I succeeded in shaping six ribs today. I realized after I completed them that the ones near the bow are shorter. So, I had to begin again with those three and do them again. Bummer. Hey, Northwoods Canoe Company in Maine sent me an extra rib and an extra 3' of planking at no extra charge! Ye haw! Above you can see the final ribs. They are all 60" right now. They are 2 1/4 inch wide at 30" and taper after 15" down to 1 3/4" wide near the ends. You can really see that taper on rib #6 above. By the way the ribs are leaning against my outdoor solar shower. I have a 5 gallon bag that the sun warms all day. At night I can take a long warm shower without being connected to the power grid. Would that be a "Green" shower?
Here are the six ribs lying on the canoe where I will be bending them. I will boil the cedar ribs in a rain gutter and quickly bend them over the outside of the canoe clamping them to the rails. I will let them dry for about three days and then I will take them off the hull and turn the boat over where I will finally install them inside the boat.
Here is the bow inwale tips being replaced. Since they were rotten and broken I had to replace them. I used pieces of the old outwale rather than using new wood. I wanted to use as much of the original wood as possible. The deck plate was also created and it is sitting in a clamp as the epoxy is drying as well. I had to make a new tip for it as well since it was also broken and rotten.
Next....I will put the deck, inwales and stem all together as one unit as I did the stern. Cross your fingers.
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