: You don't have to take the forms apart from the strongback when it
: is internal to build the deck. Ted Moores book shows that you
: have to unscrew the forms from the external strongback and take
: care to ensure that the forms stay put as you cradle the hull in
: preparation to assemble the deck. In some examples using an
: external strongback, two different sets of forms are used. One
: set for the deck and one for the hull. I sure don't feel that
: building the deck and hull separately makes sense. Having an
: internal strongback makes it possible to build the deck next to
: the hull and ensure that they line up and will be easy to join
: without having to disassemble the forms. I think the only
: downside to an internal strongback is the rigidity. Any
: thoughts?

I started building kayaks by building a Guillemot and followed Nick's excellent book/plans to the letter. The internal strongback worked great. That's how I got my start. It's a bit floppy at first but once a few strips are on the rigidity quickly increases. I quickly learned that if you're only building one or two kayaks, an internal strongback works fine... as long as you don't mind modifying it for every design. A 15 foot strongback for a Guillemot for example will not fit in a 12 foot rec boat. I had to chop it to get it in. Then I built a 17 footer of my own design. So I had to splice on what I had just chopped off and lost of lot or rigidity. Internal SBs afford zero flexibility for length. Tricky building a canoe on one as well...

I agree: building the deck and hull separately seems like a crazy system for a small boat. I know it works but the I like building my boats as one piece, separating the two halves later to work on the inside. I KNOW it'll go together that way. I've built all of my boats as one unit: I strip and glass the hull then immediately flip it over and strip and glass the deck with the hull still attached to the forms. The deck and hull then gets put aside on cradles as I work on the interior. The exterior glass (and an occasional spreader or two) ensures the two pieces keep their shape. I try and get the interiors done as quickly as possible minimizing any changes in the shapes.

I changed to an external strongback for the construction of three BTD Black Pearls for separate customers in 2006-2007. After reviewing the plans, it was very obvious that the design would not allow the insertion of an internal strongback. There was simply no room in the stern due to the low decks. So I went external and built a version of Bjorn's external SB. I make my forms in three pieces: I cut out the forms as I would for an internal system but I reattach the deck cutoffs with scraps of plywood and screws. That forms the standoff for the external SB. The cutoff from the hull forms nice cradles for the hull (after trimming to allow for padding and the thickness of the strips. The form standoffs later make natural cradles for the deck.

Below is a blog post from the 2008 "Nereida" Njord project. I just separated the hull forms from their standoffs, installed the hull cradles, and flipped the boat over so I could start on the deck. I went stapleless with this boat using dots of hotglue. Basically to make my life easier later I removed the forms one at a time from the hull and hotglued them back with just enough glue so they stayed put. Worked great. Read the blog entry for full details... The stripped and glassed hull was very stiff (the mahogany strips didn't hurt either). On boats that were built with staples, while I'm still working on sanding and glassing the hull, right after I pull the staples I'll tack each form in place with hotglue so nothing moves.

http://clearstreamwood.com/WordPress/projects/200709gmm_nereida/nereida-njord-the-boats-first-roll

I've come to appreciate the flexibility (so to speak) of a good, stiff external strongback. On my one 19 foot external strongback I've built six 18+ foot long stripped sea kayaks, two canoes (one 16 feet long and one 13 feet), and five skin-on-frames, the shortest two being only 8 feet long each (for my young daughters). It's also come in handy assembling cabinets. It's at a great height. It IS getting a bit tattered... time for a new one I guess!

Just my 2 cents.. ok maybe 5 cents. Happy building,

Dan