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On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 12:31:16 -0500,
wrote:

As to the interior, well lets just say he'd rather be paddling than
sanding. In addition he does not advocate using either bow or stern
stems. He just bevels them with a rough hand saw and clamps them
together with glue. He does lay a large bead of resin mixed with flox
or the like into the bow and stern area and he claims that makes as
strong a bow and stern as adding stems does. He is a Maine canoe
guide and takes folks down some very rocky rivers and claims he's
never seen one fail, even though the rest of the canoe might be
trashed.

After reading this I felt it was difficult to understand what I was
saying.

Cedar strip canoes are built using thin cedar strips that come
together to a narrow profile at the bow and stern. Some kit's and
plans recommend a stem at each end, some do not. The stem can be an
inner stem AND outer stem, or an inner stem only. You can also build
the canoe with no stem at all.

The stem is usually very thin laminated strips that form the curve of
the bow and stern. They are layed up around the stem forms and then
beveled so that the outer end is more narrow than the inner end. This
is all so that the strips can bond flat against them as they narrow to
the bow and stern.

But you can also bevel the strips themselves and simply glue them to
each opposite side's strip around the stem form. The stem form is
usually bevelled too, to allow the strips to come together where
they're supposed to.

Done the latter way, there is no reinforcement for the bow or stern.
That's what the large bead of thickened resin, squeezed against the
inside of the bow and stern does, it becomes the stem, so to speak.

Corky Scott