Big old freighter canoe rebuild

I have found that the most important accessory to a clinching iron - is a wife or daughter that knows how to hold it at the right angle in the right place.
 
stem ,inwale ,outwale,and deck removal



about 3 inches of stem was bad , oh thats the new pup in background


splice cut. I had to remove some planking to get at it


Splice set in just for pic. The boat has a twist to it now but with the righht bracing it should pull in line. I dont have anything supporting the shape so I screwed some spreaders on to keep it approx.
 
Bob~

I am really enjoying this restoration!

When you glue your scarphs - do you use epoxy? Do you add Cabosil or anything else? Any mechanical fasteners?

All the best,

SJS
 
doing a great job documenting this every time i log in i look to see what else has been done cant wait to see the finished project.
 
Steve, Thats right ,just epoxy and Cabosil. No fasteners,but the tacks through the planking help. I use a 6 to 1 scarph on the ribs. Its really super simple. I use a multi tool from harbor freight or a handsaw to cut the angle then a belt sander to dress it up. I cut the new wood joint on the bandsaw and finish on the belt sander. Mix epoxy and clamp. Afrer it dries a disc sander in a drill removes any glue blobs.
 
Chris, I was starting to wonder if there was much interest in this build, thanks for tuning in. I enjoy working a bit on the boat and sharing the info as I go. It motivates me as well.
 
Bob, this thing is a beast. Nice work getting it back on the water.

I was just reviewing your post last fall when you first got this. Two questions:

(1) Glass or canvas?
(2) You going to restore an old Caddie to cartop it?

I lied, third question. What's in this for lateral support? Looks like no thwarts in the original. Do the seats provide enough strength from gunwale to gunwale? Not surprising you're seeing some twisting . . . . .
 
GaryRI- I have a copy of that book. Required reading for canoe guys.have not made up my mind on canvas or glass.
Jeff- the boat is going to be on a trailer so no fleetwood in my driveway.bringing up canvas or glass is like cubs vs white sox or ford vs Chevy or light cork vs dark cork. Yes I agree about the twist. The only support of any kind was the two runners on the inside floorboard edge and the exterior keel.the seats were screwed to thes two floorboards . Not original in my opinion.i was going to affix cleats on the sides and hang seats from those with a post under the seat to a keelson.that may stiffen her up some.
 
Bob:

I thought about canvas for my sculler. It was built around 1950, and MIGHT have been canvassed originally. I opted for glass and haven't looked back--though I have covered that awful paint job since then.

A nice canoe, though, would make me think hard about canvas.
View attachment 16412
 
Fitting the inwales


You can never have to many clamps






It looks pretty fair in the pic but the left side of pic the inwale has a hump that I think I can sand out. Could have used an extra pair of hands as this hull fought me . It just wanted to spring back. I had all sorts of bracing attached from the ground and big bar clamps and the like. Up to this point I was cruising along. Its time to take a seat in the "thinking chair".
 

milling the wood for the outwales . We are supposed to get some heat this week and I was worried that my lumber pile would start to move around and dry too much. The outwale has a lip on it to fit into the space at the rib tips where ther is no planking. It requires 2 passes through the saw.


These are just a pre bend temporary fit and will come off when hull is sheathed . It does give a better idea of the shear profile (or what you need to do to get it fair).


Deck installed, mahogany. and forward view of temp. outwale
 
Bob
Following your restoration with much interest. I restored an Old Town canoe in 1950 and the canvas was the fun part. To glass that boat would be a shame IMO but would make sense with the time and effort you've put into it. Canvas would restore her integrity and original beauty. Really looking forward to the finish and thank you for taking the time to share it.
wis boz
 
Thanks Wis,
Im glad you are enjoying the post.The jury is still out on the canvas question. I think it would be a durable and repairable material. Im not intimidated by the process its just I have more experience with glass. It would allow the canoe to be repaired down the road ,just as Im doing now. The glass is a forever material and some say it is the death of a canoe. On the other hand the canoe was on life support when I got her, so buy her 30 more years and call it a success . Nor-West canoes in Quebec still makes these wood freighters and covers them in canvas,with an epoxy filler material. Anyway Im not at that point yet,doing more research on the subject.
 
Bob:

FWIW, I know lots of folks who use canvased canoes hard for hunting and fishing. They require maintenance but are fully functional.

I decided to use glass instead of canvas on my MMB sculler because I'd never seen one canvassed, and I couldn't find any information to suggest they were canvased historically.
 
I've been told that a canvas covered boat fully filled/faired will be heavier than fiberglassed.
Not sure what the downside of "forever" is with glass. If this boat was built in 1940, glassing it to get over 100 years seems like a win.
 
its not so much the in use activities that hurt canoes ,its the off season storage, canvas or glass. I have an old E.M. White that was glassed in the 70's with polyester and lives outside all year and just got back from the BWCA on a weeks trip. As far as weight on this canoe , I dont think I will be strapping it on the roof of my Caddy! Its a good question on the weight of the canvas. I recall I measure all the way around the boat from gunnel to gunnel and it was 86 inches in width. A 25 foot by 9 foot section of canvas by itself would be heavy as 3 gallons of epoxy and cloth.
Th rain today left me to work on other inside projects.
 
The weather has me on the sidelines among other things. I am working outside on this canoe and it's either raining or threatening to rain all week. My clinching partner left for college last Friday . University of Dayton.i have the half ribs to install before I proceed with anything else. You know that cartoon I posted ? Since its just my wife and I home alone again after almost 30 years ,I figured we should do some together time. Honestly after two ribs she was done...DONE! I thought it was going to be like we were honeymooners again. We are . I'm Ralph and she's Alice. I'm heading to Mn to work on my sons place this weekend. I opted some pics in the August workbench thread. After I get back next week I'm going to hire the neighbor kid for a couple of days. Bob
 
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