Rib Replacement issues.

[Dave Wermuth]

I am replacing 4 ribs on an old town and am encountering ribs that are really stuck. The varnish is acting like glue way more than I have ever had to deal with before.

I'm splitting the rib to get it out and using a heat gun to get the rest of it out. The tacks come out ok and are shorter than standard, thin ribs and planks. Am I on the right track with the heat gun method? I think quarter inch ribs are too thin for me to back side rib repair.

I'm glad it's only four ribs.

 

[chris pearson]

Dave, old post but new question. Remember how you pulled the ribs out? I have the same situation but with 16 ribs! Very thin EM White Featherweight ribs are stuck like glue!!!!!!

 

[Rod Tait (Orca Boats)]

Old Town I am working on had same problem. Don't know how so much varnish or shellac could get behind the ribs unless they varnished ribs and then planked the canoe hours later, but boy were they stuck on there. Ended up having to replace more planking than should have due to tear out.

 

[Fitz]

I have had some luck with tapping a wide and thin wooden wedge between the planking and the back of the rib and working along both sides of the problem rib. I had to go very easily to avoid damaging the planking.

 

[chris pearson]

I bet squirting acetone behind it would help....

 

[Rod Tait (Orca Boats)]

On mine it wasn't just varnish that seeped in from the edge, it was totally under the full rib, so acetone would not have helped in my case.

 

[chris pearson]

Thats the way mine is, stuck like glue! And its a Featherweight model, very thin ribs and planks....

 

[Dave Osborn]

I don't recall any issues with ribs sticking on the Featherweight...
1960's and 1970's Old Towns have given me fits in that regard...
On those, it meant the planks get busted up when removing them.

 

[Gil Cramer]

A wide bladed putty knife under the rib/ planking joint will sometimes help considerable. Right or wrong, it seemed to me that these canoes were varnished towards the end of the day when the workers were behind. They could dump a gallon of varnish into a canoe, slosh it around, and then dump it into the next canoe. A lot of canoes could be varnished in a short period of time. Of course, this is just my warped way of thinking!

 

[Dave Osborn]

I'm with ya Gil. Warped thinking or not....somehow copious amounts of varnish got between the ribs and planks.
They were built with no regard to repair.