Balsa strip plank canoe 12lbs Wee Lassie

[Boatmik]

Hi All,

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~storerm/balsabutton.jpg

I have just updated my site with details about a balsa strip canoe I built a few years back including pictures, scantlings etc.

A "Rushton Wee Lassie" came out at 12lbs. The original idea was to see how light I could go in a disposable boat, but then it kicked on for several years...

Go to
web page (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~storerm) and click the link beside the thumbnail like the one at the head of this post.

Best Regards
Michael

[Garrett Lowell]

Incredible! Impressive and nicely done, as well. I hadn't considered balsa before. Is it easy to work with (meaning: is it too soft to be worked easily)?

[Boatmik]

Originally posted by Garrett Lowell:
Incredible! Impressive and nicely done, as well. I hadn't considered balsa before. Is it easy to work with (meaning: is it too soft to be worked easily)?http://members.ozemail.com.au/~storerm/balsabutton.jpg

Hi Garrett,

It was not particularly difficult - some care had to be taken in general, the web page article details some of them - like using Q-Cels plus epoxy to make an easily sanded glueline.

I also had some problem with sapwood which is quite spongey, but once I had twigged it was easy to avoid as it was a light pink colour rather than the grey/white of the raw balsa. The sapwood compressed rather than sanded cleanly.

The japanese backsaw was ideal for all trimming and docking - a carpet (stanley) knife would probably be preferable to a western style saw for the same purpose if you don't have a Japanese backsaw.

As you can see from the webpage I was not the originator of the idea - quite a few people had done some development before me.

There are probably some limitations in terms of size, though the WEST agents in Australia (ATI) built a 32ft ocean racer using balsa strip, but then they developed a different method which was more suitable for that size and larger craft.

But Australian 18ft skiffs, which are quite highly stressed were built of it for a period as well.

Michael
web page (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~storerm)

[skuthorp]

Incredible is the word. I built model boats for years before scaling up to canoes of ply. Never occured to me that I could have used the same materials as my last (6ft) sailing model! smile.gif

[Boatmik]

OOOOOPS
The WEST agents are ATL Composites - not ATI as in my previous post - they are the ones who originally developed the use of balsa strip.

Michael
Balsa Strip Boatbuilding (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~storerm)
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~storerm/balsabutton.jpg