Slotted gunnels/gunwales in a solo - yeah or nay?

[kbobb]

Hi All,
I have an option of slotted gunwales on the Peregrine canoe and wanted to see what you all use them for. I have seen flotation tied in thru these but I will not be using float bags. I have never had them and can only think what a chore it would be to have to treat all those slots a couple times a year.
Wondering if you folks find enough utility in slotted gunnels to make it worth the extra cost.
thanks

 

[Patrick Corry]

My canoes are wood/canvas, with open (slotted) gunwales. At minimum, they do allow very effective draining of water from the hull while portaging or just tipping the canoe to the side. And, purely aesthetics... they look good!

 

[Abenakiregion]

Can be handy for securing gear in the canoe also. Not sure what you mean by "treating" a couple times a year.

 

[lowangle al]

I'd go with slotted gunnels, I hate the fact that all the water doesn't come out when I tip over a canoe w/o them. Then I am concerned it may pool under the deck when the boat is flipped over. Haven't really had to do any extra maintenance other than poking something in there when I see spider eggs or something.

 

[dogbrain]

I build all my canoes with the slots or scuppers. They don't serve any real purpose in my opinion other than weight reduction. I have never tied anything to mine, but i occasionally jam a stick in one to hold my fishing rod while trolling. If the gunwales are going to be hard wood, you might save a pound, if spruce then less. I like the look of scuppers myself, at least the way I do mine. Some scuppers I've seen I don't care for as much. I've never treated the wood in there. It's in the shadows and shouldn't be a problem.

Mark

 

[kbobb]

Can be handy for securing gear in the canoe also. Not sure what you mean by "treating" a couple times a year.

Wood treatment like Watco. pushing a rag or sponge into all those slots.

 

[Abenakiregion]

I have paddled wood canvas canoes for better than 30 years, and presently own 13. I have never done anything to the slots. As long as the canoe isn't stored on the ground you won't have any problem. However, solid gunnels could possibly contribute to deck problems due to poor drainage as lowangle al said.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Slotted gunwales are just about the most functional and aesthetic feature I can think of for a composite canoe if they are available. I would ALWAYS opt for them.

They look good and give a small illusion of being in a traditional wood-canvas canoe.

They save weight.

The allow water to drain from the decks and sides.

They give a zillion attachment points without the need to screw or glue in ugly pad eyes, web loops, or metal screw eyes.

In this photo you can see my painter snuggled under a Bungee Dealee Bob snaked through the slots on the deck. The small loops near the bottom of the photo are where I clip in my sail. In whitewater I use the slots to string a bag cage for flotation bags, which attach to a nylon D-ring on the floor.



I also thread web straps through the slots when using a canoe cart, so I can tug the canoe over rocks and through ditches without the canoe sliding fore or aft off the canoe cart.



I may have applied oil with a Q-tip in the slots once, but soon became too lazy to do that regularly. I just wipe on some Watco Teak or wipe-on varnish every year or so and let the slots do whatever they do inside. This is a Hemlock SRT.

 

[yellowcanoe]

scuppered gunwales are good. Not for Freestyle: boats built with that in mind often have the middle two feet unscuppered to avoid peeage into the canoe because they spend a lot of time heeled to the rail but for everyday functionality scuppered gunwales are desirable.

 

[gumpus]

I like them in general and they look good but mostly I just want a place to hang a spare paddle and there are other ways to do that. So I'll be the odd man out and say that on a Peregrine with its already-skinny gunwales I'd stay with the standard solid gunwales. I definitely like them on canoes with beefy gunwales like that SRT. My Keewaydin 15 (Guide lay-up) has just a bit of scuppering in the middle.

 

[kbobb]

Thanks folks, all good thoughts and I appreciate the photos.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Here is a stand, that makes treating gunnels a lot easier. It works for me. I skip taping.

Oh I really saturate my New gunnels with Watco Teak. I rarely need to recoat.