Chestnut Stem Repair Details

[Craig Johnson]

Every once in a while someone asks for photos of stem to inwale joinery for some specific canoe. I am working on a 60s Chestnut for my brother. It needed just a little bit of the inwale tips and stem replaced so I took some photos to show the detail. As far as I could tell from what was there this is correct but if not let me know so I don't lead others astray.

 

[rbudge]

Very nice detail. I like the way you back up the original stem and enclose it in the new. I am part way through a stem - inwhale - breasthook replacement on an old Bastien/Huron canoe. The new stem piece is already in. I wish I had thought of doing it your way.

 

[Rod Tait (Orca Boats)]

On most of the Chestnuts that I have worked on and the stem was still intact, the small vertical post in the center shows on the top, but you have notched it into the inwale so it does not show on top. I like it. The stem band usually covers this portion anyways.

 

[Craig Johnson]

The inwale tips weren't intact enough to tell but the tenon on the stem was all there although too punky to keep. Both ends were the same and the tenon definitely didn't protrude all the way trough the inwale.

 

[Craig Johnson]

I talked to a couple of folks and re examined the tenon that was still in tact and what was left of the rib tips.I concluded that Tod is right. The tenon does protrude all the way through the gunwales and does not show because it is covered by the stem band. That makes more sense for production purposes. Thanks.