Chestnut Pal and Chum day

[Robin]

Today I took advantage of warm temps for the 10th of November by beginning to strip the varnish out of both my Pal and Chum. I got 2 coats of stripper on the Chum on the right, and I pulled the canvas off the Pal on the left. (btw, these are GoPro stills)



Tomorrow the warm temps continue and I hope to get a good start on the Pal. Once the varnish is off, I can wait a while till things freeze up and start the wood work mid winter.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Lust. I see a paved driveway...

 

[Holmes375]

By the gods those are sweet lookin' boats.

Our weather has changed dramatically in the last 24 hours here in Wyoming. Single digit F. daytime highs and nights well below 0 F. My local exercise pond is starting to ice up. Had a lovely fall season with above average temperatures and I'm not ready for the big chill.

Work fast my friend!

 

[Robin]

60 today so I hope to finish the stripping of the Pal. Once that's done, I'll move them inside the shop where the wood stove will keep things comfortable.

 

[memaquay]

Very interesting to see them side by side. I have built a couple of Pals and consider them to be small canoes, but your's looks huge beside the chum.

 

[Rippy]

I have built a couple of Pals and consider them to be small canoes.

I noticed this to be true on a trip with my nephew. Two full size guys and plenty of gear had my Pal squatting a bit and feeling like a pig. Love it for solo tripping which is what I bought it for.

 

[tump_lion]

wooden it be nice...

 

[Robin]

I worked both Tuesday and Wednesday on the Chestnuts, taking advantage of the warm temps. Spread some varnish remover, work on some chores, remover the varnish....
The Chum is finished, it had a light coat of old varnish and it's sitting up on top of the rack, waiting till all the seasons are over...hunting, Thanksgiving and Christmas Seasons to be started on.
The Chum is up top, the green canoe is my other Chum,



Here's the Pal, not quite as good of shape as the Chum. It's been to LaVerendrye many times, Temaggami, Noire River,ZEC Kipawa, Maine a few trips, Adks more times than I can remember and Woodland Caribou for a 2 week solo. It's earned a resto, like me it's a little tired...



Old soft inwales coming apart,



Cracked inwales in more than a few spots. I have owned this canoe for more than 25 years and this will be my second restoration on it. I plan to get it back to as good as new, maybe better, as the Chestnuts had some issues in the later years. But, they still produced the best tripping hulls, workmanship aside, and their tripping legacy continues to this day.There is still some varnish stripping to finish, but it's been a good start and my winter projects are in place. A happy tripper here!





It's been a great tripping companion and I plan to bring it back to it's glory days,

 

[Hanz]

I'm glad those canoes are in skilled and loving hands. Looks like Robin has his winter well planned.

I'm happy to stand here in the corner and watch this thread evolve.

 

[memaquay]

Very interesting. What kind of wood are those inwales? I was also wondering if the outside hull was ever varnished. I have stripped canvas off a few, and the exterior hull is alway bare. I'm wondering what the reasoning for that was….when I tripped with canvas canoes, usually by day five or six, they weighed quite a bit more as the wood sucked in the water. If the wood on the exterior of the hull was sealed, it seems to me that there would be be less water soaking in over the course of a trip. Any thoughts?

 

[Odyssey]

Despite the filler and paint, are canvas skins completely impervious? I guess telltale signs might be rot and mildew when stripped. I'd heard about boats feeling water logged, but was never sure where the water went.

 

[Robin]

I think the hull was oiled with linseed or something similar in it's earlier life. I assume the oil is supposed to add life to the wood, I don't do it so I never paid much attention to what it's purpose is. Since my w/c canoes are used for tripping, it's canvas, some ribs and plank will need to be replaced more often than a pleasure canoe, so long term canvas to plank contact are alot less, no need for oil or worry of mildew on the canvas from wet plank, imo.
The canvas does get wet on the inside, but it doesn't soak thru, most will .drain off or dry from wind/sun.

The Pal did gain some weight on my 14 day WCPP trip, it develop a leak at the bow brass stem band, a ripped canvas, then some heavy rain the last two days. The carry back to the truck from Leano Lake was hard on me. I think that oiled plank sucks up some water and the rest gets trapped till the canoe is layed over or left in the sun upright.

At Marshall Lake, the smaller Chum (15') didn't gain much weight at all. I think I did less paddling in the rain, or maybe it was just mind over matter for those last two 1 mile long portages


I'm pretty sure that the inwales are spruce, they really need to be replaced which will add some real stability back to the canoe. An old canoe receiving new inwales is a beautiful sight at that stage of the restoration.

 

[Mihun09]

There is ongoing debate on whether to varnish or oil the planking prior to canvas. Some insist using boiled linseed oil will add flexibility back into the wood and help preserve it. Others, like myself, put a couple coats of varnish on to limit how much water penetration there is. I think it is primarily the canvas that wets and makes the boat heavier over a trip. Although the filler fills the weave from the outside and the paint in the filler might soak the canvas, the inside is not filled. The filler/paint just makes it watertight from the outside. Just my opinion, it may not hold water.

When I replace ribs or planking I do like to varnish the bare area that was uncovered. The backs of ribs might get wiped down with oil before going in.

Robin, do you do anything like that as you repair ribs and planking?

 

[Odyssey]

Just my opinion, it may not hold water.

That just made my day.

 

[tump_lion]

i used to always oil the hull before the canvas...doing my prospector i thought i'd try varnish...i'll let you know in five or ten years when i pull the canvas off next

 

[Robin]

When I replace ribs or planking I do like to varnish the bare area that was uncovered. The backs of ribs might get wiped down with oil before going in.

Robin, do you do anything like that as you repair ribs and planking?

No, I never do anything like that. I don't know if I have ever heard of anyone doing that either. When I pull a rib out, the bottom of the rib and the unvarnished plank below are always in the best shape of that rib and plank, so I never gave it much thought.

What I did think about was if anyone has ever oiled a whole canoe? I mean rather than varnish, have they just used oil, either a new canoe or a restoration. When I oiled the rails back into shape on that Mad River Explorer I recently picked up, I not only like the look, but I enjoyed the process.

 

[Mihun09]

When I was getting ready to finish the Canadian last Spring it was suggested I do the entire interior with Tung Oil, as that would have brought out the colour difference between the white cedar ribs and red cedar planking. It was suggested by a WCHA member but I chose to go traditional with varnish. I didn't wish to chance it since it is difficult to varnish over the oil if it didn't work out.

 

[daveo4]

Mihun09,
I often varnish over tung oil. Good spar varnish is tung oil based. I had built an 11' skin on frame pack canoe 3 years ago and tung oiled the whole frame. The oil has a tendency to darken the wood after a while which I don't mind. A couple of weeks ago I decided to varnish the gunwales, inwales and deck plates. A very light sanding with 220 grit was all the prep needed and then 2 coats of varnish. Looks great with good adhesion. I use tung oil a lot and get it from lee Valley Tools.
Regards,
Dave

 

[Mihun09]

I've purchased Tung Oil from Lee Valley as well. My varnish choice is Epifanes and after trying the Helmsman Spar Urethane on Red's boat this year, I intend to only use the very expensive Epifanes forever more.

 

[daveo4]

I also use Epifanes. What I am not sure of is when a manufacturer uses the words Spar and Urethane together. In my mind a spar varnish is oil based tung oil varnish. Urethanes and polyurethanes? I don't know. I still prefer the old fashioned, or as I like to say, the real varnish!