Cedar Strip Panels Instead of Marine Plywood???

[wilded]

Here is a picture of a stitch and glue river boat that I made by gluing up cedar strips into panels and then cutting the panels out. I then stitched and glued them up just as you would plywood. I am considering doing the GF 16 in the same manner with large cedar strips glued into panels. Has anyone done something similar? Opinions? Thanks, ET

[jacquesmm]

I suppose the reason is aesthetics?

Those panels are not as strong as plywood, I don't recommend it for the GF16.
The GF16 bottom must be very stiff.

All our boats can be trimmed or decked with cedar strips.
Cedar strip will also work for the hull of most row boats but not for planing hulls unless it's covered with several layers of glass and in that case they can't be varnished.

[Seadation]

Hello ET,

WOW, thats a gorgoeus river boat! What thickness was your 'panel' after glueing it up? Did you scrape or plane the panels after glueing? What 'glue' did you use to put the strips together to form the panel?

Thanks!

/david

[wilded]

Hello ET,

WOW, thats a gorgoeus river boat! What thickness was your 'panel' after glueing it up? Did you scrape or plane the panels after glueing? What 'glue' did you use to put the strips together to form the panel?

Thanks!

/david

David they were 1/4 inch after sanding. I just ripped them out of cedar decking boards and glued them with titebond, I then sanded and saturated with epoxy before glassing. They are then glassed on both sides and varnished. I am thinking of using 3 3/4 inch wide 3/8 thick strips to make panels for a GF16 and glass both sides. The cost was much less than using marine plywood as the boat is 16.8 feet long. ET

Here is a shot on the water with over 350 pounds loaded.

[cali123]

Nice boat , great idea.

[silentneko]

That is amazing! Can you post some more details or pictures of how you made the panels? Were they as easy to work with as plywood? I would love to deck my next boat in some cedar.

So you just ripped them and glued them? did you have some kind of jig or anything? what was the size of the panels when you were finished?

[wilded]

Here are the pictures. I designed as I went along as I had no plans. ET

Strips cut from decking













First Test before putting on Varnish

[silentneko]

That is great! A few more questions if you don't mind? Did they bend as easily as ply? How was the weight compared to ply? Did you rip them at 5/16 or 3/8 and then sand them down to 1/4?

I really love the look of cedar strip stuff and this seems like a much easier way to go about it. Might use this for a kayak or decking soon.

Here's a question for Jacques, I know these panels are not as strong as plywood, but how much weaker would they be? Lets say I was building an FS14/17, could I use plywood for the bottom and cedar panels for the sides for a cool look? Bright finish on the outside and extra glass on the inside?

[wilded]

I ripped them just barely over 1/4, next time I will rip a lttle thicker. If one had a plane that would take say 12 inch wide panels of glued strips it would be great and really speed up the work. The panels were not as strong as ply until it was glassed. They were a lot lighter than plywood. I have a friend that ripped cedar 2x4s and made the strips much wider so that making his panels went much quicker. It is just one way of getting the strip built look without having forms and a strongback setup. If you do not have a local access to marine plywoods this way is much less expensive if you are planning on glassing anyway. At least on small boats in my opinion. ET

[jacquesmm]

Let's remind everybody that while those panels are very pretty, they are not as strong as plywood in the same thickness.

Strip planking is great for decks, canoe and kayak hulls but not for planing boat hulls unless we build one thick skin of glass on each side.

BTW, that method is described in detail in the building notes for the LB26: it is one of the 3 materials that we specify for that boat, with many layers of glass.
Sheathed strip is a great material:
http://www.bateau2.com/howto/what_is_sheated_strip.php

It is also used for one version of the MI12:
http://www.bateau.com/studyplans/MI12S_ ... prod=MI12S
and
http://www.bateau.com/studyplans/MI12S_ ... cerpts.pdf
I wish somebody would build the MI12 that way.
Until now, all were built from plywood.


If anybody wants to build a larger boat from it, email and I will specify the core thickness and amount of fiberglass you need.
(That applies to our designs and for those who buy our supplies.)


PS: Wilded, I like your blog.