Work continued on 2nd Ahoghill Company Section's second canoe, as we began stitching the plywood panels together to form the shape of the hull.
This is probably the most visually stimulating stage of the construction, as the wooden sheets gradually form the shape of the canoe. So we really wanted the boys to get involved, as they would get an instant sense of achievement and satisfaction. Only one boy was able to make it to the garage, but this gave him the perfect opportunity to get fully involved in all aspects of the process.
To begin we laid the bottom panel of the canoe on top of our work tables, and stitched the shaping board into place with copper wire. This shaping board had been kept over from the first canoe, and would again be used to dictate the shape needed to form the sides of the boat.
Next, we began stitching the individual panels into place along the length of the canoe. This required two people to hold the panel in position, while a third person drilled the corresponding holes through which the copper wire would be stitched. The remaining person would then insert the copper wire and twist tightly to pull the panels into place.
Unfortunately, after repeating the processing for two more panels, we discovered that the resin/hardener mix had not set correctly on the final panel. This forced us to draw the night’s work to an end. However we still made good progress and will soon be able to move onto the next stage of securing the panels in position.
