Atkinson Traveler build; inwales & ribs

[patrick corry]

Apologies first; I've posted about this project in several places and now have no coherent overall build post.

After waiting a long time to acquire 18' stock for inwales (Sitka spruce), I'm finally getting this project going. From my reading I gather it's common to simply dry-bend the inwales onto the form. I did this successfully but I had this nagging fear that there was so much tension in the wood that once ribbed, and planked, that there would be deformation once the canoe was off the mold. So, I removed the clamps, allowing the stock to straighten back out. They retained virtually no shape from having been dry-bent! I steamed each end with the plastic bag method quite successfully and clamped to the form.

Working alone I steamed (in a standard steam box) enough ribs to do the middle third of the canoe. After shimming the rib tightly under the strong back, I first bent one side and spring-clamped to the inwale, then quickly went to the other side and repeated the process. I think it's conceivable that the second bend had a bit more resistance than the first side due to cooling, but I had no problems other than one rib which catastrophically failed due to poor grain structure. I later went back and pre-drilled, then nailed the ribs to the inwale. The second day my brother assisted and we easily bent the ribs together, again first clamping then going back and nailed. Our third session ended abruptly when my steam vessel ran out of water prematurely (guess I had the flame up too high), and we both smelled smoke. In spite of that, we pulled the ribs out one by one, and had no issue bending on 11 ribs that only had residual steam in the box. All that are left are about 5 ribs at each end, albeit the ones with the most radical bend at the stems!

 

[Worth Gretter]

Great photos of a build in progress!

 

[Tim Parent]

That looks nice Patrick. I hope we can get the rails on the school’s AT form without steaming. I’m not sure what species of spruce we have. It was cut locally a long time ago. I guess if we have to steam we’ll follow your example.

 

[patrick corry]

Tim, I have no doubt that you'll be able to dry bend your spruce inwales successfully, providing the grain structure is consistent. On my first attempt I used local spruce and had one side fail due to a spot of twisty grain. I suspected it might be problematic and, of course, it was! I decided to take no chances with the nicer Sitka spruce pieces I used on round 2.

I tapered my inwales to about 1/4" in width at the stem which I assume makes them more flexible, but at the same time perhaps more fragile.

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

Love to see the Atkinson Traveler forms and canoes! Assuming there are no major defects in the rails there should not be any problem in installing the rails dry on the form and the same for the outside rail. If there is a defect in the rail, like on Patrick's boat, then steaming the rail will not help at all. I do like the looks of the tapered, in width, on the inside rails. It does make the rail tips a bit more fragile but just until the decks are in place.

 

[patrick corry]

Since I have the attention of the Atkinson Traveler designer, Mr. Thurlow.... I have a question. Should there be an additional steamed rib on this form, or am I ready to plank with cant ribs to fill in the rest? I have not notched the stem for another full steamed rib yet as I was unsure....

Keen observers of the fourth picture above will notice that both a Stelmok 15' Island Falls Willow (above) and a Northwoods Canoe (in progress) are in the same picture!

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

Yes, I would go ahead, notch the stem and add that last rib. Good looking rib stock with nice tapers on the ribs, well shaped stem and rails. It looks like the making of a great wooden canoe. Nice looking shop but the floor is too clean.

 

[patrick corry]

Thank you!


My 'shop' is a Pennsylvania German bank barn, built for dairy farming. The second floor, level with the upper bank, is divided into 3 bays with my active workshop area in the former threshing floor where hay would have been brought in for later storage in the two side hay mows. There's a trap door in the floor adjacent to my bench vise where hay could be dropped through the floor to the waiting cows below. The rough flooring in the center bay is doubled to accommodate the weight of wagons and hay and has seen lots of wear over the last 150 years! I like the patina but it does make leveling sawhorses and rolling my form cart somewhat problematic. I do occasionally sweep and vacuum the floor to keep up with the debris... although it is pleasant to walk in after a session of using the hand plane for paddle making or inwale tapering and see the curls of wood on the floor!

 

[patrick corry]

After a week away working in Vermont, I returned to the barn/shop and at Mr. Thurlow's suggestion I steamed and installed the last, sharpest rib bends at the ends of the canoe. Logic suggested that a strongback directly over the stem recess would allow me to insert shims to tightly hold the rib to the stem and inhibit splintering. So I bandsawed a 2x4 scrap and fastened it in place at each end.

Next I set up the steam rig with a plastic bag this time to accommodate two previously bent ribs from another project which didn't work out for that canoe. These had been bent over a Chestnut Bobs Special for replacement and were in good shape other than that they didn't take the final shape I wanted to fit inside the old canoe. I assumed there would be breakage so I would make my first attempt at this sharp bend with ribs that were already 'discards'.

Once steamed for about 40 minutes, I knew the ribs were ready because the shape of the ribs had relaxed in the steam to nearly straight again! I removed the first rib from the bag, placed and shimmed under the strongback, lo and behold.... the first one bent like a limp noodle with absolutely no problem or splintering! Stunned but emboldened, I grabbed the other 'discard' rib and repeated the process with the exact same result. I had been dreading the possibility of damaging several rib blanks and here I felt like some sort of pro!

Now... it's on to planking. Ribs were faired with a 60 grit long board sander I made from two slabs of 3" wide Masonite and rib-stock paper holders under two newel post knobs screwed through the masonite:

I struck a centerline on the canoe, selected and laid out the garboard strakes, and will commence planking tomorrow. In Thurlow & Stelmok's book, Building the Wood Canvas Canoe, Jerry Stelmok describes using 18ga. steel nails to fasten the planking to the stem in between ribs. I was surprised at this, though in each of the restorations I've done the planking was nailed into the stems with steel. Planking which crosses a rib at the stem gets bronze ring shank nails. I'm wondering if 5/8" nails, pre-drilled, are sufficient for this?

 

[Worth Gretter]

Patrick, when I had a question about the tenacity of my ring nails, I did a test with a scrap of rib and a scrap of inwale. I was not able to dislodge the nail without destroying the wood first. But if you need bigger nails, Fairwind Fasteners has bronze ring nails in 3/4", 7/8", 1", etc lengths.

 

[Worth Gretter]

And I couldn't help but notice the narrow paddle in one of your shop pictures. I made two earlier this summer that were 5-1/2' wide because that was the width of the stock I could get!

 

[patrick corry]

Worth, I favor narrow paddles for deep water lake paddling. Of the six paddles I've made only one is 'wide', and that's a traditional beavertail blade which I mostly use in shallow water in order to get more blade area in the water. The narrow blades are more benign for my shoulders for all-day paddling.

Here are two Cherry paddles made from the same board, my interpretation of an ottertail on left and beavertail on right.

This one's an American Sycamore of my own design, about 5" at the widest point of the blade. It's got a grip design I shamelessly copied from a Sassafras paddle made by Al Bratton of the WCHA.

Here's Al's Sassafras paddle on the right; also a narrow blade and quite lightweight and flexy. One of my favorite paddles.

 

[Worth Gretter]

They are fabulous! Mine, I'm ashamed to say, are simple and utilitarian, not works of art!