CREATING FORMS:
Forms are very important in canoe crafting because they determine the hull's finished shape, as well as the canoe's performance. I used the full scale plans provided in David Hazen's book, The Stripper's Guide To Canoe-Building, to trace the shape of the forms onto a sheet of 3/4" shop grade plywood.
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Forms mounted on the strongback |
I cut out the forms with a sabre saw, then disc sanded them down to the pencil line for accuracy. Before mounting the forms on the strongback, I stacked them and checked for symmetry. The alignment of these forms is critical, since a crooked hull will snake through the water.
Next, I added plywood forms for the canoe's front and rear sections. The addition of these forms determined the curvature of the canoe's bow and stern. I used masking tape to tape all plywood edges so the forms wouldn't become cemented to the hull once they were glued up.
RIPPING THE STRIPS:
Cedar is the traditional wood of strip canoes, but any lightweight but flexible wood such as pine, basswood or even mahogany may be used. I chose Western red cedar for a dark hull with lighter colored strips of basswood for contrast.
Using 3/4" stock, I resawed 75 to 100 strips 1/4" thick. I used my Shopsmith Bandsaw with a 5/8" wide blade. Since I don't own a roller stand, several friends helped me safely walk the long boards through the saw blade. I then inspected each strip carefully, broke any strips where thin spots occurred, and saved the broken strips to use later.
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Bandsaw set-up to rip the strips |
To obtain neater looking joints and a stronger hull, I beveled each strip's 1/4" edge. This isn't mandatory, just a nice touch. Once accomplished, I glued the strips in place.
STAPLING:
Stapling is a short-lived step because all staples are removed when the glue joints are dry. To begin, I carefully aligned and stapled the first two strips to the forms - an important step because all remaining strips followed this lead. I started at the gunwhale of the center form and worked toward the keel. Staples were used to straddle the glue joint, between strips, every foot along the canoe's entire length. I let each new strip set for an hour before adding on additional strips.
When an elliptical hole was left in the hull's floor, I'd lay in a keel strip. I worked from the keel out toward the sides, custom-fitting each strip before gluing and stapling it in place. At this point, I added shorter strips to build up the rising bow and stern ends. When the last few glue joints were dry, I pulled out all the staples, being careful not to gouge the soft woods. Keeping both sides symmetrical, I then trimmed the gunwhale line on both sides, measuring equal distances from the keel strip.
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Diagrams
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Cedar Stip Canoe 
