14' Strip plank canoe update 2

With the Solo dinghy restoration complete and other off-site jobs done I've added some decks, bulkheads and seats to the canoe. The seats have laminated ash supports and are scalloped in the middle for comfort.

 The bulkheads are 5mm elite ply with cedar strip on one face. They have one skin of cloth and epoxy over them and are bonded in with an epoxy fillet.

 The decks are ash and cedar. The combings on the decks are laminated 4mm strips of ash bonded in with thickened epoxy and shaped up with a curved sole spoke shave.

Next up is a lot of sanding and finishing. To get the best results I obviously need a dust free environment which may prove to be most easily obtained by moving the canoe somewhere else for varnishing.

Ash strips clamped up on formers to make the seat frames

Solo dinghy restoration final update

The GRP solo dinghy refurb' is finally finished!

1980's solo dinghy after having all the visible woodwork replaced.

The hull was sanded through the grades and polished up nicely.

So that's what the back looks like!

The owner of the Solo dinghy I have been working on collected his boat today. It was a great feeling to finally get the dinghy out in the daylight and see it properly. In the end I re-bonded all the deck beams, renewed the deck ply, replaced the gunwales, re-made the centreboard case capping, the thwart had a new layer of ply, the bead around the inside of the cockpit and the trim across the transom, inside and out. The workspace available meant I spent a lot of time squeezing past uncured epoxy and fresh varnish for hours on end. I had to work on the transom using a head torch as there was only 150mm between it and the back wall of the workshop!

 The Elite okume ply turned a golden colour once epoxied and varnished and we were both very pleased with the end result. I used West resin with the 207 special coatings hardener. It is clearer and less orange/yellow than the regular stuff. It's also less susceptable to going cloudy if the conditions aren't ideal. It's been a fun project but it took me far longer than I had predicted so now it's time to finish off the canoe as soon as possible.

It's a nice feeling to give something a new lease of life