Repairing a cannoe

[fisherkid4]

Hello Fellow OFC'ers!

 

I recently made received a old beater cannoe from a friend who had no use for it anymore.

 

I have a number of repairs to do on the cannoe.

 

The cannoe is 14 ft in length and is made of fiberglass.

 

I had to remove the old railings for the cannoe because the wood was molded.

 

 

 

So know im trying to figure out the best way to repair the side railings and what kind of wood to use or any other sugestions.

 

 

I also have to put in seats and a knew yoak. Just wondering if you had any sugestions in matierials to use to best suit the repairs and where to go to get them.

 

I live in kitchener.

 

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Tight lines, crappie_boy

[kickingfrog]

Can't help with the repairs but if you're doing a web search use the term gunwales, pronounced gunnels and often spelt that way.

 

Good luck.

[SirCranksalot]

Gunwales are normally made of ash. You can buy them from Noah's in TO but they are pricey----may not be worth it for an old beater. If it's a Novacraft you can get the gunwales from their shop in London.

[SmackUm]

Ash will bend nice under heat/steam you can rig up some kind of a kettle/tube with a cap and hold the heat in to produce the tight bends req.

You will also need some good quality marine glue there must be members on this board that make cedar strip canoes they will be able to help better...

But you will need to rip/45 the strips and cement them together + have enough C- Clamps for the job... Again somebody that does Cedar Strip should know the ins and outs...

Buy good quality epoxy glue measure twice like a good carpenter and make sure you fasten everything right in your jig for a nice finnish!

[fisherkid4]

Thanks guys! Il look into it a little more with the proper termonoligy!

[SirCranksalot]

My gunwales are attached to my Novacraft with screws rather than glue. I didn't find it necessary to steam the wood.

[Moosebunk]

What's the plastic you could use... PVC type? For wood, ash is probably best. Noticed this week after checking that the splash guards and keels on the WarCanoe are oak. It does bend too... not sure enough for a smaller canoe with greater bended shaped. Been sniffing epoxy for 3 days in the garage doing some canoe restoration. You get this job done for yourself you won't consider the canoe as much of a "a beater." Instead you'll be happy with a good personal job done.

 

Voyageur canoe I think is in Peterborough... they'd likely have options for parts to buy.

[woodenboater]

If it's a beater, then I'd just get some ash (rip it if you can find the appropriate length) for the inner and outer gunwales. stainless screws from the outside. make sure you have enough width to hang the seats and yoke. I'd just pay the piper and buy a good yoke (teal for example). I like yokes that have a slight tilt in them so the canoe sits bow high when carrying.

 

you'll want to hang your seats instead of attaching directly to the gunwale so it gives you a lower centre of gravity. again, I would just look around and buy these. my seats use lacing vs seatbelt webbing. I get waffle butt from them but it's still got some cushioning.

 

all told, yer looking at around $350 ± for gunwales and seats from Noah's. http://www.noahsmarine.com/index.asp

 

make sure you oil the gunwales before attaching them.

 

and it'd be great to see photos of the progress from beater to floater

[mcdougy]

Aluminum gunnels are the way to go imo. They never rot, and feel better on your legs vs the ABS type. Although ABS would be much cheaper I suppose.

[fisherkid4]

Thanks Moosebunk! I think im leaning towards ash for the time being just need to pick up some lumber and epoxy. Then the next step would be to figure out the best way to wet the wood or steam if if necesasairy to get the proper flex in the wood!

 

 

What's the plastic you could use... PVC type? For wood, ash is probably best. Noticed this week after checking that the splash guards and keels on the WarCanoe are oak. It does bend too... not sure enough for a smaller canoe with greater bended shaped. Been sniffing epoxy for 3 days in the garage doing some canoe restoration. You get this job done for yourself you won't consider the canoe as much of a "a beater." Instead you'll be happy with a good personal job done.

 

Voyageur canoe I think is in Peterborough... they'd likely have options for parts to buy.

[fisherkid4]

Thanks for the imput! i will surely post some pictures of the progress! Thus far all i have done is dand the old paint off. The next step is to do some minor repairs with a fiberglass repair kit and the resin so il snap some pictures of the progress

 

 

Thanks again for all the imput!

[fisherkid4]

When you say hang your seats, i understand where your coming from with the idea. I think i will do this but i was just wondering were u attach the seats to dirrectly to the cannoe under the gunnels than hang them down a couple inches? Or what would be my best bet do you think?

 

 

Thanks for the imput!

If it's a beater, then I'd just get some ash (rip it if you can find the appropriate length) for the inner and outer gunwales. stainless screws from the outside. make sure you have enough width to hang the seats and yoke. I'd just pay the piper and buy a good yoke (teal for example). I like yokes that have a slight tilt in them so the canoe sits bow high when carrying.

 

you'll want to hang your seats instead of attaching directly to the gunwale so it gives you a lower centre of gravity. again, I would just look around and buy these. my seats use lacing vs seatbelt webbing. I get waffle butt from them but it's still got some cushioning.

 

all told, yer looking at around $350 ± for gunwales and seats from Noah's. http://www.noahsmarine.com/index.asp

 

make sure you oil the gunwales before attaching them.

 

and it'd be great to see photos of the progress from beater to floater

[woodenboater]

do not epoxy the gunwales as they will never come off clean if you ever have to do that. use stainless screws since the gunwales will have to support two seats and a yoke.

 

as mentioned by others, the bend is nothing and you'll only need steam if you're making new stems or ribs.

[SirCranksalot]

i just re-read your post. If it's just mildew on the gunwales, rather than them being rotten, you can just sand them off and re-varnish or re-oil.

[woodenboater]

look at the dowels or blocks. if you're handy, you can make them yourself, I'm lazy so I bought them.

 

http://www.noahsmarine.com/items.asp?Cc=Canoe%2DSHK

[fisherkid4]

Okay im sure i can through something together to hang them! thanks for the information!

 

 

The old gunwales were wrotten and there was no way they could be re used, should have been more clear with the original post

[sleepjigging]

I used clear cedar for gunwales on my homemade pirogue canoe. Fairbank lumber. 16ft lengths. screws and gorilla glue to wood.