: I asked this question in the “Strip: hand bevel vs b&c -
: opinions” thread, but rather than hijack that thread further I
: have started a new thread for this topic.

: Modern strippers are glassed for cross-grain strength. Many years
: ago the strips were edge-nailed and/or tacked or rivetted to
: ribs. I prefer not to glass my boats for various reasons that
: are not the issue here, but I still want to take advantage of
: modern methods and materials. I suppose a glass-free stripper
: could be made of ply, but that might be difficult and probably
: heavy.

: Has anyone tried gluing steamed or laminated ribs to the inside of
: the stripped hull to provide cross-grain strength? I have
: supplies of very flexible wood strips that I think could be
: inserted inside the boat after the strip build is completed.
: That would give it a fairly traditional look without the , time,
: work and weight of the traditional methods.

: I have found that 3 mm ply with an internal cross-grain element of
: around 1 mm makes an adequate hard-chine canoe without glassing.
: This suggests the rib thickness should average 1 mm. 3 mm thick
: ribs would easily bend around the inside of the hull after
: stripping, and 1" wide ribs every 3" would, I think,
: look attractive.

Edge nailed strip built boats are still being made - it's an easy, if time consuming, way to build complex shapes in larger boats. And, I have, I'm pretty sure, seen glass-free, strip planked small boats with interior ribs . . . I just don't remember where. I seem to recall the ribs had much wider spacing than you are proposing. Wood movement with various moisture content is likely to be your only big issue. I'd try, at least, to ensure that your wood was stabilized to the local conditions before you build with it.

All in all, I think this is a good idea - all the looks without the mess. The less glassing I have to do the happier I am!

You might do a search on the WoodenBoat forum - I'm pretty sure this has been discussed fairly recently.

Dave