Lapstrake boats are some of the most attractive boats on the water. Traditionally, however, a builder had to first cut a series of molds and assemble them on a frame to define the hull's shape. Wooden strips, or ribbands, were then fastened to the molds to outline the shapes of the planks in a process called lining off. If only one boat was to be built, jig construction became a substantial part of the building time.
This type of hull was one of the first things that I thought of when I started computer cutting boat parts. Thinking that a lapstrake boat could be built using a "slipped" stitch-and-glue method, I needed a way to temporarily fasten the planks. The rivet that developed allowed the shape of the planks to define the hull's final shape, not molds or frames. After the hull is riveted together, the plank overlaps are filled with an epoxy mixture, locking the shape and creating a lengthwise stiffener at each lap. This idea developed into the QuickLap method.Designing for this construction technique was much more difficult than I had first imagined. Since this method allows the hull to take it's own natural curves, the shape that was drawn on the computer screen was not always the shape of the finished hull. After many hours at the computer I had a design that I was happy with, and built the prototype for an 11' double paddle canoe.
Seaside Small Craft
P.O. Box 95
Willis Wharf, Virginia 23486
seaside@esva.net