Steve Sanford
Well-known member
All~
CANVASBACK is the canoe I use most often - for gunning and just enjoying the local rivers and wetlands throughout the year. I bought it used a few years ago and did my usual repairs and customizing. I tell that story on my website:
https://stevenjaysanford.com/canvasback-2/
When not earning her keep, she now relaxes on racks on the back of our car barn. The racks are the same elevation as the roof rack on my Element. So, I need only move the vessel left and right - not up and down - when loading or unloading in the yard. I hope someday to build a garage bay tall enough to house my car with a canoe on top.
View attachment sm Can 01.JPG
One downside of outside storage is access by creatures drawn to the dry recesses of an upside-down vessel. Many Robins have fledged full broods from nests built on the bottoms of the seats. This year, a Phoebe raised her young from the safety of the underside of the foredeck.
View attachment sm Can 01A.JPG
And - as explained later - Paper Wasps have always liked my boats as nesting sites.
Several years of use have yielded some predictable wear. And, I have discovered that the removable carrying yoke that I once thought was a fine idea has proved to be less useful than a permanent one.
Because I have often dragged the fully-laden canoe short distances, wear has reappeared along the keel. So, I applied another layer of tape - bedded in epoxy thickened with graphite. Somewhere I have a roll of Kevlar tape I bought for this purpose - but have stored it a bit too securely and cannot find it. Thus, I used plain 'glass tape in the name of expedience.
View attachment sm Can 02.JPG
Once applied, the new epoxy goes outside to bake in the summer sun.
View attachment sm Can 03.JPG
Next came fresh bottom paint. There is rarely need for anti-fouling paint on any canoe - but I began using this color when I first restored this vessel. I do it for 3 reasons. First, it reminds me of every workboat I grew up with on Great South Bay. Garveys were invariably Battleship Grey - inside and out - with copper-based anti-fouling on the bottoms. The next reason is that finer canoes often painted a contrasting hue below the waterline. This made stowing a heavy load easier - so the canoe would trim level. Finally - and probably most important - to my eye it looks GREAT on the roof rack!
View attachment sm Can 03A Element with Canvasback 3L SMALL.jpg
I taped over the sides and applied the bottom paint - then gave it a day to bake in the sun.
View attachment sm Can 04 A.JPG
I taped very gently over the new bottom paint, then painted the sides. I very slowly and carefully removed the tape immediately, being lucky to not pick up any bottom paint.
View attachment sm Can 05.JPG
Next I reinforced two of the bottom frames (aka floors). They are the usual foam with mat molded over them. Each had cracked and allowed moisture to intrude. So, I covered each one with a strip of biaxial + mat 'glass set in straight epoxy. Once the weave was filled, I then applied a heavy coat of epoxy + Cabosil + fairing compound. This allowed me to sand them easily once cured.
View attachment sm Can 06.JPG
The next task was to install a permanent carrying yoke/thwart amidships. I found I seldom bothered with the removable yoke I had originally made - but realized I wanted it most of the time. In addition to making carries easy/possible, I also need it to pull myself up and out of the seat. With 2 artificial knees, I can no longer paddle kneeling - my previous default posture.
View attachment sm Can 07.JPG
Stay tuned for Part 2.
SJS
View attachment sm Can 01.JPG
CANVASBACK is the canoe I use most often - for gunning and just enjoying the local rivers and wetlands throughout the year. I bought it used a few years ago and did my usual repairs and customizing. I tell that story on my website:
https://stevenjaysanford.com/canvasback-2/
When not earning her keep, she now relaxes on racks on the back of our car barn. The racks are the same elevation as the roof rack on my Element. So, I need only move the vessel left and right - not up and down - when loading or unloading in the yard. I hope someday to build a garage bay tall enough to house my car with a canoe on top.
View attachment sm Can 01.JPG
One downside of outside storage is access by creatures drawn to the dry recesses of an upside-down vessel. Many Robins have fledged full broods from nests built on the bottoms of the seats. This year, a Phoebe raised her young from the safety of the underside of the foredeck.
View attachment sm Can 01A.JPG
And - as explained later - Paper Wasps have always liked my boats as nesting sites.
Several years of use have yielded some predictable wear. And, I have discovered that the removable carrying yoke that I once thought was a fine idea has proved to be less useful than a permanent one.
Because I have often dragged the fully-laden canoe short distances, wear has reappeared along the keel. So, I applied another layer of tape - bedded in epoxy thickened with graphite. Somewhere I have a roll of Kevlar tape I bought for this purpose - but have stored it a bit too securely and cannot find it. Thus, I used plain 'glass tape in the name of expedience.
View attachment sm Can 02.JPG
Once applied, the new epoxy goes outside to bake in the summer sun.
View attachment sm Can 03.JPG
Next came fresh bottom paint. There is rarely need for anti-fouling paint on any canoe - but I began using this color when I first restored this vessel. I do it for 3 reasons. First, it reminds me of every workboat I grew up with on Great South Bay. Garveys were invariably Battleship Grey - inside and out - with copper-based anti-fouling on the bottoms. The next reason is that finer canoes often painted a contrasting hue below the waterline. This made stowing a heavy load easier - so the canoe would trim level. Finally - and probably most important - to my eye it looks GREAT on the roof rack!
View attachment sm Can 03A Element with Canvasback 3L SMALL.jpg
I taped over the sides and applied the bottom paint - then gave it a day to bake in the sun.
View attachment sm Can 04 A.JPG
I taped very gently over the new bottom paint, then painted the sides. I very slowly and carefully removed the tape immediately, being lucky to not pick up any bottom paint.
View attachment sm Can 05.JPG
Next I reinforced two of the bottom frames (aka floors). They are the usual foam with mat molded over them. Each had cracked and allowed moisture to intrude. So, I covered each one with a strip of biaxial + mat 'glass set in straight epoxy. Once the weave was filled, I then applied a heavy coat of epoxy + Cabosil + fairing compound. This allowed me to sand them easily once cured.
View attachment sm Can 06.JPG
The next task was to install a permanent carrying yoke/thwart amidships. I found I seldom bothered with the removable yoke I had originally made - but realized I wanted it most of the time. In addition to making carries easy/possible, I also need it to pull myself up and out of the seat. With 2 artificial knees, I can no longer paddle kneeling - my previous default posture.
View attachment sm Can 07.JPG
Stay tuned for Part 2.
SJS
View attachment sm Can 01.JPG