B.N. Morris canoe/ short deck project

[ralphdisley]

Well here we go. B.N.Morris canoe restoration.
Closed gunwales. I am going to have so much fun notching the Inside gunwales.
Anyway After looking at the way this was built years ago I can only come up with one idea on how they did this.
My guess is that the company bent a 4" board, then bored holes into the board, then cut the board in half to get the mortise for each rib top to set into.

Maybe I am off on this.?
Holy crap.

Cutting mortice into gunwale with router takes time. I prebent gunwales then installed them back into the canoe for the marking part.
I installed one back into the canoe and it came out very well. Next I will cut out the next inside rail and do the same.
Time, Time,Time.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

I have heard that theory before. But I am not in anyway an authority on Morris. Kathy? I'm sure Morris experts will reply.

 

[Mark Adams]

I have a jig I designed years ago for doing the pocketed rails on a Rushton IG. It is for use with a router. I'll take some pics in the next couple of days and post them.

 

[1905Gerrish]

Ralph, I have seen a demo on this and you are on the right track. I would go with your theory but as a group we could not figure out how Morris mortised the pockets with the ends sweeping up. Obviously they have to be on an angle and I think they are going to require some hand work.

 

[ralphdisley]

Ralph, I have seen a demo on this and you are on the right track. I would go with your theory but as a group we could not figure out how Morris mortised the pockets with the ends sweeping up. Obviously they have to be on an angle and I think they are going to require some hand work.

Yes your right on this hand work. I bent the gunwales over the form I built. Now I clamped off the gunwales to the canoe as close as I can get it. I will mark all the slots then remove the gunwale and then off to the shop for some hand work with my 1/4 chisel. Should be time consuming for sure. Maybe I will try a router this a strait bit. I don't want to blow out the gunwale tops... Not good.

I have one more Q ? For anyone who has some info on the outside gunwale size. It seems to be a flat wood? No rabbet cut like your common canoes.

I guess all this extra work protected the rib tops to some extent .

 

[workingbadger]

My cabinetmaker friend says that he is going to take my old inwale and use it as the jig for his router.....

 

[Steve Ambrose]

Standard gunwales on a closed gunwale morris used the morticed inwale, which was the only real structural rail, and a topwale plus outwale that were basically trim pieces attached with nails. The outwale covers the feathered edge of the tapered sheer plank and canvas while the topwale covers the joint between outwale and inwale. Morris offered an optional outwale that was rounded over in a half oval and attached with screws from inside the boat. I have one of each in the shop and can get you dimensions. The standard one is in storage but I'll be moving it in the next few days and can measure the pieces.

 

[ralphdisley]

Standard gunwales on a closed gunwale morris used the morticed inwale, which was the only real structural rail, and a topwale plus outwale that were basically trim pieces attached with nails. The outwale covers the feathered edge of the tapered sheer plank and canvas while the topwale covers the joint between outwale and inwale. Morris offered an optional outwale that was rounded over in a half oval and attached with screws from inside the boat. I have one of each in the shop and can get you dimensions. The standard one is in storage but I'll be moving it in the next few days and can measure the pieces.

Ok steve thanks

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

Cutting in the pockets for a Morris rail is not straight forward, any way you do it. If you drill the pockets in one board you have to deal with ripping a bevel edge on both rails. That's not so hard if the board is straight but very difficult if the board is bent. Bending the board that has pockets in the middle and getting it to bend without kinking or breaking at the pockets is extremely difficult. Bending a narrower rail that has pockets in it would be many times more difficult.
Using a router on the prebent rail is ok but the bevel on the rail makes it difficult to use and accuracy is extremely important, especially on a replacement rail.
I use a hole saw set up in a drill press. I have a jig that is clamped to the drill press table so the bevel on the side of the rail is perpendicular to the hole saw. It works real slick except at the very ends where the taper and bevel on the rails change so much. Its fairly easy to just cut the last two or three pockets by hand.
Rollin

 

[ralphdisley]

Thanks for the info Rollin, I am still looking for the outside rail size ? The word is that it was a thin rail ? Maybe I will have to bend the outside rail then rip on the band saw to get the right size. Not sure.

Its to bad that this is not a full restoration because of a money factor. I can't see replacing the rails and not stripping the fiberglass off the hull.
oh well
Ralph

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Sometimes you just have to do "whatever" to get a boat into the water and enjoy it... and save the extensive work for another time.

I hope someone will jump in with the measurements you need. The traditional Morris outwale was spruce (stained mahogany). Two of my three current Morris canoes have no outwales at present, and the third has the D-shaped mahogany type, so I can't help you. It is a fairly thin strip, chamfered top and bottom. The attached image shows the type, but not the dimensions.

Kathy

 

[ralphdisley]

Nails used for outside rail for this B.N. Morris?? I have no clue.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Nails used for outside rail for this B.N. Morris?? I have no clue.

Brass escutcheon pins, #16 x 1" long.

 

[ralphdisley]

B.N Morris finished off. Still needs canvas at some point in time.This was a good learning curve for sure. Not that easy notching the new inside rails out. But the old girl looks good. She will have another chance to dance upon the water.