nickb
WCHA member #8947
I've begun planking my very first w/c canoe, and despite the unheated garage have been getting in a couple of hours of work every evening. It's sort of my own design - a modification of an existing design, so to speak, and i realized when I built the form, because of the way my station molds were laid out, my stem channels may have ended shorter than could be desired. I don't know if there's a set length stems need to be - I'll end up with about 4 ribs bent over the stem - but it seems like in some designs the stems go much farther inboard. My particular design is a flat bottom, flat water boat, and will not be fitted with a keel (at least i don't plan to). I am thinking of modifying the form (after I see what boat number 1 looks like) to accept longer stems. Just wondering if this would pose a structural hazard.
Relatedly, I've heard it said that in a boat this long (17') you need either half ribs, or a keel for the structural integrity of the boat. I hadn't planned on either, but was only planning for flat-water day use - purely recreational - probably isn't a boundary waters type boat. If I throw in a floor rack would that be kosher, or do I really need to add a keel to it?
Relatedly, I've heard it said that in a boat this long (17') you need either half ribs, or a keel for the structural integrity of the boat. I hadn't planned on either, but was only planning for flat-water day use - purely recreational - probably isn't a boundary waters type boat. If I throw in a floor rack would that be kosher, or do I really need to add a keel to it?