Need advise on restoring 16 foot Picard canoe

Dabluz

Curious about Wooden Canoes
I've been reading the forum and there was quite a bit of good info but I have a few questions and need some opinions on my restoration project of a 16 foot Picard square back canoe.

I put 32 photos of the canoe on Flikr (link below).

This is my first project. I paid 150 dollars for the canoe. As you can see in the photos, the inside of the canoe looks great. What should I do to the inside of the canoe?

The old fiberglass cloth on the canoe came off like old skin on a 10 day old sunburn. I did the job a bit too fast and broke a plank at the prow of the canoe. I guess to repair that, I will have to add a rib in order to nail the plank in place.

As you can see of the outside of the canoe, the wood is stained, has small gaps, a few cracked planks and lots of small nail heads. Can I still finish the canoe with clear fiberglass and varnish or should I finish the job with a top quality paint? Will javex lighten up the dark stains in the wood?

I will have more questions but will wait for later. I will be lurking the forum to find out how to fill in the gaps and cracks. It will depend on having a transparent finish on the canoe or not that will dictate how I will fill in those things.

For the photos, go here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dabluz/
 
Was browsing around and saw your unanswered post. It looked awfully lonely sitting out here since last September.

I'm just getting into building canoes, but I do have a bit of experience restoring a boat similar to what you have here.

This is what I started with:
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This is what I ended with:
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I removed the fiberglass like you did. Sanded and smoothed the exterior, and applied a lead based primer following up with some Kirby's marine paint. I sanded and varnished the interior, (about 8 painstaking coats).

I so wanted to be able to see the cedar strips at first, but, after deciding to go with paint I have to admit, I think I like the painted hull better on a boat of this type. (depending on chosen color of course)

Good luck with your restore. Post some pictures as you go.

Kory
 
Your boat looks beautiful, Kory. I'm glad you popped this thread up to the top so others could reply. Depending on what's going on in people's lives, some things with answers go unanswered.

There's a problem with "semantics" when it comes to canoes: "restoration" on a canoe where the planking was originally covered-up means covering that planking up. But this is my opinion, and as we say here in the forums "it's YOUR canoe"... however, planking that was originally covered-up is generally not the same attractive cedar (or whatever species) that one sees on a canoe where the wood was meant to be seen from the beginning.

A problem was created when companies like Old Town began building canoes with the option of clear fiberglass on the outside rather than canvas. This led to folks thinking that the cedar planking on their canvas-covered canoe might look really nice if a clear fiberglass was put over the top. (I will skip discussing whether fiberglass is a good plan for boats that originally had canvas because there are discussions of that elsewhere, as well as some really good advice by Todd Bradshaw regarding the fiberglassing process.)

So, I guess what I'm saying is that you might want to inspect that planking to see if it might be best to cover it. Do you think the canoe was always square-stern or has it been truncated? (This isn't important to the outcome of the project-- it's part of the canoe's history perhaps-- I'm just curious)

Kathy
 
I didn't have enough nice weather to continue my restoration project. I will return to the project probably in May. I have decided to cover the canoe with fiberglass and paint the outside shell.
 
You're miles away from paint, but then i'm sure you know that! I would bet that your boat has been cut down rather than built as a flat stern, since when they built them for a motor in shorter lengths a v-stern is typical like on the Tremblay i had, and the way the ribs end under the transom is not well done. Likewise, the gunwales are pieced together at the stern - along with the break along the one side, i would install new inner rails; ash inners and outers would be most economical and strong. Its a bit of work, but what you have is not really serviceable. Likewise a new transom is an easy fix, and there are some forum members that could provide you with advise and photos on how to successfully attach one. You could fiberglass the boat again of course, but if you would like it to last longer then it would be advisable to put a traditional canvas skin on it. You could fill it traditionally or with epoxy, your choice. I suppose what i am driving at is if you are going to put any work and $ into it, there is no point in not doing in right in order to end up with something safe, serviceable and ultimately worth the money that went into it. Do you intend to power it or just paddle it? If so, gas or electric?
 
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