Gilpatrick E.M.White to Wood&Canvas

[Niels Vaillant]

I like to build a mold for 18.5" E.M. White Guide canoe`s. I know Jerry Stelmok has the original mold. I've got the book from Gil Gilpatrick with drawings of the molds for a strip planked epoxy version of this canoe. I don't like his station spacing for strip planking but for a mold it must be okay. My question is how much like the original mold are his drawings.

 

[Niels Vaillant]

Okay I will make the mold from these drawings. And since i have to loft the whole thing (or at least a quarter) to deduct the stations
Why haven't i thought of that myself I just wanted to take away 2,5 cm from the border of the stations. But thanks to some advise in other threads.... (thanks Todd) I think i'm going to re read my lofting book first. Than I can make some more stations too and convert it to the metric system so i don't have to recalculate all the time when i'm buiding and hope I can concentrete on making other mistakes

 

[ppride]

Let me know how it works out. My first wood canoe is a 18.5 White stripper I built from Gil Gilpatricks book in 1987. I agree the stations are too far apart. It is still one of my favorites for going out with a couple of people, dogs, and gear. Pete

 

[Scot T]

A few years back I emailed Mr. Gilpatrick and asked him how he came to draw his 18.5' White Guide. He told me that he took his lines off of an original canoe and drew them as accurately as he was able. Sounds good to me.

I would trust what he said and assume the plans are accurate to the boat he copied.

 

[Niels Vaillant]

I converted the drawings to metric offsets, but i don't expect the first canoe to come of before the next winter.
@scott I believe that he did a fine job taking offsets of the boat but wood and canvas is still wood and wood works. So I wonder how much the canoe he take the lines from was still shaped like the original mold. I thank Gil that i finished my first canoe. It was his pragmatic view which guided me through not the for me too perfect approach of canoecraft.

The first canoe i build is build on the stations of a ranger prospector 15' but it isn't really a ranger because wind blew a hole in the roof of my workshop and it got pretty wett when it was just strips. I couldn't bent it back on the stations. I spent a whole day fixing it in a symetrical form and it's now a fine canoe.

 

[Scot T]

"So I wonder how much the canoe he take the lines from was still shaped like the original mold?"

You are correct Niels. That is why I said his lines were accurate to the "boat he copied" and he mentioned that as well. But he has a lot of integrity so I would suspect they are pretty close to the form.

But that is part of the fun of boat building...working it all out before starting with the wood.

Good luck. I hope you will post photos when you get it done. I'd like to see it on the water.