: I am building a small sit-on-the-bottom canoe of my own design.
: This design has a ply bottom to which laminated half-ribs are
: attached, which define the curve of the constant radius bilge. I
: laminating them rather than steaming because laminating is
: highly reproducible and I want the ribs accurate. The curve of
: the bilge is to be strip-built, then ply is again used for the
: sheer planks.

: The use of constant radius for the bilge has a number of
: advantages:-

: 1. Once the ribs are glued to the ply bottom they define the shape
: of the hull so a building form is not required.
: 2. Being all the same, the ribs are being laminated over a ladder
: jig in batches of 10 at a time (I need a lot ...)
: 3. The ribs provide the strips with cross-grain support,
: eliminating the need for glassing.
: 4. The sanding involved in building a regular stripper is
: significantly reduced.
: 5. The stem shape is a simple elongation of the rib profile so it
: is easy to loft.
: 6. Because the strips and sheers all meet the stems at the same
: angle, the stem bevels are easy to mark out and cut accurately
: on the bench.
: 7. None of the strips are twisted so they should be easier to
: attach.

: There are some downsides to this design approach of course; the
: constant radius bilge is a design constraint that may produce a
: lightly less efficient hull shape. The hull will be rather less
: durable than a typical, modern glassed stripper, although no
: less so than the classic cedar strip canoes of the past. I am
: not trying to denigrate the glassed stripper method, BTW, just
: trying to come up with an alternative system.

: I hope it will have the look of a classic cedar strip and rib
: canoe, with a lot less effort. There is more info at my blog
: http://theancientkayaker.weebly.com/canoes-rose-lee.htm and I
: will keep the blog updated as the build progresses. Be patient:
: progress will be a bit slow as I am physically limited at
: present; great therapy though ...

Radius chine construction :)

Gives a sort of round bottom look to a boat while not being totally round bottom.

I did the same thing sorta on a Tom Yost Sea Bee, part stripped and part SOF.

Bill H.