Broken Seat Slat

[george]

Just got back from 5 wonderful days - well 4 wonderful and a last morning with a 15km paddle in pouring rain with thunder and lightning - in the beautiful Massassauga Provincial Park near Parry Sound. On the second day, the front slat on the bow seat let go. Interesting that the original slats are a mix of woods - spruce, ash and maple. The front one was spruce and went at a very small knot. The new one won't be.

 

[Larry Meyer]

Looks like a Chestnut?

Yeah, their slat seats aren’t that rugged. Mine did the same. I re-enforced them with two pieces of oak underneath the rear and front runners, carriage bolted on. That did the trick.

 

[george]

It's an elderly (65 years old at least) 14 ft Peterborough Pond. My dad bought it well used in the late 40s early 50s. It had been a livery boat here in Oakville before that. He and I fiberglassed it in the mid 60s - no such thing as canoe aesthetics then. Sometime I'll strip the fiberglass off, replace some of the planking and recanvas. In the meantime, we love it. We had all our gear for two people including two lawn chairs and a small dog plus an inch of rainwater and still had loads of freeboard. Like most boats, it's a lot more stable loaded than empty.