth transition from the cheater strips to the sheer strip. The transition point, if not smooth, will leave a gap where the first full length strip runs. Below is my best effort of a good fitting cheater strip.
Strips are added to fill the area. I only have to do this four times to fill the bow and stern on both sides. Below, the final piece is added. I have used spring clamps to keep the strips in line with each other.
What the first set of cheater strip looks like when finished. I now have a nice straight line to lay the next strip on. I have yet to decide if I am going to add an accent line at the waterline. If I do, I will have to add a few more cheater strips at the bow in order to have the feature follow the actual waterline.
Above is the fit prior to beveling. Note there is a gap between the the two strips. The goal is to bevel the strip being added so the joint between the two will be tight and hopefully unable to be seen. The picture at the right shows the strip after it's edge was beveled to match. I still have some work to do at the left of the image, but you should get the idea. This must be done with every strip installed on the boat.
The deck material is here!!!
The Quilted Maple arrived last week. Needless to say, I can't wait to get it on the boat! This stuff should look insane stained red, buried under epoxy and five coats of varnish. I will devote a post to how this gets milled so that it can be book matched. Stay tuned!
The Petrel, being a tradition Greenland design, has pronounced up-swept ends. This poses a challenge when filling the forms with strips. The ends have much more surface than the center of the boat. Enter the cheater strips. I'm not sure where the name came from, but they are vital to the construction of this kayak.
I set the pattern of the first cheater, by extending a full length strip the length of the boat. This gives me an a pattern to work from and cut the first taper. After marking the taper, it was time to cut and fit.About 20 minutes of cut, plane, trial fit and trimming, The first taper was complete. Slowly trimming to fit is important because, this is the foundation of the rest of the strips. This is where the investment in the plane became apparent. The tapers came to a point that was paper thin. This allows a smooth transition from the cheater strips to the sheer strip. The transition point, if not smooth, will leave a gap where the first full length strip runs. Below is my best effort of a good fitting cheater strip.
What the first set of cheater strip looks like when finished. I now have a nice straight line to lay the next strip on. I have yet to decide if I am going to add an accent line at the waterline. If I do, I will have to add a few more cheater strips at the bow in order to have the feature follow the actual waterline.
Rolling Bevels
The main difference in this build and my other strip builds, is that I am constructing it using rolling bevels. The rolling bevel is a bevel that changes along the length of the strip as it conforms to the contours of the hull. The bevel, if performed properly, creates a flat surface where the two adjoining strips meet. If there is an angle, where the hull curves, one of the edges must be planed to match it's mate. Why would I want to build using this method? I want to learn and fully understand all methods. Mastery will take time and I feel like I have a good handle on using cove and bead. Another reason, the Maple strips for the top will not go through a shaper and survive because of the random direction of the grain. Below is an illustration, courtesy of Nick Schade, of the difference between cove and bead, and rolling bevels.
The deck material is here!!!
The Quilted Maple arrived last week. Needless to say, I can't wait to get it on the boat! This stuff should look insane stained red, buried under epoxy and five coats of varnish. I will devote a post to how this gets milled so that it can be book matched. Stay tuned!
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