Larry canoe
Curious about Wooden Canoes
I have a 1957 Old Town canoe in pristine condition without its canvas. Can I finish the boat with clear glass instead of canvas. I love the look of all wood.
Regards,
Larry
Regards,
Larry
Several people regularly use epoxy (mixed with fairing compound or microballoons to reduce the weight) to fill the canvas. It costs about the same as traditional filler, but dries paint-ready much quicker. Some say the result is more durable to scuffs and scrapes.I have heard the masses and will do the wise thing and put canvas! As the crowd Cheers!
Another question, has anybody experimented with two part epoxy paint for the final coat over the canvas?
Thanks, Larry
Boy does that ring home...long ago and far away I serviced a fleet of OT glass canoes. This was one of my first lessons learned. Just reading your note brings vivid memories of chasing, popping, pressing and playing whack a mole trying to get rid of those D***ed bubbles.Fiberglass tape is the wrong material for covering the keel line or the stems. if you have extensive fiberglass/epoxy experience, then you are probably aware that in order to cover an irregular surface you should be using fiberglass cloth, hand-cut on a bias from the roll (45 degrees to the weave) not warp and weft woven (zero degree and ninety degree) fiberglass tape. The tape will resist taking the shape and be pulling up and forming bubbles faster than you can walk along and squash them back down- until it hardens, and then you have a lot to try to fix.
I'm with you about that. I've been in every kind of water with my canoes. We've surfed in the ocean, run rivers, sat on the top of monster haystacks hoping to pop out on the other side clean, hung on for dear life on big lakes, dragged over beaver dams in little creeks, you name it. I can't being to count how many trips my Morris has been on...loaded with gear. One of my proudest moments was watching my son pick it up and carry it. Instead of doubling the carry I only had to haul one canoe. One of worst moments (other than watching it float away towards a dam once) was slipping on a carry and dropping it...boy are they tough. It absorbed the fall and was none the worse for wear. The one I'm working on now (and the one before) were cased in glass. When they got dropped the impact popped the tacks through the ribs and planks..the wood couldn't flex. I've got them sorted out now and ready for fresh canvas as soon as this weather settles. That's all anecdotal. The thing I really reacted to when I read your post is how you describe the feel of a wood and canvas boat in the water. There's nothing else quite like it. They are quiet, solid yet supple..they have a feel and life to them. They don't flex and wobble like Royalex and they aren't ice cold and noisy like aluminum. They aren't stiff and brittle feeling like those old cedar strips.For lake trips and big open rivers there is nothing like the feel and creaking and groaning of the OT. Part of the beauty is in the using and the toughness of these boats. I love em because I can use em.