A dumb question

[Woodpile]

Progress on the 1918 50 pounder restoration is going well, nearly complete stripping lots of old varnish, looking forward to the more enjoyable work of replacing the stems, inwales and about 5 cracked ribs. Recorded the original locations for the seats from the (stern?) end for re-drilling the new inwales and now we have the dumb question. Does it really matter which end of a double end canoe is the stem or the stern or are the terms N/A for a double end canoe? I will identify one end for the sake of keeping things original but if that didn't happen, would it matter?

Don

 

[JClearwater]

Don,

Not a dumb question at all. In this case it would really make no difference which end was the bow or stern. Most old canoes were symmetrical - front half was the mirror of the back half. It would only make a difference if the hull was asymmetric in construction. Many of the better designed modern Kevlar canoes and kayaks have asymmetrical hulls but not traditional wood canvas ones. Good luck with your project.

Jim