Book recommendation for strip planking

[John Turpin]

Does anyone know of a good book that details the strip planking process for small boats? I'm sure there are lots of canoe-oriented books out there, but I'm looking for a good approach to strip planking a 20 foot yawl with ply frames.

It looks like most of the projects I've seen use some species of cedar, but I'd be interested in reading about other alternatives (like Doug fir?).

[Uncle Duke]

I'm sure there are lots out there, but I'd recommend "Gougeon Brothers on Wooden Boat Construction", which has a nice chapter on strip building over permanent and temporary frames. Do you intend on glassing inside/outside after or doing a laminate layer over? Either way works, but someone smarter than me probably knows at what point in size glass stops being effective.

[Bob Cleek]

It would be helpful if you would specify what you mean by "strip planking." Canoes and kayaks are often "strip planked," meaning built of solid stacked wood strips glued and/or nailed vertically to each other. Then there is "cold molding," which uses flat layers of laminated wood to form the hull. I would think that you would be cold molding a boat this size with plywood frames. Let us know. Actually, for a boat that size, you would probably find conventional carvel plank on frame construction much less labor intensive than either strip or cold molding. It's about fitting a few wide planks or a whole bunch of little strips! A lot less messy, too, since you won't have googe up to your armpits! :D

As for books, the Gougeon "bible" is a must. You should also check out Parker's "New Cold Molded Boatbuilding," which is now back in print, thanks to the WoodenBoat Store.

[ 11-09-2005, 04:24 PM: Message edited by: Bob Cleek ]

[John Turpin]

I'm looking at building a Paul Fisher yawl that was designed for multi-chined, plywood stitch-and-glue construction. I'm considering bead-and-cove strip planking to sweeten her lines. I'd cover it with epoxy and cloth.

I can find pre-milled 3/8" to 1/2" bead and cove strips in western red cedar, but I'm not committed to this yet. I can always stick with the hard chined design, but am curious to see if I could round her hull.

http://glen-l.com/methods/mthdstr-bc.jpg

[Dave Gray]

You might also want to read this - note Paul's Diatribe!

Paul Gartside on planking methods (http://www.gartsideboats.com/faq2.php#planking)

[George Roberts]

John Turpin ---

Perhaps you should contact the designer about the thickness of strips and what amount if any of glass he recommends.

Strip building is not difficult. I don't think there is enough information that a book would be required.

[John Turpin]

Thanks, George. I did contact the designer. He has drawn up strip planked plan versions for several of his designs, but of course not for the one I want to build. He indicated that I should be able to strike a radius curve along the chine points on his frames to create a rounded hull. I'm sure he could also recommend materials and thickness of strips.

After seeing photos of strip-built Elvers, it's just got me curious. I'll read up to see if this is method is a good match for my little project. I'm sure there are pros and cons. It should make for a dramatically beautiful interior.

If I were to mill my own strips, it would seem to be a cost effective method too. Finding clear cedar might be tough, though. Thanks for the comments.

[paladin]

Fir works just fine...but there's a point where you do not want to reduce the scantlings...fir is a bit more dense than cedar....

[kuunari]

I have Paul Fisher's "A Manual Of Strip Plank Construction Techniques" in my shelf. Very good reading, I recommend that.

Published in 1993 maybe a bit outdated about glues and epoxies, but the basics of strip planking is well covered.

Published by Selway Fisher Design, England.
ISBN 1 898909 03 2

[TimothyB]

John,

Strip planking details is a topic that's been very well covered around here.. you might want to try a search.

That being said, I had occasion to research methods, and looked at Steve Redmond's paper, Pulsifer Hampton methods, Dave Gerr's book on boat construction, and a few other sources. We talked about it quite a bit and came to some conclusions.

( as an aside, Paul Gartside doesn't like strip built construction, and he says he's seen tremendous deformation in strip built hulls once they took up moisture. That problem is addressed by Steve Redmond and others)

There are two broad types of strip construction:

"Traditional" strip construction, where you build a strip built hull by carefully bevelling and bedding each strip to its neighbor to get an absolutely tight hull, nailing the strips together in one of several recommended schedules. In this method, the strips and nails are important to hull strength.

"Conventional" strip built construction, where the strips are glued to each other with epoxy, if nailed the nails are generally removed after the glue sets, and the whole hull is covered with epoxy/glass outside and inside. The strips are not important for hull strength except as a core material, and so you can use lighter, brittle wood that has superior decay resistance.

There are also simple hybrids of these two types.. Conventional leaving the nails in, Traditional coating the hull with thickened epoxy, etc.

It seems as if the best hybrid might ne a Tradtionally minded strip plank hull, but covered on one side with a flexible abrasive resistant covering (like Xynole or Dynel and epoxy) and then sealing the inside of the hull with epoxy only. In this sort of construction you can be less precise about fitting the strips, but still must nail them together properly and use the proper wood. Additionally, the epoxy helps to inhibit rot in the hull planking.

In this case, you must must must use softwood which has a low coefficient of expansion, and you must must must orient the grain properly (parallel to the hull side) The epoxy and fabric covering compensates for the lower quality wood, and also prevents the problems Paul Gartside has mentioned in his article.

If you wanted to build a strip plank hull from a carvel design, you should read Steve Redmond's article AND get Dave Gerr's book on boat construction and follow their recommendations. You can decide which type to use, but make sure it is consistent with your wood selection and general practices. Also, since you will be using softwood for the hull, you might consider upping the scantlings a couple of points, and/or keeping all regular frames in the boat, for additional security.

If you wanted to do "Conventional" strip, then Bob's recommendations are right on. smile.gif

[ 11-10-2005, 10:11 AM: Message edited by: TimothyB ]

[Bob Cleek]

Again, as I mentioned above, read what Gartside has to say. It is all entirely accurate. Lastly, what he doesn't say is that a traditionally constructed boat will be far easier to maintain and repair, and for a variety of reasons, will be worth much more.