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Greetings from Florida!

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hi everyone my name is Ryan! I live in Orlando FL currently and have been water child my entire life. Been kayaking a long time but just recently bought a fixer upper canoe and don’t know much about it and trying to find info on the interwebs on what type and proper way to fix. I’ll have to see if this forum as a channel for that kind of stuff but in the meantime looking forward to checking out the site! Here are a few pics of it at the moment
 

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Hi Ryan,

Welcome aboard!
You'll get some very good advice from a number of folks on this website as there are a number of us here who paddle/restore/repair wooden canvas covered canoes.
That sais. a dedicated site to all things wood canvas is the Wooden Canvas Heritage Association - WCHA.

The WCHA forums might be a better spot for specific information on repairs: https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php

Cheers!
Bruce
 
aah. A Navarro or a Merrimack or Stowe ( I think).. Composite canoe with wood veneer ribs.. Ribs for looking nice only. Its not a wood canvas canoe per se.
You need to replace the gunwales.

The builders fixiters will be along shortly.

It is a very practical boat for Florida as its not beset by brass tacks that are used in wood canvas canoes. Those tend to rot in humid salty air ( even in Orlando you arent far from salt) Nice for those spring runs!
 
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I think it's a Mansfield by the decks, I've had 2 of them and that was a common thing on those boats. Ryan can you find a HIN on the hull somewhere, bow or stern stamped in? That would help. I bit of work on that hull for sure but all doable and lots of good advice here!

dougd
 
Big oops!
Must admit to not looking at the photos closely beyond the seat lacing but did wonder about those big wide ribs...

My bad! Thanks for steering him straight YC and Doug.

Bruce

No worries Bruce. There are a fair number of these down oir way and suspect there are few up
yours
What catches my eye is the contrast between the ribs and the hull . Its always there and quite distinct
now as to the actual maker the HIN will tell
 
Thanks all for the welcome!!

Just from my research I thought it might have been canvas at first but the color seemed a strange thing to do so a composite makes a lot more sense. (Love the look of the ribs though). Thanks for the input. The guy I got it from started to do his own repairs to it. He was replacing the outer wood pieces and I noticed he use (what looks like) brass nails. Some must not have went in straight cause a couple were folded over
 
I guess I am limited on amount of characters as half my message didn’t post or at least I can’t see it. Doh!
 
It looks like a Stowe Mansfield canoe. These can be freshened up, but the inwales and outwales are installed with ring nails which are a PITA. I used a plug cutter to cut over the offending ring nails and then removed the wood rails and then cut off the remaining ring nails with a hacksaw. Then reinstalled new rails. The keel is another problem. They glassed over the screw heads during construction, so I used a forstner bit to unearth the heads to allow removal and replacement of the keel. Then filled the holes with thickened epoxy when I was done. I painted the exterior with Petit Easypoxy Jade Green.
 

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It looks like a Stowe Mansfield canoe. These can be freshened up, but the inwales and outwales are installed with ring nails which are a PITA. I used a plug cutter to cut over the offending ring nails and then removed the wood rails and then cut off the remaining ring nails with a hacksaw. Then reinstalled new rails. The keel is another problem. They glassed over the screw heads during construction, so I used a forstner bit to unearth the heads to allow removal and replacement of the keel. Then filled the holes with thickened epoxy when I was done. I painted the exterior with Petit Easypoxy Jade Green.

that looks like the one lol! Maybe the inwales might not be so hard on mine since he already pulled off the outer one. Just have to take out the brass nails he put in. I don't think I need to do anything with the keel as it looks to be in good shape. There are a few gaps though between the keel and the boat on the front and back, not sure if I can just use some seam sealer to plug those holes. thoughts? The hull seems to maybe just need a fresh coat of paint. There are a few minor cracks in the glass here and there but nothing big. What kind of wood did you use for the inner and outer gunwales? Not sure if I can just by them or if I have to find a way to get them made.
 
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