Richard Peter Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 I wanted to get your impressions of using the rope method for creating a lip on a coaming. Jeff used one on his first Vardo and I liked the look but is there and advantage to it over wood? Most people, including Jeff himself, seem to favour the wooden lip. Are there other alternatives? Your thoughts? Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Gingerbread Posted May 4, 2014 Report Share Posted May 4, 2014 I have no experience but like the idea. They look like they would have more friction/grip with a spray skirt. I like the look but I know many don't. Sealing it properly might be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapecodJohn Posted May 4, 2014 Report Share Posted May 4, 2014 Coamings "no plywood is not good for me" "I have to have laminated" It took me two weeks, I worked at it every day, an hour here and an hour there, (2 hours there) to make a coaming. Between cutting strips. making a jig, planing, planning etc. the first one of three is complete. I am not completely satisfied but it was a good learning experience it looks cool. I got 2 maple 1x 6 and a redwood 2 x 6 to make 3 coamings. I used my cheap ass table saw to cut the 1 x 6 into 1 7/8 then split that 3/4 thickness into thirds that was hairy. Plane it afterwards i left the lip a little fatter the 2 x 6 red wood was easy on the table saw. The maple bent nicely, I wet it good and used a heat gun. On the oither hand he redwood sucked It cracked outright broke and was a bitch to work with. I ended up gluing and clamping over the cracks it ended up staying put after the TB3 set. I wanted the nice contrast. You people are the only ones i will tell that I am not completely happy with it. Will steam help the red cedar? Now that I am writing this I don't know if it is redwood or red cedar? Note to self you can never have enough clamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchmellow Posted May 5, 2014 Report Share Posted May 5, 2014 You can find examples/tutorials for rope lips at http://www.yostwerks.com and http://www.skinboats.org . If you look back in this forum Jeff did a rope lip on his first Vardo. I believe he described it and showed some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Peter Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Jeff's Vardo is what made me bring it up in the first place but he doesn't seem to use it himself. I wasn't sure if he has lost favour with the technique because of some flaw with the design or that he just prefers the look of the wooden lip. Thanks for the links. I will check them out. As for your coaming, I like the look of the contrasting wood grain. Sorry to hear that you had so much trouble with it. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msaxton Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 I thought about doing a rope coaming lip, saw some urethane coated rope that I thought would have real good grip, but in the end I went with the oak laminated. I did five layers of laminate and then just routed out the excess layers on the bottom to make the lip and did a rounded routing and sanding on the top edges to make it nice and smooth. It looks alot better then this pic, this was just with the first coat of tung oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msaxton Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Quote by CapecodJohn: "The maple bent nicely, I wet it good and used a heat gun. On the oither hand he redwood sucked It cracked outright broke and was a bitch to work with. I ended up gluing and clamping over the cracks it ended up staying put after the TB3 set." I made a really simple steamer out of pvc pipe and a curtain steamer, 15-30 minutes of steaming and my oak bent perfectly. if you look at my nimrod thread there are some pics and details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 I did the one rope coaming and while I like the look, I don't like making them. Just simpler to do the wood for me as a wood worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapecodJohn Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 Jeff's Vardo is what made me bring it up in the first place but he doesn't seem to use it himself. I wasn't sure if he has lost favour with the technique because of some flaw with the design or that he just prefers the look of the wooden lip. Thanks for the links. I will check them out. As for your coaming, I like the look of the contrasting wood grain. Sorry to hear that you had so much trouble with it. Richard It's not so much "trouble it's the learning curve. I am building three of them, number 2 is coming along much better it will be more refined now that I am an expert. I can't wait to get started on #3 it will be perfection! 7 layers, glue em up, one a day, Pics on Sunday piece of cake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 I made a really simple steamer out of pvc pipe and a curtain steamer, 15-30 minutes of steaming and my oak bent perfectly. if you look at my nimrod thread there are some pics and details. Oak is probably the most flexible and sinewy wood there is during steam bending. It bends quite well just using a hot wet cloth. Redwood will not bend well at all under any circumstance. You can build the best steamer and it will only work on some woods well. Many woods, especially softwoods, don't like to bend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Peter Posted May 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 I am building three of them, number 2 is coming along much better it will be more refined now that I am an expert. I can't wait to get started on #3 it will be perfection! 7 layers, glue em up, one a day, Pics on Sunday piece of cake. Dibs on number 2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msaxton Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 I did not know that about redwood, good to know. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 I found maple to bend very well. Soft maple that is. I didn't steam it, just used a heat gun. Probably my favorite I have used. I tried Cherry and I gave up on it. I tired basswood and it is great to work with, but it bends to easy and doesn't spring back really well. So I will not use it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 Ash also bends well. Ever seen a pair of wooden snowshoes? I've seen AYC steam bent in person and in books. First choice for steaming is green wood. If you must use air or kiln dried wood, soak it first. It will re-absorb some water. Then use lots of hot, wet steam, or boiling water. (+- 1hr per inch) It's the heat AND moisture that make the magic. Then again, first builders bent a lot of ribs and coamings by chewing the wood. Seriously. As far as redwood goes, I've seen coastal redwood dugout canoes that had their gunnels spread by boiling the wood soft with hot rocks. I've also personally applied boiling water soaked cloths the hood ends of sequoia redwood canoe planks to shape them. Neither is a coaming, though. Smiley face thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 I know you like photos, and sorry it's not a coaming, but I built this about 15 years ago. Lots of steaming... Oak ribs, for what it's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted May 10, 2014 Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 And none of the woods are available around here, at least not that I know of. Well, lots of oak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted May 10, 2014 Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 I visited southern KY to visit relatives a dozen years ago and I was enthralled with the hardwood forests. We got needles galore out here. If you find a small saw mill and show them your beautiful boats, they'll cut you some nice stuff. I found one way down a dirt road on my bike one day. They have a hand painted sign... I buy hardwoods from a fancy furniture wood guy. It's all too dry, but I soak it, and most of it works. I'll post photos when I steam up my freeb coaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Peter Posted May 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2014 So for building a coaming oak and soft maple seem to be the better choice and are very common. I would think that ash wouldn't be too hard to get either. Have you guys tried any others that you would recommend to the forum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted May 11, 2014 Report Share Posted May 11, 2014 So for building a coaming oak and soft maple seem to be the better choice and are very common. I would think that ash wouldn't be too hard to get either. Have you guys tried any others that you would recommend to the forum? Hardness is not the issue. It is whether the wood becomes sinewy or stays brittle when heated or steamed. Hardwoods in general become sinewy and softwoods in general stay brittle. Remember to look the words hardwood and softwood up, they don't mean what most people think they mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapecodJohn Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 Got coaming # 2 finished it went / bent a lot easier, I planed the stock a little thinner and yes it is redwood and maple. there was some slight cracking of the redwood but extra glue and clamping took care of that. I can't wait til tomorrow, why, because I get better every day. Number 3 should be the ultimate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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