Andy Young Canoe and unfilled painted canvas.

[swatters]

I just picked up an unmarked 15' canoe that the seller said to have been made by Andy Young in Ontario in the 70's. He said that the builder made a whole lot of canoes for all of the outfitters in his region.

The canoe is a little rough around the edges, the ribs have plenty of unsanded chatter marks from thickness planning, the seats are cedar slat benches, and the canvas was hastily painted and seemingly unfilled. The appearance of the boat is very utilitarian.

I put the boat in the water right after picking it up and it paddled beautifully. It tracked well on a windy lake for a 15' boat with some rocker. Even though it hasn't been in the water for decades it was totally dry, even with a keel.

So as a finish carpenter its in my nature to fuss with everything, and I would like to speed up the canoe and protect the hull by filling the canvas and repainting it. Can you use traditional filler on top of oil enamel painted canvas or is there an alternative filler? Part of me is tempted to lightly sand the paint, than skim coat with the new minwax wood filler epoxy. It works just like bondo but it is supposed to flex, expand and contract more like wood. Or should I be happy with my water tight hull and go fishing?

 

[Gil Cramer]

It's always a good idea to go fishin'. Having a utilitarian canoe is an advantage because there is no need to worry about damaging the finish!!!!

 

[Lazy Jack]

I doubt you would be able to detect an appreciable difference in speed. You would however detect an appreciable difference in your overall satisfaction if an experimental skim-coat-wood-filler-epoxy began to fall away. If you want it to be smooth, glossy and pristine for that new car/new glass canoe look, re-canvas it when you can no longer tolerate the functional but utilitarian patina it currently sports.

I agree with Gil. It's water tight, so put it in the water, go fishing, and be free of anxiety over the rubs, bumps, drags and scrapes that is an inevitable part of using a canoe as was intended.