Boat-building Frames

[Charlie43]

As part of a proposed, cold-molding build to be done as a RW club project is the need to have a building bay and, in the bay, a proper platform on which strongbacks and molds can be erected.  

Obtaining a bay is easy. Move the Lake Oswego boat down to the dock where it should be.

Obtaining a foundational structure is also easy, because club owns a wheeled, 30"W x 80"L x 32"H, massively strong, metal cart with leveling jacks (now just attracting boxes of junk) to which it would be easy to attach a pair of 2"x 4"'s as rails upon which differing building frames could be erected as one club project were completed and another begun.

But it'd be nice if the best arrangement for those rails were chosen. So I'm going to use this thread to gather pictures of boat-building frames. From them, it's possible to see how various builders chose to erect frames. The lower portion of RW's frame will need to movable and enable many different boats. The upper portion would be specific to a single set of plans, but would also have to be easily dismantled and storable against future use.


.


 

[MarkR]

Actually, I think the club has two of those monster wheeled carts!  LOL!  I agree with the building frame project.  It would be good if it was a pretty universal frame to be used with all sorts of small boats.  And if it could be stored easily, either on end or up in the rafters it would be even better.

One of the best strong backs I've ever seen was in Port Townsend.  A horizontal 'H' beam probably sixty feet long.  Dead flat and beautiful!  Made to build racing shells.  Not very portable as it was very heavy and very

The strong back that I used for my canoe and will use for the Shellback is a simple box beam.  Made of plywood and screwed together, it's deceptively simple.  When I started it, I thought: "this will never work!"  By the time it was assembled, it was true to within a couple of sixteenths.  Station setup took out the rest.  Amazing!  It's a nice way to build it.

Ladder frames are good, but need to be made of good straight lumber to start with.

Anyway, I think this is a good start.  I'll look for photo opportunities at CWB this weekend.

[Charlie43]

"Ladder frames are good, but need to be made of good straight lumber to start with."

Lumber from a yard is never 'straight' or 'true'. But it can be made so (or close enough) with jointers, planers, etc. Also, the adaptations I'm envisioning will be bolted on, hence changeable/correctable.

Those carts aren't as monstrous as you're remembering. Dimensions are 30W x 80L x 32H, with toe clearance under the lower rails, pretty ideal as a base for a universal frame.