Bending 14ft canoe gunnels?

[cprice]

I'm restoring a very well used 14ft 1960's cedar canvas canoe (Might be a Chestnut). The gunnels, decks and stems will need to be replaced. I have a steam box already and am in the process of building the jig to bend the stems. Whats left of the old gunnels look to be ash and are about 1" square. Am I going to need to steam bend them or will they take their shape without steam? Maybe just using a bit of boiling kettle water in certain areas would be all thats needed. Any advice?

Sincerely
Cory.

 

[mccloud]

Kind of depends on how much up-sweep there is. I watched Pam Wedd (www.bearwoodcanoes.com) put an outwale on by starting at the center with screws and working toward both ends. Then, when there was 4 feet remaining she slipped a piece of flexible hose over the outwale and blew stem thru it for maybe 20 minutes, bent the outwale up and added a screw, then repeated the process until she had the outwale where she wanted it. Leave your outwale a foot longer than needed! It makes a fine handle for bending upward, and can be trimmed to fit when you're done. Tom McCloud

 

[cprice]

Thanks Tom.

There's not much sweep but I like that trick with the flex hose.

 

[Canoetrip]

What works for me

I use a 10' X 3.5" metal pipe welded closed on one end to boil the gunwales. Place the closed end over a turkey cooker burner. I have tried different methods but what worked great on bending rails for my built-on-form 14 w & c was to boil one end for 15 minutes, then the other end for 15 minutes, repeat for the same time periods, then clamp on the form (or canoe). I was using Ash 7/8" X 3/4" and it bent nicely. I only did one rail at time. Backing up, I soaked the rails for 5 or 6 days in 20' length of rain gutter. Howard Davis

 

[Dave Wermuth]

recent outwale bending with steam

5 days in the pond and then this steamer is used to bend the outwales. I fasten the screws as I retract the hose.

 

[workingbadger]

What's the best flex hose to use for steaming? will dryer vent hose work? Exhaust pipe hose (expensive), ??

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Use an automotive rad hose, the universal fit ones with accordion style section between the ends. They work very well and handle the heat.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

I use a 24" steel exhaust flex pipe onto the opening of the steel kerosene can or steel gas can, fits right on, and onto that a 24" radiator hose. It's a snug fit. that then goes into a 15' or so, section of camper sewer drain hose, which is about 3 1/2 or 4". Duct tape makes that connection. The sewer hose has a wire spiral and won't collapse. the heavy duty ones last a long time and are cheap, cheap, cheap at the big box store or camper store.