Chopped Melanesia?

[Nathan Stanley]

I am moving back to the US from Japan, and my Melanesia is too long for the moving company to fit in their custom crates. I considered selling, but it is about 90% complete, and I hate to lose it before it even touches water. I am considering cutting it in half to fit, and reassembling it later in the similar manner as the build, using additional plywood to overlap either side of the cut line. I am looking at cutting just behind the forward seat, against the original plywood overlap. Can anyone foresee major issues? My only concern is the aft portion losing its hull shape between the cut line and the aft seat.

[Robert Hughes]

When people build sectional tenders (to make then easy to stow on deck) I think they usually construct them in one piece to start with.  They install a pair of bulkheads where the join is going to be, with a tiny gap in between.  Then they run a saw cut through to separate the halves.  Maybe something like that would work for you?  If the bulkheads are fixed with epoxy fillets they should hold well.

Rob H

[Nathan Stanley]

I’m not keen on the nesting dinghy style for a canoe hull, but I didn’t think about permanently reattaching and strengthening using the same idea. I think I might go with a bulkhead frame, rather than solid bulkheads to keep the weight down. Cheers for the ideas!
Nate

[Robert Hughes]

Good idea.  You could always screw temporary full bulkheads to the frames for while it's in transit, that way you could get away with very narrow frames...

All the best

Rob

[Nathan Stanley]

I’ve just had the movers’ agent come for a survey of the house, and the canoe has to be cut twice, to allow for a maximum of 84 inches per piece (standard crate internal height is 86.5 inches; 84 inches allows proper padding/protection). I foresee some full-length stringers being added after reassembly.

[Rogerio Martin]

Divide the canoe with a bulkhead to each side. You will have to create this bulkhead. Maybe in the middle of the bank? works well, ends up reinforcing the boat.

[Nathan Stanley]

I will have to put some thought into the bulkheads. In my haste, I did not take enough care and preparation to make straight cuts, and the cut line varies by as much as 8mm from rail to center joint. As a result I may need to trim some material to get an exact fit suitable for bulkheads. However, the slightly irregular cut may be stronger if I don’t join the hull pieces with a bulkhead, and stick to the original method of joining the plywood end-to-end with overlapping. I’ll try to add a couple pictures of the aftermath.

[Nathan Stanley]

On the left you can see the partially completed plywood ama. I had to design it around my available materials. It, too, required a cut.

[Nathan Stanley]

The canoe is coming back together, but it is no longer an elegant craft. Here is how I am compressing the pieces to get an end-to-end join. This how I’m marking the correct positions for the butt blocks.

[Nathan Stanley]

I am at a loss for the best technique to both align and compress the Ama halves while holding everything together. Any ideas?

As all the glue and added wood will be internal, I’m not quite sure how to go about it.

[Nathan Stanley]

Ama cross section (upside down).

[Nathan Stanley]

Crossing an ocean... again.  This time she'll remain intact; at least that's the idea.  Hopefully, the bureaucratically heavy-handed EU don't cause too many problems at the POD.