: On the cover of Ted Moores' "Canoecraft" there is modern
: glass/wood stripper next to a traditional stripper built 70-80
: years ago. The inside of this old boat is filled with steamed
: ribs. Probably as many as 80. And every strip is nailed to every
: rib. You can't see it in the picture but the strips are ship
: lapped and every strip is tapered to account for the fat middle
: and the skinny ends of the canoe. To assemble one of these boats
: you have to have a mold just like the one used for wood/canvas
: boats. And every different hull has to have it's own mold.
: Building the mold is a major project. It has to be extremely
: sturdy to maintain it's shape while absorbing thousands of
: hammer blows.
: The process is so involved I don't think anyone does it any more. I
: did see a modern version of a traditional stripper. It was built
: at a French boatbuilding school and I think they only built one.
: Trying to figure out a simplified way to construct like this could
: end up being a lifetime of work.

Technically that's not a stripper. A strip built boat, canoe/kayak or whatever has it's strength in the strips which eliminates the need for lots of frames. Having lots of frames means it's conventional construction of some sort, not seeing the boat, or the book for that matter (though I've looked thru the book in bookstores) I can't tell for sure what construction method it's done with. Sounds like it's built like a traditional canvas covered canoe without the canvas, which can be done but it's hard to keep it waterproof. Might be built like an Adirondack guide boat.

Bill H.