Questions about Stitch and Glue Joint

[Guest Stephen Mercer]

Hello,

I'm not a sailor or a boat builder, yet.  I have restored a wood and canvas canoe and done some custom woodworking for myself and a couple of clients.  I have a yearning to build something someday when I get a new workshop and the time.  A sailboat comes to mind.  I'll have to take sailing lessons of course.  We have some fair lakes here in Southern Ontario, all the way from small cottage country lakes to the Great Lakes.

I've checked a few web sites on construction and am interested in Stich and Glue.  My questions:

Do the edges that get stiched and glued have a bevel?

Is it necessary to use wire, or are plastic cable wrap ties OK?

Do the stiches have to be removed or can they be trimmed and covered with the fiberglass?  Would that cause chafing at those spots?

If anyone has any information, please share.

Regards,

Stephen

[cdunc]

Do the edges that get stiched and glued have a bevel?

You do not have to bevel the edges of the boards before stitching them.

Is it necessary to use wire, or are plastic cable wrap ties OK?

People have used both.  Personal preference for some.  Some people like wire better as you can torque it easier/better.

Do the stiches have to be removed or can they be trimmed and covered with the fiberglass?  Would that cause chafing at those spots?

Wires are typically removed.  I believe the folks who use the cable wire ties leave them in.  When removing wire ties some people use heat and others use electricity to zap them out.  See this thread: http://www.messing-about.com/forums/index.php?topic=5304.0

[lbrewer]

Hi Stephen,

Welcome to the forum.  I think you'll find a lot of information and help here.  Craig beat me to the punch responding, but since I already had this written I'll go ahead and post it.  Like you might suspect, the answers to some questions may not be absolute.  I'll add my two cents:

Do the edges that get stiched and glued have a bevel?

It depends on the joint.  Beveling the joint on the centerline of the boat, the "keel" joint, usually helps ease the process of unfolding the bottom panels on a "vee" hull.  You'll find differing opinions on how "tight-fitting" stitched joints should be.  The best advice is to pay attention to the plans and heed the construction drawings.  If it says bevel, then bevel.

Is it necessary to use wire, or are plastic cable wrap ties OK?

The purpose of the stitches is to hold the panels where they should be while the epoxy cures.  Some areas of a joint may be under considerable stress that may cause plastic tie wraps to break. Other areas its not an issue.  Use what works.

Do the stiches have to be removed or can they be trimmed and covered with the fiberglass?  Would that cause chafing at those spots?

I always remove them, especially wire stitches.  Its not that hard to do and then you don't have to worry about them working their way thru the glass and epoxy

Larry

[PAR]

Beveled edges can help seal end grain and make a specific procedure easier, as mentioned.

You don't have to use ties at all, if you can find a way to align the panels edges. I use all sorts of things; racket straps, tape, rope, string, finish nails, brads, temporary braces and forms, etc. In fact, finding ways to avoid having to use stitches is a good thing and usually saves a few steps.

Technically, you don't have to remove the stitches if they are well buried in thickened epoxy. In reality, you'll uncover them in the fairing process and then you've got a problem, so taking them out or insuring they are well buried is the best way.