Peterbrough

LeRoy Sanders

New Member
I have a Peterbrough 14 foot trapper canoe which seems to have some dry rot in the bow and stern under where the outer rails should have come together. The canvas is gone the outer rails are gone and the rub boards are missing. The ribs look good and the cedar slats appear to be ok. I live in Fla. and am thinking about recovering with light weight fiber-glass. I mostly canoe on rivers and was thinking the glass would be stronger and would protect the 60 years old cedar slats better. I am also wondering what the glass would do to the re-sale value of the canoe vs canvas. This is my first try at working on a cedar slat canoe so any suggestions will help. Thanks LeRoy
 
Peterborough

I'm no expert, but...

If you 'glass the boat, it'll be really difficult to take the 'glass off, should you (or a prospective buyer) want to restore it. I'd think that would decrease its value... but as I said, I'm no expert, this is entirely speculation...
 
For lots of good reasons, just as Paul says, you should never glass a canoe that was intended to be covered with canvas. Search the forums and you should find this has been discussed before. In short, you will accelerate the degradation of the canoe, greatly impair its future repairability, change its on-the-water characteristics, and decrease its value.
 
Back
Top