Ed's Canoe Parts

[Seeker]

Just wanted to plug a small shop, "Ed's Canoe Parts". I heard about him here, years ago I'm sure, and recently ordered an ash thwart from him. It came fast, and I'm pleased with it. Came pre-finished, which was unexpected... I'd have stained it before installation, but I like the 'white' accent.

https://www.edscanoe.com/index.html

 

[dougd]

I've used Ed's in the past and have been very happy with both the product and how fast they arrived!

dougd

 

[gumpus]

Same here...totally satisfied and delighted with top quality parts and service.

I think his seats have a thicker gauge than stock seats. I know that the black walnut webbed seat I put on my Merlin II made the whole boat and especially the seat feel stiffer and more solid but it did add a little weight which is fine by me. I put black walnut carry handles on my Yellowstone solo because for some reason the boats with aluminum gunnels came with ash carry handles and black walnut thwarts. Made me pretty happy to upgrade the handles to black walnut for about $15.

 

[Guest]

I have ordered a lot of seats and thwarts from Ed’s, and likewise been happy with the selection and customer service.

The only demerit may be the (number of coats of) varnish applied. That is a minor demerit; since I need to cut the ends of thwarts or seat frames to size, and need to seal those especially thirsty newly cut ends with multiple coats of varnish, I re-coat the entire piece another time or two.

When I make my own thwarts/yokes/etc they get at least 3 coats of varnish or urethane, often 4 or 5.

I don’t think the varnish on stuff from Essex is any better, and if you already have the varnish and brush out. . . . .

 

[yellowcanoe]

As far as varnish goes. The number of coats of varnish on ANYTHING NEW canoe related is insufficient. Paddles are notoriously dipped once or twice if you are lucky.

 

[S.Shepherd]

I just ordered the EXTRA HAVE DUTY EXTREME seat to replace the yoke in mine (yes I'm joking about the name).
The guy I spoke to was very helpful.

 

[Guest]

As far as varnish goes. The number of coats of varnish on ANYTHING NEW canoe related is insufficient. Paddles are notoriously dipped once or twice if you are lucky.

I wonder how varnish is applied to manufactured paddles and canoe parts. Dipped? Sprayed? Probably not brushed, but maybe.

On brand new canoes I have taken the thwarts and yoke out to discover that the butt ends were either very lightly varnished, or in some cases not at all; just raw wood right where bacterial rot is most likely to start.

I’ve also seen some really sloppy job on the machine screw holes on thwarts and yokes. On one 3K carbon canoe the double hung yoke had two screw holes so close to the edge that they weren’t actually holes but open end semi-circles, one hole was 1/16” back from the edge and one was properly drilled. That was a carbon Bell from the ORC days; I took the yoke out because it had been installed backwards. Sheesh.

 

[gumpus]

If Ed's used varnish I'd buy parts from someone else, most likely Hemlock or Swift. It's a lot easier to add varnish than remove it. Varnished parts would not match the finish on wood trim boats from Swift or Hemlock and I always disliked the mass produced varnished seats on Bells with wood trim where everything else has an oil finish.

 

[Guest]

If Ed's used varnish I'd buy parts from someone else, most likely Hemlock or Swift.

Ed’s uses varnish on at least some seats and thwarts

“Seats are constructed from select Vermont white ash and finished with our specially formulated varnish to give the look of an oil finish”

 

[gumpus]

Ed’s uses varnish on at least some seats and thwarts

“Seats are constructed from select Vermont white ash and finished with our specially formulated varnish to give the look of an oil finish”

I stand (sit) corrected. Best of both worlds. I have to admit it's hard to thoroughly oil a webbed seat. With varnish I prefer a satin finish although my one wood/canvas boat has gloss varnish and still looks pretty good to me. I don't like gloss varnish on paddles because they seem much more prone to getting sticky and damaging your hands but again it's possible that some sort of sneaky satin varnish or oil/varnish mix could be a good option.