Someone on FB marketplace listed a free 17 gallon (edit: foot…no sleep makes for errors) canoe and I had it in my truck before the end of the night.
The family was listing all sorts of items which they inherited from a recently deceased father. They had two canoes, this one was a bit of a project. They said the father had built this canoe but he never finished it or used it.
I cleaned it and inspected it. I don’t know much about it. I feel like it might have been a kit, just a whim. There are no rubs or scratches to indicate any landing in the water or signs of license stickers. There are signs that they didn’t store it carefully. Sitting upside down without proper support, for example, led to some small cracks that will need to be repaired. I need to replace the yoke and thwarts, as they seemed to have had the most exposure to water and soil. I also need to redo the seat webbing but the wood is solid and just needs refinishing. The exterior finish on the fiberglass has superficial checking from weather, lichens and maybe hail, so it will need refinishing. All really good so far.
Otherwise the keel is sort of a sandwiched thing with each half of the canoe rivetted together. There is a small gap on the underside where the two halves meet. It looks like it was once packed with body filler. This might need work but not sure what kind. What is this kind of keel even called? I would love to be able to search comparable designs.
Also, the gunwales have no metal, vinyl or wood, just a right angled lip in the fiberglass. Do I need more? If so, what style is recommended? The design doesn’t seem too compatible with the tutorials and commercial gunwales I have found as those seem to be for completely vertical gunwales.
What work do you see? What do you think they didn’t “finish”? Does anyone know who may have made this canoe?
The family was listing all sorts of items which they inherited from a recently deceased father. They had two canoes, this one was a bit of a project. They said the father had built this canoe but he never finished it or used it.
I cleaned it and inspected it. I don’t know much about it. I feel like it might have been a kit, just a whim. There are no rubs or scratches to indicate any landing in the water or signs of license stickers. There are signs that they didn’t store it carefully. Sitting upside down without proper support, for example, led to some small cracks that will need to be repaired. I need to replace the yoke and thwarts, as they seemed to have had the most exposure to water and soil. I also need to redo the seat webbing but the wood is solid and just needs refinishing. The exterior finish on the fiberglass has superficial checking from weather, lichens and maybe hail, so it will need refinishing. All really good so far.
Otherwise the keel is sort of a sandwiched thing with each half of the canoe rivetted together. There is a small gap on the underside where the two halves meet. It looks like it was once packed with body filler. This might need work but not sure what kind. What is this kind of keel even called? I would love to be able to search comparable designs.
Also, the gunwales have no metal, vinyl or wood, just a right angled lip in the fiberglass. Do I need more? If so, what style is recommended? The design doesn’t seem too compatible with the tutorials and commercial gunwales I have found as those seem to be for completely vertical gunwales.
What work do you see? What do you think they didn’t “finish”? Does anyone know who may have made this canoe?
Attachments
-
362856A7-AF29-4F82-96A5-1D552E8CEF10.jpeg299.1 KB · Views: 28
-
EFBA4C4E-308A-45AA-835B-E265924AAEFF.jpeg316.5 KB · Views: 28
-
1AF0C8B6-86FD-4D60-806F-988A2034AB53.jpeg251.1 KB · Views: 26
-
0AC97375-B7C7-4206-90A2-0757E61CE174.jpeg297.8 KB · Views: 28
-
DFD1E155-F019-4773-9B80-D4BE87FF305E.jpeg275.4 KB · Views: 28
-
AC527942-62B2-49AE-A34B-3CE6AB0BF2C7.jpeg143.8 KB · Views: 30
Last edited: