Outside Stems and Hull Strength

[Spokeshave]

Hi everyone,
As shown in the attached image, I've nearly finished a Morris replica. All that remains is the outside stems and the keel. However, I have a canoe trip coming up soon, and I don't think I'll be able to get these parts on before we go, so I'm considering leaving them off for now. Is this a bad idea? I can deal with the lack of abrasion protection, but I'm concerned the inside cedar stems will not be strong enough on their own. The trip involves paddling several miles on a large, windy wilderness lake, and down a slow-flowing river with no rapids. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-Dan

ps- Sorry about the rotated picture... It's right-side up when I open it in Photoshop, not sure why it's sideways when I upload it to the forum.

 

[Benson Gray]

I don't think that it is a bad idea. There are plenty of Morris canoes that never had outside stems and seem to have survived very well. However, an outside stem will be stronger so be careful about hitting anything head on. Good luck,

Benson

 

[MGC]

Going without outside stems is clearly not an issue and there are many threads that discuss the virtues (?) of keels. What I believe is actually being asked is a slightly different question... I read this as "is it a good idea to use the boat without stem bands"..... The boat was built to accept outside stems and presumably the stem bands will be mounted on these once they are installed. Given that the stem bands typically protect the canvas and tacks the prospect of not having them in place is not entirely appealing, at least not to me.
Keeping in mind that Morris stem bands were riveted due to the poor screw retention in the cedar stems, quickly throwing a couple stem bands on to protect the boat during this trip is not such a straight forward proposition.
I think going sans stem bands is a crap shoot..... if were my boat, I would not do it.....

 

[Spokeshave]

Temporarily installing the brass stem bands sounds like a good idea... I will definitely be adding the stems and keel as soon as I can. (I realize the keel is unpopular with many; I've read many of the threads to which MCG refers. However, the keel suits my needs.)

Just to clarify, I was really wondering about the strength of the cedar inner stem in boats that were originally designed to have the outer stems. In other words, in the Morris canoes without outside stems, were the inside stems beefed up to make the bow and stern sufficiently strong? Or was the outside stem a "belt and suspenders," structurally speaking, in boats that had them? (Outside stems seem to have other, non-structural benefits, such as abrasion resistance and enhanced hydrodynamic pointy-ness.)

Thanks for the replies!

-Dan

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

The cedar stem will give you plenty of strength. If you run into something that damages the stem, you are most likely going to have lots of other problems too!
Put on the temp. brass stem bands and have a good trip!

 

[Spokeshave]

Alright, stem bands and no stem it shall be... Thanks!