One of the lovely things Cape Falcon Kayaks provides is support. Brian is very generous with his time, and when I mentioned having trouble sourcing bending oak he gave me some very quick solutions at a reasonable price. I had some clear cedar in the shop, so I started with laying out the gunwales (top edges of the boat) while I waited for the oak.
The slots that need to be cut to receive deck beams and ribs are usually cut with a plunge router, but I have a wood worker friend who said I should borrow his biscuit joiner. What a wonderful piece of equipment! it was made to cut slots, and can be set for different depths and angles. It made the whole process very painless. The hardest thing I had to do was use a shim to get the slot centered exactly on the edge of the gunwale. Note: those of use with SERIOUS wood boat addictions are prone to pronounce gunwale “gunnel”. Just a warning.
Checking gunwales for flex.
Setting up on the new work bench.
Had to hang the half-complete Navigator sailboat to get more room in the shop. Ack! Yes, that's a canoe on the wall.
Marking for deck beam and rib mortises.
Test bit of rib oak for proper width of rib slot.
Borrowed a biscuit joiner to cut mortises.
Checking fit and depth for rib mortises.
Very happy with the biscuit joiner.
Cutting strips for laminating the deck beam.
Jig for deck beam.
Gluing up bow gunwale extensions.
First boat shape with gunwales in the forms.