Galilee Boat 16” [COMPLETED BUILD]

If I remember well, I had a 2” long piece of pvc pipe sealed at the bottom and filled with water on which I soak the planks there for like 20 minutes, pull the out, towel dry and hold them to the boat with clams will I dried them with a hair dryer.
That way I will have the plank with the shape needed.
I hope my system works for you.
I'm doing something similar. I soak the strakes, use clamps to hold on to them as I twist and turn them above the boat so I can see where the twists go, and clamp them down on the boat. It's still a challenge, though.
 
More twists and turns. Only about 11 more strakes and I can start on the partial frames. I’m making this model for a former pastor friend. He lives in Mississippi and sails his boat regularly on the Gulf. He used to be a Commander on a nuclear submarine. He was a nuclear engineer and has an IQ of 187. We used to have some interesting conversations.

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Good morning Vic. You done enough twists and turns to be dancing in the 1960’s. ;) . It is starting to take shape now- looking good! Your friend must be a super interesting man. The only image I have of a nuclear sub commander is from Hollywood fiction. Cheers Grant
 
Good morning Vic. You done enough twists and turns to be dancing in the 1960’s. ;) . It is starting to take shape now- looking good! Your friend must be a super interesting man. The only image I have of a nuclear sub commander is from Hollywood fiction. Cheers Grant
He is a very interesting man. As the Admiral says, "Genius and personable at the same time. Not something you find very often."
 
The breaking is completely following the visible grain of the wood.
Did you soak them in water? Best is warm or hot water over a longer time, or maybe steam - Try to bend them gentle
Yes, Uwe, I soaked them and bent them gradually. I tried three different ways. I've also tried steaming them in a steam box. It seems to work just as well bending them dry. Part of it is the direction of the grain. Unfortunately, the wood is tapered on the stern in a way that makes the wood break along the grain. If the strake were upside down, maybe it wouldn't break along the line of the grain; however, the bevel wouldn't fit the curve then. Thanks for watching. I guess I'll just have to continue starting at the stern and gluing very slowly as I go along. It takes me two days to glue one strake this way. I'm ready to get on with the interior of the boat.
 
Hi Vic, I think we all know that I lack much experience, but I found I could introduce a much deeper bend more safely by adding heat. I don't mean hot water or steam - I mean an electric plank bender (soldering iron type). When the heat hits the wet wood, steam is produced inside the plank and the bending happens more predictably. In fact, I have seen some pretty impressive curving JUST using heat (on dry wood strips), but I've always soaked the plank first.

I use this guy (bending the strips into the swoopy wood thing is where the magic happens). I don't even try to bend the plank on the ship - everything happens beforehand.

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I guess you would have tried all this already so please ignore this post if it is unhelpful.
 
Yes, Uwe, I soaked them and bent them gradually. I tried three different ways. I've also tried steaming them in a steam box. It seems to work just as well bending them dry. Part of it is the direction of the grain. Unfortunately, the wood is tapered on the stern in a way that makes the wood break along the grain. If the strake were upside down, maybe it wouldn't break along the line of the grain; however, the bevel wouldn't fit the curve then. Thanks for watching. I guess I'll just have to continue starting at the stern and gluing very slowly as I go along. It takes me two days to glue one strake this way. I'm ready to get on with the interior of the boat.
Vic
One thing I have read recently (although not yet experienced) is to soak the plank in a mix of hot water and ammoniac
May be you want to give it a try
 
The larger model - by virtue of its larger size - will have a more gradual bend. Because the same curvature has to be incorporated in a smaller distance on the 16-inch boat, the bend will be more severe. I agree with Paul re the use of an electric plank bender.
 
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