1938 Old Town 50# restoration

[patrick corry]

Second round of steam bending ribs over the canoe. Lots of good steam here and it's fun bending this soft Northern White Cedar! This old canoe has been a beast to repair, and I still keep finding broken ribs! A couple of them can be repaired with glued-on tips- most of which I am saving from the full-width broken ribs found elsewhere.

Fortunately, I have lots of clamps! There are many more inside the canoe holding the battens which define the shape where so many ribs are broken in the center third of the canoe.

Here, a couple of tight bend ribs are formed to use at the opposite end of the canoe where the existing ribs are 1/2 gone. They extend fully under the stem foot.

Rib tip (though a long one) waiting for a donor tip from elsewhere in the canoe. You'll notice the nail holes in the inwale. I had nailed the existing rib tip into the new inwale before I discovered that the rib was broken; yet another roadblock in the long recovery of this poor, abused canoe. I can, however see light at the end of the tunnel. New planking is ripped and ready for the drum sander and will go on the re-framed canoe shortly! Maybe I'll even get her into canvas before it gets too cold in the barn, but I doubt she'll be filled; my barn has no heat.

 

[Worth Gretter]

With all this good workmanship, the end result is going to be great!

 

[patrick corry]

Repairs done! Wow, this canoe has fought me every step of the way. 23 new ribs, several scarfed & glued rib repairs, new inwales, lots of new planking.

Although not original, I'm making mahogany outwales. My logic is that there's so much new material and repairs... does the original canoe really exist? Perhaps it's a Ship of Theseus. The mahogany stock I found is 1"x10"x19' that in its former life was the gymnasium seating at Cardinal O'Hara high school in Springfield, PA; originally installed there in the 1960's. Note the holes from original bolt fasteners to the original bleacher frame.

Rabbet (rebate for our UK followers) setup on the table saw.

Final rabbets. Outwales to be shaped overall and tapered at ends after steaming and installation on the uncanvassed canoe. They will remain there over winter until shop temperatures will allow canvas and filling, then to be re-installed permanently following paint.

Now, it's on to making an Ash thwart and caned seats. This canoe was shipped to the Red Cross without seats originally, but the owner will want seats for future use.

 

[Todd F]

Well done Patrick, love seeing your progress.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Terrific workmanship there. Thanks for sharing.