70s cedar strip thoughts

[nmarolf]

Yes, another restore or make a book case out of question. My dad built this in 1978. I have original plans and all drawings and notes my dad made, which is pretty cool. Built off plans from Canoe magazine article by Lew Miller. 18', quality canoe - tracks well and is stable. Did many canoe trips in Canada (Algonquin park, mostly and vanity) in it. I have experience building stich and glue kayaks, fiberglassing etc. so thought I might strip the old polyester resin/glass off it - its mostly delaminated and the rest comes off easily with heat gun - and refresh it with some new glass. The wood is solid, no rot anywhere.

The issue is warping and some cracking along the strips. Not sure it's fixable without some significant investment in time - build some forms (I have original plans/drawings etc) or something else that I can staple to to restore some shape. Hard to see in the pics but the bottom has some significant warping.

Posting here to see if anyone has ideas that I haven't thought of. I appreciate anything.

And yes, it might look good cut and refinished as a bookcase at the lake house.

 

[John Sand]

My dad built a two canoes, two kayaks and two dories. They're all gone. He wasn't a perfectionist and neither am I. In your place I think I would just make it watertight and enjoy the memories while paddling. Good luck with it whatever you decide.

 

[patrick corry]

There are a number of very talented builders of stripper style canoes here:

Canoetripping.net Forums

Canoetripping.net Forums

www.canoetripping.net

Perhaps you will find more opinions and assistance there.

 

[pklonowski]

It's a canoe with sentimental value, so letting it go is a tough call... it's entirely up to you. I'll suggest that it's probably easier to build a new canoe.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

The only reason for spending any time on it is if it has any emotional meaning to you.
It's currently worth nothing and you will spend more to restore it then what it will be worth when finished.
As for the design, there are likely many better designs if you are looking for a user boat.
As for a bookshelf, if you want one, build it new, it will look better. (unless of course that emotional thing comes to play.)

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

I have yet to see a stripper with that much weathering refurbished to the point where it even looks "nice". Once they are allowed to get to a certain level of weathering, there just is no way of coming back that justifies the amount of work or money involved. If I had a sentimental reason to preserve it, I would cut about two feet off of whichever end looks best, clean it up well, mount it to a bulkhead and hang it on the wall above a couple of crossed paddles.

 

[Worth Gretter]

Another option is to fill the gaps with thickened epoxy. Epoxy works great as a gap filling adhesive, as long as you use a strong filler such as silica or chopped fiberglass. Then cover with fiberglass cloth, using epoxy instead of polyester resin, and paint it! I know paint goes against the grain for a stripper, but you might wind up with an attractive, usable canoe.