CANVASBACK - a quick 'glass canoe rehab

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.



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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.



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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.



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Once applied, the new epoxy goes outside to bake in the summer sun.



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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!



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I taped over the sides and applied the bottom paint - then gave it a day to bake in the sun.



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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.



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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.



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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.



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Stay tuned for Part 2.


SJS







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Part 2



The White Ash yoke is fastened to the hull via two "hanging knees" - set in 3M 5200 and held in place with 2 s/s panheads on each side.



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Here you can see the empty screw holes - which used to hold a small cleat to which the removable yolk was lashed.



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The entire interior, decks and rails were painted with a single coat of Parkers.



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Then out into the summer sun to bake.



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I had earlier installed 4-inch Beckson deck plates in each air chamber.



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I lubricate the threads of the plates with Lanolin - a useful product in any boat shop.



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This is the second Sleeping Duck Bow Handle i carved. I tried to carry the arc of the bow up onto the chest and neck of the bird.



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Another aspect - in shadow.




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Here's the new yoke....



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...and its knees.



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More to come....


SJS



 
Part 3




This thwart frame was bent downward. I later removed it - by drilling out the rivets - and straightened it in a bench vise. I will have to watch it - to see it it deflects again in use.



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Here's the finished floor frame.


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And here's the "old" removable yolk for comparison.



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I had used decoy line to lash each end - through the V-notches - to a small cleat mounted on the underside of each rub rail.



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I like the way the straight waterline accents the line of the sweet sheer.



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Here is one of 2 small holes chewed by Paper Wasps. There were 2 nests beneath (within) the aft canvas seat.



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Since most of the canvas was sound, I decided to reinforce each piece instead of sewing new ones.



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I kept the new canvas within the confines of the hems.



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Once again into the sun for baking.




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I use Old School corset technology to lace the canvas to each frame.



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Still one more Part....

SJS

 
Great thread Steve!
My favorite canoe is currently upside down on saw horses in the driveway getting its keel and bottom sanded down to the glass for similar reasons. ( being drug over to many rough obstacles). I finally decided to repair it "correctly" although I don't know if I will fair in the edges of the tape going over the keel or not. It probably depends how quickly September gets here.
 
Good morning, Brandon~


Understood about fairing the edges of the tape. I took some pains at each end but only knocked off the hard edges along most of the keel. Definitely a "wear item" - so I expect it'll need my attention once again in future seasons.


All the best,


SJS

 
That's a heckuva job you've done on the canoe and I like the Sweet Gherkin.
 
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