: Thanks Frank. Brian's jig is pretty neat. Right now I'm leaning toward
: cutting the molds individually so I can bend/layup more than one rib at a
: time but I would be interested in more info on your version (and Brian's).
: I won't be checking my email until Monday.
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Chip I decided to try and post the pictures on Webshots. So hopefully you and others will see them.

I started out by showing some pictures of Liz Leedham's boat (without her permission, Liz I hope you don't get mad). She did an excellent job with her boat. However after paddling It I decided that I wanted a more stable boat. Hers had a beam of 21 inches and relatively round ribs. My boat will have a beam of 22.5 inches and hopefully the rib shape will increase the stability.

This is what I did differently from Brian Nystrom with my jig:

1. built a separate form for each rib including the thinner end ribs (which Brian didn’t do)
2. the radius of the bend on my ribs is less than that which Brian used. I went with a 3 inch radius
3. used 3/4 inch stock for the forms this meant I had to cut out a cavity in those areas where the clamps need to hold
4. Brian adjusted his strap on the jig at the left side. I wanted to simplify the approach so I wrapped my strap in plastic and then tapped over the plastic with fiber packaging tape. This way the webbing strap can be more easily adjusted by simply sliding it within the plastic collar
5. I precut my ribs prior to steaming by measuring the rib length on the jig using a batten.
6. I screwed a 1x4 board onto the back of the jig in order to be able to clamp it onto my workmate while I am using it

I think those are all of the differences. The instructions Brian gives on his Webshots pages are very good and I followed them without any problems.

The jig is relatively easy to build if you have a router (for the adjustment slots) and know how to use it.

My appreciation goes out to Brian for posting his ideas about the jig. It really does make rib bending a lot easier.