It’s been a while since I made any real progress on building the boat, having spent a lot of time experimenting and trying different options for the strakes.
The shape of the strakes has been difficult to determine as it’s essentially their shape that determines the contours of the boat. They are shaped so, as they bend to meet at the bow and stern they naturally form the shape of the boat. Turning flat pieces of wood into a contoured shape.
I finally came up with a series of shapes that I’m happy with and took the major step of actually attaching the first strakes to the keel. As I add more and more strakes I’ll either be rewarded with the correct shape if I get it right or realise I got it wrong and have to start again !
So, right now I’ve added the first two strakes on both sides and, so far at least, it looks to be forming the correct shape in line with the plastic guides. I’ve designed and printed a number of different clips to help hold the strakes in place while the glue dries so the 3D printer has been a big help with that.
Each strake is slightly different as, as well as forming the hull shape as it’s bent into position it also has to form the distinctive shapes at the bow and stern. The first few strakes overlap each other in such a way that they only form part of the end shapes. Later strakes will all go to the ends.