Twisted Canoe

[MikeCav]

OK - After having this canoe for almost a year, I finally started to work on it. Didn't notice the twisted stem til yesterday!

Don't think the boat had been worked on before - must have been a tough Monday morning in Old Town in 1911!

Maybe I can tell people it is intentionally set to compensate for my right handed dominance. Recommendations?

 

[Benson Gray]

I would be inclined to ignore the twist if the wood is good and solid. The build record for this canoe at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=5203&d=1214692946 indicates that it came off the form on April 25th, 1911 (a.k.a the half built date) and the ends were closed up by April 27th, 1911 (a.k.a. the completed date). The day of week calculator at http://www.searchforancestors.com/utility/dayofweek.html shows that these were a Tuesday and Thursday respectively so you can't even blame it on being a Monday or Friday problem. It is also possible that it was originally straight and developed this twist due to other reasons during the past ninety eight years.

Benson

 

[bredlo]

I can only hope I have that amount of curvature when I hit 98.

 

[MikeCav]

It's interesting - t he rail caps are trimmed off center on that end as well. Everything else is nice & straight. I'm hoping that when I take the OS stem off, it had just been reinstalled crooked when it was re-canvassed. I also have to take that deck out to fix a crack - I might be able to nudge it a bit without getting into replanking.

 

[Dave Osborn]

You may be able to nudge it over a little when you have the deck out if you take the tacks that attach it to the planking. Then re-tack the planks onto a repositioned stem. Another way that I did it one time was to remove the stem, soak it for a few days, then with wedges and clamps force the stem in the correct position. I ladled boiling water onto it as I forced the stem bulge down. It wasn't perfect, but a helluva lot better.
Leaving it is probably the best option. Hey, it's an OLD canoe!

Smoothin' it in the Northwoods!
Dave

 

[MikeCav]

I'm leaning toward leaving it alone. When I remove the deck, I'll poke around a bit to see if it might come back, but otherwise - it will add to the charm!

Missed you at Assembly - no one to pick on - I had to substitute Dave McD!