: Hi Ken,

: On my first boat I was going completely stapleless but I found I had to cheat
: now and then because of some severe bends for some strips. I found that a
: medium thick super glue and super glue spray excelator for some of the
: strips that were glued to each other was a big help where I just couldn’t
: clamp or tape them. Occasional I used a ringed pole barn nail with a
: rubber gromet, (doesn’t marr the wood –used to hold the siding on pole
: barns) to hold a really tough strip. I used white hot glue rather then
: yellow and it didn’t have as good holding power of yellow hot glue. I
: couldn’t find yellow at the time. Also, my hull come loose from my forms
: and I had to put it back on and screw the shear strips to the forms to
: hold it in place. So on the boat I am building now I will fasten down the
: shear strips with screws or nails and cheat.
: On the Shooting Star I am building now it looks like the strips will not have
: so much harsh bending and will probably go on easier. I used lots of Duck
: tape to hold strips in place while they were gluing and also the L
: brackets to pull the strips against the forms.
: John

John,
I hope you are using the 3/16" thick strips I suggest in my plans.

All my kayak designs have very fine stems with a lot of recurve
at the first and last stations to insure good tracking qualities.

In order for you to strip these sections successfully and end up
with a boat that has the correct qualities of my hull design you
MUST use a stripping method that CONTINOUSLY holds the strips
to the stations until the exterior is glassed.

This is why I reccommend staples OR the hot glue method of stapless
construction I outline in the plans WITH NOTHING on the station edges.
This allows glue from stripping and the hot glue to hold the strips in
correct and continuous contact with the stations so each new strip will
lay in total contact with the stations.

If you use duct tape on the station edges or any method that does not
STICK the strips to the station edges the strips will not remain in alignment
and whole sections of the hull can deform with changes in moisture content.
The fact that you may not perceive the wood warping does not mean it's not
happening.

Unless you really slop on the glue on the strip joints and slop on the hot glue
(yellow for wood or forget it!) the stations will knock out with very little wood
tear-out.

I urge you to follow my instructions. Every step, every method I use is designed
to work well, fast and eliminate future problems in the construction.

I use 3/16" strips, which are more flexible than 1/4", on all my boats. Hull bottoms
are the most difficult to strip having the most twisted and bending of strips. I use
northern white cedar for my hull bottoms because northern white cedar is the most
flexible and easily bent wood for strippers

To review my stapless stripping method:

Rob’s Hot Glue Tips for Fast Stapless Stripping

I like hot glue. I use hot glue for the deck and hull sides on my kayaks and I use staples for the hull bottom.

I use 3/16" strips, which are more flexible than 1/4", on all my boats. Hull bottoms are the most difficult to strip having the most twisted and bending of strips. I use northern white cedar for my hull bottoms because northern white cedar is the most flexible and easily bent wood for strippers

Hot Glue
Pros – Hot glue leaves no holes. Hot glue has good holding power if the glue has enough time to harden thoroughly. A good option is to use hot glue for the deck even if you use brads or staples for the hull. Get the Right Hot glue, one specifically for bonding wood, usually yellow in color.

Cons– Strips must be held in place by hand or with some type of clamping method for at least a minute for the glue to achieve full holding power. The process is slower than staples.
.
MAKE CERTAIN you buy the yellow hot glue for wood purposes.

Western red cedar is the best wood to use with hot glue. The glue holds well and releases without pulling a chunks of wood. White cedar works well also, with some tear-out if too much glue is used.

I use plywood stations and leave the wood bare and unsealed where I will apply hot glue. This insures maximum holding power for the hot glue. On my hull bottoms I use staples. Here I apply masking tape to the station edges. On the stems I apply duct tape so the stems will be easy to remove later.

NOTHING YOU DO WILL BENEFIT THIS PROJECT MORE AND ELIMINATE EXTRA WORK than taking all the time you need to insure each strip edge is aligned with the previous strip and each strip is in contact and remains in contact with the forms. If you do this, you hull will start off FAIR and you will need to do very little work to finish it! I cannot emphasize this enough. If after you are done stripping your hull and a strip is as much as 1/32” high, cut through the joint with a utility blade and align and reglue the strips.

PRE-FIT EACH STRIP holding it in place with spring clamps. At the stems or any place that needs more holding power drive a sheetrock screw into the station (about 3/16” in from the edge) behind where the strip will lie and clamp the strip in place with a spring clamp. This will also later hold the strip in place while the hot glue sets. Use spring clamps between stations to align strips. The strip must fit PERFECTLY. If not, do what you need to do to make it fit. Use a heat gun to bend or twist stubborn strips. Make certain there is nothing keeping the strip from fitting tightly like hard hot glue drips or other debris.

Mark the alignment of each new strip to the previous one with an X with a pencil so you won’t confuse marks from one strip with past ones.

Starting at the center stations apply hot glue to two stations and press the new strip in place. Use as small an amount of hot glue as possible usually about a 1/8” diameter drop. Small amounts of hot glue set up faster, release more easily, yet hold very well. Work toward each stem.

Holding the strip in place while the hot glue hardens is okay in the middle but is not the best choice at the stems. It is easy to become impatient and let go too early. You may come back to this spot and find the strip has moved out of alignment. Apply the hot glue and clamp the strip in place with a small spring clamp to the previously installed sheetrock screws in the stations.

By the time I've worked toward the second stem the first stem end's hot glue has set and I can remove the spring clamps. By the time I remove these clamps the second stem's clamps can be removed and I can go on to applying the next strip.

It takes me less than ten minutes to apply each strip.

Clamp strips between stations with spring clamps and use dabs of hot glue on the strip joint to hold after the clamp is removed in 60 seconds

The dabs of hot glue are used like a clamp to hold the strips in alignment and tightly together BETWEEN stations. I use the hot glue dabs on the hull and deck. Once I've applied the strip to the station, with hot glue (or staples on the hull bottom) I use spring clamps the align the strips and tighten the strip joint BETWEEN stations. By applying dabs of hot glue on the strip joint (like stitches) I can remove the spring clamps in about a minute and apply my next strip. All the dabs are easily removed with a paint scraper along with other traces of glue.

You are unlimited in the number of new strips you can apply since all clamps are removed after 60 seconds.

Go over the newly applied strip to make certain all edges are aligned and snug against the stations and stems. If your strips are tight and aligned you will literally save yourself hours of work down the road. I cannot emphasize enough that nothing you do during your strip building project will pay off more, than taking the time now to ensure each strip fits perfectly and all edges are aligned.

To remove deck and hull from hot glue, start removing the deck from the stations by wedging a putty knife at the outside edges of the stations. Lift the edge of the deck just enough to insert a large screw driver blade/shaft.

Do not pry because this could crack the fiberglass on the deck.

Use a very large screw driver to reach the stations through the gap between the deck and hull. Lay the flat of the screw driver blade against the station. Rap very firmly on the middle of the screw driver shaft with a mallet or dead blow mallet to knock out the stations without damaging the deck. Hit stations toward the center of the boat where the larger beam will facilitate removal. You will be surprised at how easily, quickly and cleanly the stations will pop out.

CAUTION
Please only use this knock out technique on the stations by hitting them from the side. DO NOT PRY!

Tricks for aligning Rogue Strips

A stick with sheet rock screws to make spikes at each end is used to push up on strips from the keel/hull bottom to align the edge with the side strips to get the right fit on new strips added to keel. This stick is pressed up on strip bottom and wedged against the strongback. This used to keep strips from forming a low spot in the surface. This must be use very carefully so as not to overdo the lift and make a hump.

Hot glue wood tabs to hold a strip joint down that wants to pop up.

Hot glue thin strip bridges across and under places that need support to keep a strip tip from diving below the hull or deck surface.

Use a heat gun to twist or bend stubborn strips. Heat or steam bending with western red cedar does not work well because WRC is kiln dried. Kiln dried lumber changes the character of the natural glue (lignin) that holds the wood fibers together. Air dried woods, especially northern white cedar will bend very easily with a heat gun. This is why I always use northern white cedar for my hull bottoms.
I don't use cheater strips on my kayaks, but do on some of my canoes. It all depends on the design.

All the best,

Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.LaughingLoon.com