Stem/Stern

In order to seal off the gaps from where my cedar strips come to a point at one of of the mold, I need to glue thin strips of oak and ash to create my stem (the forward-most part of a boat) and stern (the backward-most part of a boat) of the canoe.  These will mainly provide added and much needed strength.

I premade the stem and with a few countersunken screws I tested it on the mold to look for a tight fit.

To make my life easier when it comes to sanding the stem, I used the spokeshave to shave off as much as I could before we epoxied it to the mold, making it permanent.

Thanks to the Gougeon Brothers, Inc. and their WEST SYSTEM Brand Epoxy, I applied the epoxy to the canoe mold just where my stem will be touching. I waited a few minutes for the epoxy to soak up into the wood then I applied some more. This concept is known as "building up." Once the wood didn't seem to soak anymore epoxy up, I added some sawdust to the mixed epoxy. This acts as my wood filler filling all of the small gaps.

With the help of my teacher, we set the stem onto place and screwed it on. The screws are only a temporary until the epoxy cures.

A closeup of the epoxy wood filler. All extra filler will be sanded out.

*I repeated this exact process to the stern of the canoe.

_________________________________________________

Back to Home Page

See the next step-Sanding