Red's Tremblay

[Mihun09]

Trees come in handy when you don't have a custom indoor stretching rig and we can change trees dependent on length of boat.

So, for the first time, I decided to try canvassing alone, by myself, sans Christine. I asked if she minded first and got the okey dokey.

Picked a good day for it, thunderstorms this morning then just plain hot and stinky. 97F with the humidity at the moment.

All went well enough, this being the 4th time canvassing I remembered it ok and it only took me about 6 hours from set up to mildewcide application. I had breaks in there for lunch, heat, stuff like that, but it is in canvas and will get filler tomorrow. Then it sits awhile.

I'm starting to get my monies worth for the canvas pliers.

Despite sanding the hull a fair amount of planking is going to show up, but such is life, the boat is saved which is all that matters.

 

[Odyssey]

Workshops are great spaces to work in. Years ago my contractor brother dropped by to find me toiling away on a project in my backyard. He laughed when he saw my set up. Work tables on the patio and lawn. I have two small sheds (no garage). The one at the end of the yard is where I hide from the rain with a glass of wine, and watch the garden grow; the "work shed" nearer the house is equipped but often too full of stuff. When I need room, I spill out onto the patio and lawn with tables, power tools and paint.
Working outdoors makes perfect sense. Lots of room to really spread out. Red's Tremblay looks natural, in your yard, under the trees. If any dark clouds threaten your al fresco workshop, you could always rig up a tarp I suppose. The project looks great. Any thoughts on colour yet?

 

[Mihun09]

Yea, it is going to be dark red and when I build the new seats, the webbing is going to be red and black. It is Red's Tremblay after all.

At some point we will put a stretching rig in the shop, for winter use, but as it is, 2 canoes in a one car garage has maxed out space. I need more room, actually, I need a wood shop and a finishing shop, dust free.

 

[Odyssey]

I remember seeing photos of your shop. I like it. Here's a silly idea. Any way of setting up one of those winter tarp garages as a work space, and keeping your workshop for winter time work?

 

[Alan Gage]

That looks great. I don't know anything about W/C. Is the canvas just stitched near the shear and at the stems? Can you overstretch the canvas or do you just go for as tight as you can get it? Any danger of stitches tearing out?

Alan

 

[Mihun09]

Alan

How much tension is used to stretch the canvas is a much discussed subject. I know some people who canvas without any mechanical aid, but most will use some tension. I try to go tight, but not to the point of possibly tearing the canvas. It is possible to put too much tension and pull the material apart, as happened to Robin on his Chum restoration.

Once you get the canoe into the sleeve of canvas, we use canvas pliers to grab the material at the sheer and tension by camming it across the inwale to apply stretch across the boat, then put two s/s staples into the planking at the rib. Do a few, move to the other side, do the matching ribs, keep working towards the ends in the fashion, back and forth. I place a metal ruler on the inwale to protect it from the pliers.

Nearer the ends it gets difficult since the canvas is away from the hull where it tapers to the bow and stern, so you can only go so far before doing it manually. I can usually get to the start of the decks. At that point, support the boat, release the lengthwise tension, and pull it out manually as you wrap the ends. The stems are done by slitting the canvas at the fold to where the stem makes the turn, overlap one side and staple it to the stem, then wrap the other flap over the first one, tensioning it to get it flat and pull out any wrinkles, then affix it over the other.

I use Ambroid glue on the overlap pieces as I go to help seal it. (Digs around in photobucket to find appropriate photo's).





The filler is what seals the canvas. We use a traditional type filler, albeit without the white lead that was used back in the day, we substitute silica sand screened to 320 grit. The filler is enamel paint, linseed oil, sand and japan dryer all blended, applied to the canvas with a brush, 2 or more coats depending on who is doing it, then hand rubbed to fill the weave and smooth out the filler. Once it is dry it can be a bear to sand if not smooth to begin with. Curing takes about 4 weeks.

This is the 4th boat I've canvassed in 3 years so I don't yet know how well our system works for having the canvas stay intact.

(Thankfully I know that the Invalid server responce means I was just logged out, so I save the entire post and relog before trying to post it. )

 

[yellowcanoe]

Picture of canvas pliers? My husband knows what they are and I don't and he doesn't have any. And he never goes to a store!
At the annual WCHA Assembly Cronjes canoe was canvassed by him and another guy with no mechanical aid. I think he said the trick was to get the canvas down when it was not humid. Otherwise this method would yield a baggy canvas job. It seems odd but canvas shrinks when wet and when it gets dry again , the canvas becomes baggy.

So stretching at 97F with humidity makes sense..

 

[Mihun09]

YC, this is what we use... http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...50,57657,57630

Some people have used similiar vice grips also rather than buying specific tools. If you are only doing one boat, why invest in a pair?

Filler going on tonight so tomorrow it can get put into the boat house for 3-4 weeks for curing. Hopefully it stays warm and cures faster. In the meantime I have seats to build and gunwales to make.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Thanks! Lee Valley has a warehouse in Ogdensbug NY so there are no border hassles and delivery is quick no matter which side you are on.

 

[red langford]

Very cool! Do you have a colour picked out yet???

 

[Mihun09]

Red, look at post #23

 

[Mihun09]

I remember seeing photos of your shop. I like it. Here's a silly idea. Any way of setting up one of those winter tarp garages as a work space, and keeping your workshop for winter time work?

We do have what we call the boat house, which is an 80 year old building with a lot of holes in it but a sound roof. Basically just a protected storage space and we do use it occasionally, just run an extension cord out there.

The shop at the moment is running everything off one 15amp circuit. We have a 60amp panel installed and all the circuits run, just not run from the house yet. That will involve Manitoba Hydro and if we call Monday they may get out here by Christmas. 3 days, last November, it took them to come out and turn the gas on after the new furnace was installed.

Yeah, and no heat either, so it could be another winter of no work being done.

 

[Mihun09]

Last time to see this for a while.

Put on a third coat of filler this morning since I could still see the weave of the canvas. I did buff it in last night after coat #2 so it should be good despite being a bit bumpy still. The filler is a concoction of enamel paint, spar varnish, mineral spirits, japan drier, linseed oil and 6.25 pounds of silica sand. Brush it on heavy the first coat, wait til the sheen is off, brush on the second coat, wait, then hand rub it deep into the weave, the sand is supposed to fill the weave, just like epoxy does on fg cloth.

Now all you staple stripper guys would go crazy because we wait. Curing is usually 4 weeks but could be less if it stays hot. Best ways to tell it is cured... it no longer off gases so doesn't smell, and/or scrape with a fingernail and it shouldn't come off. It should be relatively rock hard. Smooth is best since after curing it is like sanding sand.

Last picture is why we call it the boat house. That is one half of that building. 10 canoes total, only one is composite. The Y-stern is behind the building but sold, we just have to deliver it.

 

[Momentum]

What a wonderful collection of boats. Everyone tells a very unique story. Thanks for keeping them alive.

 

[Odyssey]

Now THAT'S a boathouse! I thought you mean't the other kind of boathouse. Do you ever walk out to your boathouse, take a coffee inside and just stand quietly there admiring those wood canvas creations? I'm not BS'ing. I mean it. Those two uncanvased boats look real interesting. Do you record your projects, with photos and documents? This is history after all. (Sorry if I sound pushy, I don't mean to. I'm just intrigued and find the historical aspect fascinating.) Thanks for the peek inside your shops. I didn't touch a thing.
But I'd like to stand inside awhile with a coffee sometime.

 

[Mihun09]

Brad

I've stood there and looked but without the coffee. Imagining the work that needs to be done on the 3 untouched w/c hulls, how I am going to go about it, that kind of thing. There is another one on the right hand side bottom rack, a 14 foot Bastien Bros Huron that needs hordes of work.

I do photo journals for every boat, every stage of the process. There are a whole bunch of those on my PhotoBucket account. Everything from a hundred photo's of the first one, a Bastien Bros 15 footer, to 25 or so for this one. I do try to get before and after photo's of significant parts, like decks and such, it is quite dramatic when I show them around at work and such.

There isn't any documentation to go with any of them. Ball park for years built, the Morris between 1905-1910, the Penobscot, that deck design first appeared in 1917 and that company went out of business in 1923.. The burgundy one, the CCC, late 1930's with the oddity of copper tacks. My little Chestnut was late 1960's. The stripper is the newest, built about 3 years ago. So they vary from 3 to 105 years old. We try to keep track of hours spent on projects, more so in my head now, but I may keep a record for the 2 new ones, breaking down each procedure. I figure I have about 50 - 60 hours into Red's Tremblay.

Material costs usually come in around $400 a boat complete, depending on what is needed.

I sold the first one I did, haven't heard back at all and it has been two Summers, so maybe they are still happy with it. That is the thing, I really won't know how well they hold up until they have been used for a decade or so.

Next time you are in Manitoba, drop by, then you can stand there with a coffee and actually touch history.

 

[Iskweo]

Brad, the garage is semi attached by a breezeway so that actually becomes the smoking lounge/coffee shop in the colder weather. There is nothing better than sitting out there planning things on a weekend morning with a coffee and a boat all stipped down and being repaired. It is very comfortable. I need a wood stove like what Robin has though for that real woodsy touch.
The boathouse on the other hand usually induces feelings of frustration with all of the junk I have stored in there along with the canoes. We are slowly working towards getting a grip on the clutter though. If you look closely you will see hordes of engine parts on the one bench.

I have plans for a radical reorganisation in there. All it takes is time and money, so, no problem....lol.

Christy

 

[Odyssey]

I keep meaning to visit this place, and haven't yet, but I will. http://www.canoemuseum.ca
What feels good, is knowing that while some historical artifacts are being preserved, many more are being restored and used. I'll take you up on your gracious invite for a workshop visit, next time I'm in Manitoba. It would be a perfect place for a coffee, seeing history up close. Thank you Mihun.
...time and money, no problem...Ha! Good one Christy. I know all about that constant challenge. I can relate to cluttered work spaces too. I joked with our friends from the UK about my work shed (the one a skunk family happily resides under). It seems having "a shed at the bottom of the garden", is a cultural thing in the UK. A place for men to escape to evidently. I bragged about the TV, beer fridge and lazy boy planned for my shed. The more I joked the more I seriously thought about it. Not the TV, fridge or recliner, but generally speaking, turning a shed work space into a place to putter around in and linger for awhile - projects or no projects. A writer I knew of had an old Gypsy caravan at the end of his garden, complete with writing desk and chair, and a kettle and small stove for tea. It was that idea I had in mind as I refurbished my shed; new roof, insulation, wiring and drywall. Unfortunately I can't fit both work related stuff and more leisurely items together in this tiny shed. Somebody needs a bigger shed.
When I clean and reorganize my junky space, I end up sipping my coffee in the shed doorway in all seasons. Standing under the climbing rose as it scatters pink petals like confetti, or watching the snow drift against the picket fence, I wonder if I'm ever going to move into my backyard escape space. And then it occurs to me, that I do make my escape from that time and money battle, every time I wander out to my shed. I push aside some clutter to plug in the kettle, turn on the radio, and relax a little.
Who knows? One of these days I might find room for a chair. And a desk.

 

[Mihun09]

The filler is baking nicely in our consistent 30+ temperatures so hopefully it will cure faster. In the meantime, work continues, today was purchasing the wood for the seats, then cutting and planing them, we also cut the outwales, planed and did the rabbet for them. So, by the time we can do the hull finishing the other pieces will be ready to go. Should be in the water late September.

 

[Robin]

The Morris on the top left and the Penobscot on the top right look right at home. I'm really happy those canoes found a good home.