Huron?

I've been trying to find some history about this canoe. Many searches have led to believe it's a Huron. I haven't found any markings stamped on it yet, but have not been able to go over it with a fine toothed comb in person yet. All feedback is appreciated, including suggestions on the bubbled looking paint. I've spent a couple hours trying to find some info on that without success. I have a feeling I am using the wrong terms.

I have to admit I am a kayak guy, but this canoe has me intrigued for some reason. Have not bought it, but am extremely tempted to make an offer on it.

Wasn't able to upload all the pictures. Here are more. I have no measurements at the moment. I believe the cedar Old Town below it on the trailer is 16'.

I also just noticed what appears to be a shim of some sort between the thwart and inwale. Any chances that might be something the manufacturer did? the bolt through the cap has me wondering.

It looks a lot like my Bastien Bros Huron, which was my first w/c canoe. The decks and cap strips, as well as the arched seat hangers and babiche laced seats. The planking seems to be tighter than I have seen on most Huron's, perhaps an older boat built better than mine was.

I think the bolt through the cap strip was a later addition, the bolts should be under the strip. If you can see the under side of the decks they would be arrowhead type for a Bastien Huron.

Karin

An underside shot of the decks, along with a closeup of the paint. So the main question I have is would sanding and painting be enough to put her on the water? I am assuming doing a test float with loose paint is a bad idea.

The asking price is $500, which I feel is high. I'm guestimating a couple hundred in materials to seal everything up without major reconstruction. I can't tell for sure, but I don't think there is any rot.

If I get it, my hope is to sand, paint and varnish without replacing the canvas. The season is too short lol. There are some small solid bumps on the hull, any way to know if they could be small pebbles or loose tack heads?

All words of wisdom are much appreciated.

Mark

My $0.02
Paint it and use it.
Great photo of the underside of the deck, which shows absolutely no rot of the stem/deck intersection. Geez, the underside of those decks looks pristine, maybe not even varnished.

Comments re under-canvas bumps;
If they are sand or pebbles, they may move. Even if they do, they are often difficult to remove ie. get back through the planking gaps. Try drumming on the hull while upside down on horses. Sometimes dry sand will fall out through the cracks due to vibration.

Tap lightly with a hammer. This may either reveal that the inside (clinched) part of the tack is loose, so requires re-clinching.

Tapping with a hammer may also embed the pebble or sand grain in the rib or plank that it backs against.

If lightly sanding to give tooth in order to repaint, be sure not to sand a hole in the canvas on top of the bumps.

Use a good quality spar varnish to seal all that wood. Shiny varnish shows the imperfections, perhaps too well. My preference is matte/satin to reduce glare/reflection of the sun while paddling. You get enough of that off the water!
But you can use high build gloss for the first coat, then do a finish coat with flat, if you agree re squint headaches.

As Rob says -- paint it and use it.

Here are some links to some discussions in these forums of painting over old cracked or chipped paint, when you want the paint to last only a season or three or five before re-canvasing:

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=5790 see pp. 2-3 of this thread
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?7769-Painting-over-existing-paint&p=41339#post41339
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.p...t-Restoration-advice-please&p=32358#post32358
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?7775-Temp-repair-to-bare-spot-on-canvas&p=41357#post41357
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?7619-time-is-not-on-my-side!&p=40689#post40689
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?8564-Smoothing-Canvas/page2 starting at post 12, on bondo spot putty
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?6607-sanding-or-not&p=35286#post35286
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?8906-Repaint-Tips

No paint job is any better than its foundation – surface preparation is critical. Painting over peeling paint is pointless – the old paint will continue peeling, taking the good paint with it. But if the old paint is basically sound, and/or you sand off the loose paint, a fresh coat of paint can make a canoe look better, even if the new paint job is not perfect, and even if the old paint is a bit cracked.

My experience suggests that, at a minimum, removing loose, flaking paint, and then brushing on a coat or two of paint, either water or oil based, will get you through a season or two of paddling for only a couple hours of minimal work, until you have the time and the inclination to spend the time on a proper restoration.

New paint will not keep old paint from flaking, so it is important to remove all blistered and flaking paiint, and then take steps to make the new paint stick. Sanding/scraping the flaking paint away may be sufficient, as long as what is under the old paint is compatible with the new paint to be applied. Spot putty may fill in minor scratches and dings. In any case a light sanding over all is called for to help new paint adhere. After sanding, at a minimum I would thoroughly wash the surface (soap and water, or TSP) and rinse completely, and let the canoe dry completely before applying new paint. It may also pay to use a primer (Zinsser or Kilz) intended to isolate problematic old material from the new paint.

But if the paint is tight, even if crackled, a coat or two of paint will prevent most, if not all, leaks and give you a serviceable canoe. But discretion being the better part of valor, it is wise to have a small roll of duct tape along if some of the old paint/filler under your newly-applied paint decides to flake off. But even without a duct tape repair, the resulting leak will likely be very slow and will likely not interfere with a day of paddling.
Additional sanding, more spot putty, more primer may give you a somewhat better looking surface, with almost no improvement in function – at the cost of whatever extra work you wish to undertake – but while you will have a somewhat better looking boat, you will not be able to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. To get that “silk purse” look, you will need to replace the canvas and then do a proper fill and paint job, when you have the time and inclination to do it right.

Repainting canoes is done all the time, with all kinds of paints. Most use an oil based paint, and many use “marine” paints. Some use various other paints intended for exterior use – house paint, porch and deck paint, etc. Oil-based gloss paints are most commonly used. Water-based paints can work, as can semi-gloss paints. They are easier to apply, and may be easier to touch up in the future – the chief disadvantage I have found with it is that it is not so easy to keep clean, a particular problem with the light yellow color on my canoe.

My yellow Old Town 50 pounder (seen in some of the links above) has seen 5 seasons of use with old canvas, chipped filler, crackly paint, and a few unrepaired cracked ribs and planks, for just a few hours of necessary work -- light sanding, spot priming, painting with water-based deck and porch paint (and a few more hours just messing around with unnecessary painting of triangle designs) -- I didn't have the time to restore the canoe without losing a season of paddling. Now retired (and having another canoe to paddle) I have recently removed the canvas to begin a full restoration.