: 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.

That gives me an idea, based on the way I built a hollow mast last year.

If the strips are cut from the edge of a plank the plank could be pre-tapered at it's ends before parting off the strips, at least for the strips up to the bilges; the higher ones could have parallel sides. Then the strips could be laid down over short pieces of duct tape, keeping the tape pieces in the center of the strip where they have parallel sides. Then they could be rolled up over several molds and the strips pulled in at the ends to meet the stems. The hull would still be dry at this stage so epoxy would be injected into the gaps. This sounds like a fast, staple- and mess-free approach to a stripper. Has anyone tried this out?