I turned my hull and now it’s too wide?

Hi! This year I’m building my first cedar strip canoe and I was hoping for some advice. This morning I took my boat off of the mold and flipped it over to find that my hull isn’t staying in the right shape, it’s too wide. What’s the best solution? Could I use straps during the Fiberglass process to insure that it cures in the right position? Should I wait until after I’ve applied the fiberglass and then bend it and hold it in place with the thwarts? I’m a little lost...

 

Hard to say, from the one picture. It looks like the outside is already glassed? There's a lot of flexibility in these boats until you get the gunnels & thwarts on. Try moving your cradles closer together? That might help push the sides in some more.

Or use longer pieces of carpet or strap in the cradles, so the canoe sits deeper into it.

 

Thank you!

 

I clamp temp thwarts in to maintain the desired width. (blocks of wood and c-clamps)

 

Thanks! I’ll try that out. Yes the exterior is already glassed... I’m currently about 1 inch too wide in the middle of the hull

 

Sitting the unfinished hull on cradles spaced that far apart with no temporary thwarts installed to keep it from spreading is your problem. More importantly, it is very dangerous. It is quite possible for the whole boat to suddenly fold in the middle, fracturing the strips and the outside glass layers....... end of project. Get something like a 1 x 3 the proper center width and stick it in as a temporary center thwart. A couple of drywall screws through the hull and into the ends of the 1 x 3 will work and the holes won't be a problem once the gunwales are installed. As is, it is just a matter of time before the boat folds and breaks.

 

One inch is nothing... it'll have more flex than that, even after the interior is glassed.