peterborough re-launch

Well it was a humbling process, and I do thank everyone for the help. I've done a few paddles and it's just a beauty. I have nothing to compare it to though. It's tight, and it's kept it's shape. It wasn't perfect before and it is essentially the same shape . Still have my floor boards to finish and another coat of varnish, of course the decals! So I'm happy to start using it.

I'm still in the camp that one can be built.

Regards,
Jeff Church

wow

looks terrific. Is the strip from stem to coaming walnut or mahogany? going to redo mine and the coamings to a nice contrast wood.
Glad to see I'm not the only one to rush to use something before its 100% done

Hi Andre, the darker wood is Walnut. I got a slab of it that was reclaimed from a big stump or old lightning strike tree. I've looked at other walnut and none of it was as nice as the piece I got.

It's just been a long time doing this and I figured I can enjoy it until it's complete.

Well Done Jeff!

Gorgeous boat.

There's nothing like the feeling of a relaunch after heaps of work!

I wonder if you're going to use it?

Bill Purcell

Thanks Bill. It was to windy last weekend but I still took it out for a few hours. Was out the last two days and put in some miles. It was a hell of a lot of work, and I understand the passion, or obsession with some, to restore or build wood canoes. I guess I couldn't of finished it if I didn't feel something about it. Right now I plan on using it. Some day I might do something with one. It does feel good to have it on the water.

Bill are you floating your Peterborough much?

Hi Jeff,

I have two very active boys 5yo & 6yo and I got a couple of old canoes to muck about in while they grow up. We're not quite up anything major yet, but we'll get there. My current paddling is limited to a bit of solo kayak stuff.

I didn't know what the boats were when I got them as they'd been modded a fair bit. Its as if I found some painted over Chippendale furniture in the dumpster. I wasn't expecting to become so totally immersed in it, I can understand the passion and obsession, although the scope of your job blows me away.

It's been enormously interesting learning the history. I have a Roger McGregor "Peterborough Canoe" "Worlds Finest Watercraft" poster (which has your boat in it) framed in the dining room.

Cheers

Bill P

Bill, it got excited to see you launch your wide board this year knowing I was going to get mine in at sometime. It seems funny that I would have this canoe since 1976 and just admire the construction and not the heart to take it to the dump, then all these years later find it's information, and history, talk with a few WCHA members who conveyed to me how special the craft was, and then be crazy enough to restore it. It has been a arduous task.

Is that poster an old one or something I could get a print somewhere?

What kind canoe is your other wide board?

Jeff

poster

Jeff, here
http://www.ivyleashirtco.com/products/index.html
excellent stuff, Roger is great to deal with

That Pete is gorgeous!
By the way, Roger McGregor is doing the t-shirts for this year's Assembly in Peterborough, and he'll be there with a sales booth Wednesday to Sunday.

Rob

Thanks Andre,
Thanks Rob, I might have to send someone some money to pick me a t-shirt up. Or try and order one from Rob. I really wish I could bring it home for the assembly.

Guys this canoe isn't anywhere near as nice as the fine craftsman of peterborough did when it was built. But I did do as good of job as possible ,and yes I'm proud of it. It just wouldn't of made a good bookcase. I learned a few things, in hindsight, if I could do it again I would do a few things different. But it is what it is.

Hi Jeff,

This works for me:

"To restore a (canoe) to the way it was when it was made is to lack respect for its history. " Thats from Geraldine Brooks' "People of the Book" and its about a book rather than a boat. My job was as good as I could possibly do it too.

I don't know what my other wide board is. Its different to the Peterborough #64. Its heavier, got flatter battens and a full length aluminium stem band. And canvas.

Since I wont need it for a few years and its in more original condition I wasn't going to start work on it for a while. I may use your ~30 years as a reasonable outside benchmark.

Cheers Bill P

Bill, I feel blessed to have this canoe. When I was working on it I wanted to do a good job and my perfectionism would get to me, I always thought about what the peterborough factory workers would do. I noticed on the original build that up front one side was an inch longer then the other from center, the cleats that held the thwarts seemed crooked, a few other things. I didn't try to change anything. It probably was just age. Knowing that these where hard to build, the workers still had to be under pressure to get them out the door.

We did a remodel of a log lodge at a guest ranch outside of Vail a few years ago. It was 100 years old. We installed new windows and doors, trimmed them out. The boss had them sanded and finished up perfect. After we where done the owner hired someone to come in with a chain and beat them up and gouge them, put on a darker finish, matched the rest of the structure. Looked great. So nicks and dings from the construction of this canoe give it a distressed look. It is a boat not a bookcase. To some extent perfectionism is a disease.

I like the way your boat looks. I'll have to look up the specs on it. Mine is the most common rib canoe, #4, skinny, It can move on the water, but still would like a wider boat for stability.
Jeff

Yeah Jeff,

There's a couple of quite haunting pictures in Ted Moores' Canoecraft book of workers building wide boards. Waistcoats and bow ties and ankle deep in shavings. The pics are from the Centennial Museum in Peterborough, (wonder if there's any more of them there) hint.. hint.. .

I got a little smile too when I found a misclenched nail. But it felt stange backing out brass screws with a cordless Bosch driver. Normally with any job I scope it out, get the materials and just do it. But this boat was the most challenging thing I've done.

The expertise offered through this forum was without a doubt the essential ingredient for me.

Cheers Bill P

Bill
I found a regular steel nail behind the rear outer stem holding one of the copper straps to the inner stem for the keelsons. I kinda chuckled. Due to it's location I figured it had to be original.
Yes I'd like to see some old factory pictures two. I'd really like to see a rib canoe on a mold with their screw clamp and maybe the kiln they put them in. That would be interesting.

Anybody have any old peterborough factory shots to share?