Skin-On-Frame Outrigger Sailing Canoe. Chapter 1: Deck, Keel and Cockpits

Step 9 Laminate and Bend the Breasthooks

The gunwale strips are too thick to make the bend at the front, so we're going to laminate and bend the ends with extra sheets of plywood to make a "breasthook". We might as well call the laminations "cheekpieces" while we're at it.

Mix up some epoxy glue as in step 6. Paint it on every mating surface. Stack up the laminations. Nail the tails of the cheekpieces through the deck into the gunwales. Bend the stack up at a pleasing angle. I think mine are 4" or 5" above the deck. Put a clamp on the nose. I propped the nose up on a folding chair. This tries to tighten the radius of the bend, putting all the laminations under good pressure. Try it with some sheets of cardboard to see how it works. For extra security, put more clamps along the edges. Pound some temporary nails if you think that's necessary. Pile bricks and car batteries on it for even more clamping gladness.

Put it in the sun to kick off the glue. Go to the beach for some boogieboarding.
When it's all set up, pull the clamps off and marvel at the excellence. Don't do it until the glue is really hard.

When you take the clamps and weights The piece will spring back a little bit. I tried to make both pieces the same but it doesn't really matter. One end swoops up 4", the other 3.5".