Recent content by Dana

I'm debating on what to do with this canoe. If I hadn't been paddling it for 60 years, I suspect I wouldn't even be thinking about it... Around 1963, Dad happened on two canoes that were "excess" to a bunch of canoes bought by some unknown camp. He took one and a friend took the other. We...

I've seen similar discussions on a homebuilt airplanes forum. For wooden airplanes, epoxy rules today. In the past resorcinol (Weldwood) was the standard, with hide glue being used in the very early days. Resorcinol requires perfect joint fitup, whereas epoxy is much more tolerant. Propeller...

Now I'm falling down this rabbit hole after 60 years of using whatever paddle was available... I guess finally getting my newly restored canoe in the water makes me want "nice things"... As a recently retired engineer I tend to over-analyze everything. According to the Bending Branches chart...

It floats! Well, it should. Much nicer than my old blue fiberglass beast, which I took out for one final paddle first. It was a breezy day on the lake with swirling winds, but only once in a strong crosswind did I need to leave the seat and kneel amidships to paddle. I was also...

Wow, two years later... life got in the way. But finally this summer, after a couple of years of dealing with family obligations and my own health issues, I retired and finally had time to work on the canoe. First was sanding and painting the hull (7 rattle cans of Krylon Camouflage olive)...

I have two old paddles, I don't remember where I got them... might have been in our current or old cabin when we moved in. The first (no picture) is a conventional beavertail, with a very pleasing shape and comfortable grip... though it's a bit too long for me if I'm in the back. That one I...

Another ad for an Explorer mentions the number written in permanent marker, just like mine. I guess the design changed over the years; that one shows a single thwart and carry handles, which mine doesn't have.

I think we have a winner! Pictures in this advertisement look identical to what I have, so circa 1985. Only the thwarts are different. Although, the ad says 17' and mine is 16'.

I don't think so... almost every detail of my boat is different from the photos you posted.

Slow progress continues. Got the gunwales ripped and scarfed last week. Saturday I glued them together to get the required 16' lengths using West System epoxy reinforced with microfiber (I decided against Titebond as that needs a perfect glue line with no gaps, epoxy is a little more...

I thought I posted an update last week, but it seems to have disappeared... anyway, I got it all apart. Getting some of the screws out was a struggle; they're square drive, but it looks like somebody tried to tighten them with a phillips screwdriver and trashed the heads. I did find a number...

I started with a Whisperlite for backpacking, then switched to a Svea 123 a friend gave me as it's simpler and more reliable. But a few years back my son in law sold me on the Trangia style alcohol stoves (he's from NZ and that's all they use over there). I also have two and three burner...

Kanawauke is a chain of 3 lakes divided by two road bridges. I've heard of people portaging around the dam to get to Sebago, but it wouldn't be easy. The American Canoe Association has a camp on Sebago.

Waiting for the thaw.

Made some more measurements last night, looks like 37" beam measured inside the hull... but it's so wiggly without intact wood that could be off a bit. The thwarts are 31 and 34.5". No center thwart or yoke, I may decide to add one. No numbers anywhere I can see. Has anybody used the bucket...