: Since it is referencing the refinishing of a wooden shell, it is most likely
: more for abrasion protection for the thin veneer rather than for strength.

Hmm, so perhaps the grunge layer(s) on the keel of a boat could be applied with varnish instead of epoxy. They would have to be thin layers of glass cloth as a thick layer of varnish, trappped in a heavy fiber mesh would probably never get hard.

: . . .but it is a shame that you don't see too many of the wood boats out on the race course anymore.
: Vaclav tells me that he is going to design some racing singles in strip
: construction............I can't wait! . . .

: . . . Have you ever thought about doing some shell plans Nick?....like say, 22 to 24 feet, 20 or 21" on the beam?

I've previously suggested making a wide sheet of thin strips by edge gluing them and laminating on at least one side with a very light ( 1 to 2 ounce ) glas fabric. You could use short pieces of strips layed up like bricks, or longer strips, or any combination.

Unlike plywood, which comes in standard length panels that need to be joined by scarfs, these strip-based panels could be constructed by almost anyone to almost any length or width, with a minimum of tools. Of course you would need enough space, though.

It is hard to get a 20 foot panel to fit in an 18 foot room.

The Pocock site mentions using cedar that is 3/8 thick. TThickness is certainly not a problem with strips. In fact, you could make panels from 1/4 or even 1/8th inch thick strips. With glass cloth on just one side (probably the inside) the panels would be relatively easy to bend without steaming. When they had conformed to the proper shape a layer of glass cloth and resin could be applied to the other side, creating our usual composite sandwich of glass/wood/glass. If additional reinforcement was needed, the original thin glass layer could be coavered with another layer or layers of glass fabric.

Since the interior was flat to start with, there would be minimal sanding needed inside -- where the sanding is a tough job anyhow. You could do additional sanding on that surface with a belt sander before the boat was bent into shape, providing some tooth for the next layer of resin and glass. Since the interior had a glass layer on it there would be no need to precoat it before applying the next layer of glass, either. All of this would save time.

From the looks of it, the shells seem to be just bent around an almost cylindrical form, and then pinched at the ends, with gunwales and thwarts holding the boat's shape. Once you made a 22 foot long, 1/8th inch thick laminated-strip panel you would be in good shape for building a shell.

My ideas for making those panels call for a very simple tool: a clamping board made from a 4x8 foot panel of plywood. 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch holes are drilled into the panel, in a line about 4 inches from one side, and running the length of the panel. The holes are about 3 to 4 inches apart. If you want a 30 inch wide strip panel, you screw down a straight edge about 32 inches away from your row of holes. cover the plywood with a layer of plastic so you don't glue things to it, and start from your straight edge, laying down strips, edge and end gluing them. Butt joints are fine for the ends of each strip. build the stack of strips toward the rows of holes. When you get your stack of strips about two inches away froim the holes, end the stack with an unglued strip, and drop a short dowel rod int the hole. Between the unglued strip and the dowel you insert a wedge which you gently tap into place to provide an even clamping pressure on the strips. All those holes provide lots of places to insert wedges.

Leave the far ends of your panel jagged, with strips ending at irregular spacing. After the glue hardens, shift the strip-panel on the plywood, and insert more strips, filling the irregular gaps with edge glued strips. You can keep gluing and shifting this until you get a panel of the length you want. Then sand or scrape of any glue drips before you coat the panel with a layer of resin and thin glass cloth. Voila! One long panel from lots of small strips.

hope this helps.

PGJ