monkitoucher
Canoe Curious
I found this Chestnut in Colorado Springs.
Canvas canoes in Colorado are pretty rare. So when you see one I'm finding that there is typically a good story that goes with how it got here.
The gentleman who sold it to me came here from Illinois. He built strippers for himself and he ended up being given this Bob's by his buddy. The Buddy acquired and began the restoration on her over a decade ago. This looks to be a project that has taken an anguishing turn.
Prior to seeing the canoe for myself, from the photos, I was really puzzled by the state of the gunnels. It looked like the ribs weren't attached at one end but there weren't any nail holes in the gunnel. Looked odd. On the other end, it looked like the gunnel was broken. Again... odd. Also, some of the ribs indicated that the canoe was in mid-restoration because they were darker than the rest and had a "B" written on them. So there were about 7 broken ribs that I could see from the photos. I kind of suspected where this was leading before I got there.
It looks like the poor guy (the buddy) who had been working on this, got as far as replacing the inner gunnels with mahogany. When he got to the ends he tried to bend them upwards. The first gunnel cracked a little bit. But it was bent enough to get it fairly close. The second gunnel snapped completely at what looks to be a knot. I figure the project stopped at that point.
So... the buddy who had a friend (the gentleman I bought it from) who built strippers. So he gave this project to him.
So now I have a project for the end of the summer and fall.
Everything is there except the seats and the gunnels. I will need to reconstruct the stems and replace the cant ribs. The sheer line is a little suspect now because I think he wasn't able to curve the first gunnel enough. It looks like he trimmed the ribs down to where the gunnel landed. I think I can find enough of a line from the sheer on the other side to reconstruct the line.
The ribs are a little messy. Hopefully, I'll be able to get good ribs bent over the hull. most of the damage is midship. I may have to steam bend and then re-steam and re-bend in place.
The planking is a little rough but I'm going to try my best to keep as much as possible. It's Eastern Cedar. So I really don't have a local supplier of that.
I do have a little question about retaining and restoring the deck with the logo. I was all for sanding it off and replacing it with a new decal. But when I saw it I thought it would be a darn shame to destroy that little piece of history. Has anyone done any sympathetic restorations of their decks? What was your process?
Canvas canoes in Colorado are pretty rare. So when you see one I'm finding that there is typically a good story that goes with how it got here.
The gentleman who sold it to me came here from Illinois. He built strippers for himself and he ended up being given this Bob's by his buddy. The Buddy acquired and began the restoration on her over a decade ago. This looks to be a project that has taken an anguishing turn.
Prior to seeing the canoe for myself, from the photos, I was really puzzled by the state of the gunnels. It looked like the ribs weren't attached at one end but there weren't any nail holes in the gunnel. Looked odd. On the other end, it looked like the gunnel was broken. Again... odd. Also, some of the ribs indicated that the canoe was in mid-restoration because they were darker than the rest and had a "B" written on them. So there were about 7 broken ribs that I could see from the photos. I kind of suspected where this was leading before I got there.
It looks like the poor guy (the buddy) who had been working on this, got as far as replacing the inner gunnels with mahogany. When he got to the ends he tried to bend them upwards. The first gunnel cracked a little bit. But it was bent enough to get it fairly close. The second gunnel snapped completely at what looks to be a knot. I figure the project stopped at that point.
So... the buddy who had a friend (the gentleman I bought it from) who built strippers. So he gave this project to him.
So now I have a project for the end of the summer and fall.
Everything is there except the seats and the gunnels. I will need to reconstruct the stems and replace the cant ribs. The sheer line is a little suspect now because I think he wasn't able to curve the first gunnel enough. It looks like he trimmed the ribs down to where the gunnel landed. I think I can find enough of a line from the sheer on the other side to reconstruct the line.
The ribs are a little messy. Hopefully, I'll be able to get good ribs bent over the hull. most of the damage is midship. I may have to steam bend and then re-steam and re-bend in place.
The planking is a little rough but I'm going to try my best to keep as much as possible. It's Eastern Cedar. So I really don't have a local supplier of that.
I do have a little question about retaining and restoring the deck with the logo. I was all for sanding it off and replacing it with a new decal. But when I saw it I thought it would be a darn shame to destroy that little piece of history. Has anyone done any sympathetic restorations of their decks? What was your process?
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