1931 Kennebec Kineo Special

So when I removed the seats the dowel spacers where not wood, but rather copper piping. Did Kennebec do this originally or were they possibly replaced at some point? I think that it would look pretty cool with polished coppers pieces that have been varnished as not to tarnish. Anybody have experience with this? Should I go wih copper or wood? Functionallycopper pieces should be fine, shouldn't they?
 
Copper pipes for seat spacers are commonly used in modern restorations but I don't know if Kennebec ever installed these originally. They look good and seem to work fine.

Benson
 
The ones I took off looked quite old, but I have no way to know if they were original or not. With that being said, I cut copper pipe to size and will polish it up and varnish as I think it will "pop".

As a side not, sanded the keel down of the old paint and have half of one of the rails sanded. There was no rot on either of the rails or keel. Feeling very lucky because of that. Love the size of those rails. Rather wide and "D" shaped.
 
A question regarding molding pieces that fit beneath the rails. In looking at pictures of other Kennebec canoes, I never see them. Were they a standard feature, or did somebody put them on at some point to hold the canvas tight? The pieces I took off match the curvature of the rails and had the same hardware / nails as the deck caps. I want to make sure they belong before I put them back on. They are in 2 pieces with a straight cut rather than a mitre cut, so they butt up against each other.
 
Well, after a long grind on this I have wrapped up restoration on the canoe and once again she is a proud vessel. With just a couple of small touch ups to do I'll call it technically done. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and I think the color would be close to what Kennebec would have put on. Not the best paint job, but I'm sure they didn't spend countless hours in the factory getting that perfect finish either! :rolleyes: With the original shipping date of May 25, 1931, I finished her about a week early of her 81st "birthday! Looking forward to bringing her to Paul Smiths and paddling with some other lovely canoes (and folks!)
 

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Haha... Thanks Dale! Have to appreciate that color! Greg...just don't look too close at the paint at the assembly! ;) Can't wait to float her.
 
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