canoe cover

[Dave Osborn]

I have a customer inquiring about a cover for her canoe. I don't advocate storing vintage wooden canoe in a covering outside, but she has limited space and insists on needing to keep it outside, so I suppose a covering of some sort is the best alternative. Does anybody know of an all weather cover that would fill the request??
Thanks!
Dave

 

[Paul Waqué]

Here is a link to an old thread. I have heard the Bag Lady praised in another forum as well
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?3371-canoe-cover

 

[Benson Gray]

I would suggest contacting Sue Audette about this. She is 'The Bag Lady' as described at http://www.waterworkscanoe.com/the_bag_lady.htm and wrote the history of the Old Town Canoe Company as described at http://www.waterworkscanoe.com/book.html so she knows about wooden canoes. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Greg Nolan]

In addition to joining the recommendation to contact Sue Audette, there are two resources to check out if a DYI project is being considered:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...over-for-Rowan

Discussion on the WoodenBoat Magazine forums with photos on building a cover for a boat not much larger than a canoe.

http://www.sailrite.com/Boat-Cover-Instructions-Downloadable

Plans for a DYI boat cover; also a source for cover materials.

In shopping for a canoe and having seen a lot of canoes stored outside, often carelessly, I would think any storage/cover scheme must:

1) keep water (and snow) out;
2) let ventilation air circulate;
3) keep the canoe off the ground; and
4) protect against wind damage, including cover blown off and falling tree branches.

 

[Howard Caplan]

I double bagged my canoe last winter. Bag lady cover on first - not UV protected - and then the other baggy cover - you saw it Dave a few weeks ago. I posted pics a while back and based on several of your deductions, I realized the damage on my out whales was from water settling on the flat section and seeping through the varnish and causing damage. I will remove the whales next week and sand and re-varnish. Plan is to keep canoe inside this winter and in the future when outside, I'll keep it bagged and of course elevated off the ground but I will also somehow lean it front to back so water doesn't have a chance to settle.
Neither of these covers are waterproof as that is a bad idea. Both do breath and will allow the canoe to dry out but the water sat on the flat of the out whale and tarnished the wood.
I am also thinking about rigging up a tarp over the canoes and keeping the canoe bagged in hopes of minimizing the rain and snow directly on the boat.

 

[Jim Okkema]

Could she do something like this? It's just a picture I found on the internet.