Article: Wood-canvas canoes are tougher than you think

[Glenn MacGrady]

After reading this article, I thought a more accurate title for the content would have been "wood-canvas canoes are more repairable than you think".

https://paddlingmag.com/skills/camp...ail&utm_term=0_66b554bdc5-135445537a-84688013

 

[ppine]

I agree that are fairly tough boats. I have run a lot of rivers in mine, but never wrapped or taken any really hard hits.

The problem though is that repairing a w/c canoe is extremely labor intensive compared to any other material except for maybe birch bark.
I am finding this out first hand. I have repaired a lot of fiberglass and kevlar boats over the years, but have never been tangled up in anything like the current OT Guide. I finally got overwhelmed by the tedium and put the project down.

When the weather cools off some, I plant to bend in some ribs and change out a few planks which will go quickly. Then on to canvas and filler and paint. It is a lot of work. One mistake can cost you 100 hours of labor.

 

[Fitz]

I find the work rather enjoyable. Nothing like ending up with a better than new canoe when you are finished. Even ones a hundred years old or more.

I own a dozen or so canoes. Wood canvas and only one plastic canoe that I have never even bothered to use or fix. No need for it really.

 

[Iskweo]

yepp. It can be a very time consuming process. Good therapy but kind of invollved. Especially to do it correctly. I have been putting a Langford back together off and on for about three years now. It is ready for paint this week but life is getting in the way. Things like paddling...lol.
Dont give up the ship there Forester, it will feel pretty good when you are done. And yeah, I hear you about having to redo stuff at some point to get it right. It can be frustrating.

I only have about 6 w/c ones currently. I get side tracked with odd projects.

 

[ppine]

Its a good thing I don't live near Maine or a I would be out rescuing orphaned w/c canoes all the time and have a barn full of them. I can see exactly how it happens.

 

[Canotrouge]

Same here... no chance I could end up with a even 2-3 of them up here ?

 

[Mihun09]

Our canoes have spilled out into the backyard. Of the 8 slots in the boat house one is taken up with the strongback for building strippers. Then we have Christines stripper, my stripper and the Swift Mattawa we have used as our tripping boat. On the second rack, bottom is the Morris, next up the 1917 Penobscot, then the Peterborough w/c and a 14 foot something, maybe a Tremblay. On horses in the only open space is the latest chopper gun canoe. Out back there is the y stern w/c we fixed up a couple years ago (I'm trying to talk Christine into a road trip next year to take it to Canot), a glass canoe Christine found for free, the chopper gun boat Christy was working on having the paint dry and a stripper someone brought for repair but then realized they really don't want it back so it is in storage.

In the shop is the Langford to get paint now that the filler is cured. It will need outers as well but otherwise is refinished.

I will likely get to the Morris when I retire in 3 years hopefully. I love working on them, just taking my time and enjoying all aspects of that type of wood working.

Karin

 

[ppine]

My name is Ppine and I have canoe disease. This is like a support group for paddleheads.