From the end of winter break through the first two weeks of the semester, the team worked on the construction of the hull. The process started with first locating the tables used by the previous TCNJ teams. If the tables hadn't been found, then they would have also needed to have been constructed.
The hull design team then scaled and printed 19 cross sectional areas of the canoe in 1 foot increments. Those prints were cut out, traced, and cut out on pieces of plywood. These cross sections were created to act as support for the mold. The next step was for those pieces of the cross section to be screwed into place on the tables. The image shows all of the screwed in pieces on the table.
The next step in constructing the mold was to prepare the masonite for the outside of the mold. Extensive work was done in the woodshop to cut strips of the wood with 1" thickness. Then, those strips were nailed against the cross sections and bent across the sides of the wood to resemble the shape of the canoe. Pictured below is the beginning and middle stages of nailing the wood strips.
After completing the masonite strips, the canoe mold greatly resembled the shape of the selected design. The team then worked to plaster the exterior of the mold and paint it once the plaster had dried. Two layers of plaster were applied to ensure a smooth working surface. Latex based paint was then applied to the mold, which marked the completion of the mold construction. Below is the mold before the application of paint.
