Free Boat Rehab

[dougd]

My better half's daughter's husband found a free boat for me to fix up. Not my kind of hull but what the heck, it's free and I know someone who might be interested in it when I'm done. It's a Hidden Pond made by Lincoln Canoe:

https://paddlelincoln.com/hidden-pond-canoe/

This model is the 14' x 37" wide. A good fishing boat is what I thought. The seats are in perfect shape but the carry thwart needs some attention. When I took the gunwales off the fell apart but the decks were in OK condition but are the funkiest looking design I've ever seen. I'm going to get the nasty green paint off and then sand them and on the bottom coat with resin, when you see the pics you'll understand. New gunwales are going to be Poplar as that is an easy wood to work with and this being a lake and pond boat don't need beefy ash gunwales. A good winter project!

 

[yellowcanoe]

at first glance eeew.
But for several years the Androscoggin Watershed Alliance held a Trek (paddle ) the 177 miles of river
The organizers paddled a Hidden Pond. And the boat raffled off at the ending picnic at Ft Popham
For something resembling a shoebox it never was last
Surprisingly good cottage boat

 

[dougd]

I thought the eeew thing once I saw it but it has potential and not something I want in my quiver but I guess every boat has it's purpose!

 

[mwaalen]

Continually amazed at the number of different canoe manufacturers there were/are. Kind of like coming across some oddball snowmobile one's never heard of before at the local car show. Thanks for sharing!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Continually amazed at the number of different canoe manufacturers there were/are. Kind of like coming across some oddball snowmobile one's never heard of before at the local car show. Thanks for sharing!

Actually Lincoln is pretty well known in New England as a small canoe and kayak maker and they have some designs that work pretty well. When they were in Freeport they used to allow you to observe them making boats in the shop.. Now they moved to Amesbury MA and make many more kayaks than canoes. They were actually the first composite canoe maker coming out with fiberglass canoes in 1959
Now they are heavy into carbon and light weight

Apparently Doug's wreck was stored outdoors. Mahogany deck mistreatment. Thats a lot of deterioration in 19 years.

 

[BWCA66]

They were actually the first composite canoe maker coming out with fiberglass canoes in 1959
Now they are heavy into carbon and light weight

Merrimack was making fiberglass canoes in 1954.

 

[Paddlinhal]

Yeah, me too. Ewe.

 

[dougd]

Been doing some more work on the Hidden Pond. Seems to be one of those slow projects. Finally got around to milling out the gunwales. I've used Poplar in the past and knowing where this boat is going to be used decided to go that route again. A little time spent with the planner got them down to three quarter and spent last Sunday drilling the holes and rounding them over. I think I've mentioned this before but I have been using a round over plane for this these days. Just to hard for me to solo a gunwale through a table router without a lot of mishaps. Besides, it's a little less sanding.

Next step to treating them and I'm divided between using spar varnish or epoxy. Still toying with that idea! Still have a bit of shaping at the ends. Hoping to have it all assembled by the end of April. Yeah, I'm on a roll...a very slow one with this rebuild!

 

[memaquay]

Please tell me where I can get one of those round over planes. Would you consider raffling it in the next fundraiser, lol?

 

[dougd]

Mem, This where I got mine for pretty cheap money:

https://www.rockler.com/carbide-tipped-radius-plane

 

[memaquay]

Thanks!

 

[Boatman53]

I’m pretty sure Lee Valley tools in Canada also sells them. They are handy but fussy to get set up with the two cutters. Once set they are good for a long time.
Jim

 

[Jim Dodd]

Great Project Doug !

Winter is slowing My Canoe building down ! Come on Spring !

I see an opening for Gunwale Treatment discussion though !

I'd go with an epoxy coat in this instance, but a heavy coat or three of Watco Teak, is what I've been using for years. Be prepared to wait a Long time for it to dry !!!

What I really like about it, is it doesn't show scratches like varnish does ! I'm not a Treat those gunnels every year kinda a guy either,

Helmsman makes a similar product. I've used it a couple of times, it must have a Polymer in it, as it dries in a few days,

Think I will stick with Watco Teak for my Glued on gunnels.

Jim

 

[dougd]

I’m pretty sure Lee Valley tools in Canada also sells them. They are handy but fussy to get set up with the two cutters. Once set they are good for a long time.
Jim

I agree Jim, took me a bit of futzy with the blades before I got it where I wanted them but they seem to stay put and I have come to really like this tool.

 

[Iskweo]

w.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=64009&cat=1,230,41182,41200

 

[dougd]

Work continues on the Hidden Pond. Rails are finally varnished, I did go that route, ends of the rails are treated with G-Flex, all the holes have dribbles of varnish in them. Tonight it was time to get a least one rail on. Took a bit of time as I hand tightened every screw. I have some horror stories of using a drill to get the screws in from past builds that I just would not like to ever discuss. Here's one pic of it so far.

I have a good plan for the decks and the materials to pull it off! That's a plus. I know it's a tub but it's good to spend time to bring a hull back to life again. I do have a new measuring unit for time spent on a parts of the project and I think Mem would like this. Instead of an hour glass I am now gauging time by the amount of adult beverages consumed. In the case of the rail it was three beverages, I think I estimated wrong how long it would take for the amount of screws needed. I was glad when the last screw was done as a 4th might have caused a shut down at the Doug Production Plant. Coming along but more work to do.

 

[Guest]

Looking good Doug.

Those short, wide Sport canoes have a place in the hunting and fishing world. I know SOT’s are all the rage with fisherfolk, but I was always happier in a small canoe than with a sit-on-top; drier, more room for gear and easier to step into and out of when launching or landing.

MRC briefly made a SOT/canoe hybrid, the Synergy. Deep sided dry with no scupper holes. That boat was dang near impossible to get out of without DIYing some kind of assist strap; there was no place to get any purchase and it was too deep and too wide to straddle with my feet in the water on either side.

Bit of a design oversight.

 

[dougd]

Took the day off to go to VT but the weather did not cooperate for what we were gonna do. Instead I worked on the Hidden Pond as I do have a buyer and spring is here...almost...if you close your eyes and dream! I love working on boats and today was a good one. Got the seats installed on the brand new gunwales I milled out, carry thwart in and I cut out and started the glue up for the decks. I have some plans for those. The boat is looking pretty darn good for a freebie and an old beat to crap hull. I also weighed it minus all the seats and other parts, 28 pds at bare hull. With the gunwales and seats but no decks it's coming in at 42 pds. A far cry from you composite builders but still respectable for what it is.

Nice thing was I was visited by some field folks not more than fifteen feet or so from my shop. I do like my shop time! A few pictures. Had to use a link this time:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...9zYXVJTzZYYkdR

 

[Guest]

That little boat is looking mighty nice. When you get the decks on please post before and after photos. And a finished weight.

I see you have wood ready to plane and cut the decks. I know you considered going with done-in-a-day today quick and easy synthetic decks, like a piece of top mounted glass or carbon or even black painted plastic.

Wood decks will look much better with the new & refurbished gunwales and brightwork; it’s not a beater/junker any more.

 

[dougd]

Work continues. I made the decks thin, just over an 1/8" and since they were glued I added a 2" piece of glass tape and slavered a generous amount of resin on the underside. Done this before and it's held up well. As well there was a nice chip out of the gelcoat on the stern stem so mixed up some thickened epoxy mixed with hobby paint and gobbed it into that, covered it with Peel Ply and wax paper with a tape cover to mash it down and secure it. The color came out almost perfect. The decks when cured on the bottom will get several coats of spar varnish. It's coming along.

dougd