: Well I just got to try it. Pax 20 out of strips. Here's the plan.....build
: bottom and side panels flat on the table using 3/16 inch strips, glass
: pannels with 4 oz glass; cut according to plan; stich glue the hull; strip
: out deck as I have done before, with bows laminated to proper radius and
: secured to hull.....should be interesting? Comments invited....

Hi there, Fishric.

I made a CLC West River 164 a couple of years ago from cedar strips. You might consider some of these suggestions, though there are other good ways to go.

It's not clear from your posting, but rather than make a 20' rectangular panel from straight strips, then cutting it, instead make each of your 4 (?) hull panels in their proper arc. Glue will hold the arc until you glass them.

As the side hull panels won't be twisted too much in the stitching step, you won't have to glass them right away. The hull bottom panels, though, probably have a 90-degree twist at the bow and stern. My WR pieces would not accept that twist (they were thicker, at 1/4") until I glassed them on the outside first. So, I ended up with a double glass layer on the hull bottom after glassing the entire outside hull.

My strips were 1/4" (for the bottom of the hull) and 3/16" (for the hull sides) X 1.5" ripped out of clear 2 x 4's. The arc of the panels is mild enough that for the sides, at least, the 1.5" wide strips had no problem taking the bend. Some of the bottom hull strips had more arc, so there I ripped the 1.5" into 2- .75" strips, and assembled them side-by-side so that from a couple of inches away they still look like the original 1.5".

Your deck plan sounds like it will work. On my WR I attempted to follow the CLC plans as close as possible, so I made the front and rear decks as flat sheets to duplicate the called-for plywood sheets. However, in bending the foredeck over my deck beams, the wood started splitting all over the place rather than accept the narrower-radiused arc. I had to heavily score each of the glue joints with a utility knife. The rear deck wasn't a problem, but it's quite a bit more flat.

The link below to my website will get you a bit more on what I did. Go down the left-hand menu to "CLC West River 164 Hybrid", or to the text caption under the photo at the upper right.

Pete Roszyk,
in Snohomish, WA