To biscuit or not

[JJA1A]

I am considering building Gardners 16' Swampscott Dory using half inch x 1.5 inch Tongue and Groove strips. These are not speed strips, I'm making them. Should I join the ends of the strips with biscuits?

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

Biscuits are used to insure location not for strength. On a carvel planked hull plank ends are usually secured to a piece of framing or to a butt-block.

[Canoez]

Biscuits are compressed and will expand from the moisture in the glue. I don't think that you would want to put them in an area where they will get really wet.

We used some biscuits to help locate a wooden edge on a bathroom counter and the water got in between the edge and the counter. Now that might not have been a disaster, but the biscuit swelled and split the counter horizontally. :o

[TerryLL]

Swampscott dories are quickly and efficiently planked with flat stock, either solid lumber or ply. I am curious why you would opt for strip construction? Do you plan to redraw the lines for a truly round-hulled boat? If not, please tell me how you would deal with the knuckles.

[JJA1A]

TerryLL,

I really like the look of well done tongue and groove. You are right about most Dorys and my original plan was to plank this Lapstrake. I took a hard look at the lines in this boat and it is very nearly round, the knuckles can be softened enough to accommodate tongue and grove with 1.5” strips.

[Thorne]

In other words, "Not"...

[TerryLL]

Yup, not. This build might be interesting. Might even be used as a case study.

JJA1A, please post photos as you proceed.

[Ron Williamson]

Regular biscuits are wider than 1 1/2" anyway.
R

[MikeVT]

Why wouldn't scarfing the ends together be the answer? I definitely think no on the biscuit idea.

[JJA1A]

Thanks to all the biscuit notion has been put to bed.

[JimM]

If you are going to build a boat using strip building technics, start with a plan that you don't have to modify. Strip building works well on round bilge boats like canoes. It isn't a good technic to use for a hard chined, flat bottom boat like a dory. If you have to redesign the Swampscott to strip plank it, you are not building the Swampscott but a boat with unknow characteristics.