Cant Rib Replacement Question

[Brian J Knudsen]

Hello,

I am planning to replace a few of the cant ribs on my canoe. I They appear to have been eaten and for some of them there is only about half of the rib remaining. I have a few questions that I hope you may help me with. Is there a "best way" to clamp the new rib to the outside of the canoe? For a full rib it isn't a problem to bend it around, but I can't do that with a can't rib. I'd prefer not to take off more of the planking if at all possible because it is in good shape. Also, I'd guess that half way to 2/3 of the way to the next rib is about where I should be clamping the new rib to get the correct shape. Is this about right?

If there is a forum thread that answers this question please help me find it!

Thank you all,
Brian

 

[samb]

I don't know the "right" way to do this, but on occasion I have shaped the bottom of the rib as accurately as I could before steaming, then when the rib is soft, put it in place then used a downwards force onto the stem to get the curve and held in place with a clamp against the inwale. Its then possible to wedge a bit of wood from against the opposite planking to help keep the curve.
It worked for me!

Sam

 

[Dave Wermuth]

i have not used just one way when it comes to skinning this cat. But i usually just bend it over my knee after steaming and then install it. I suppose you could steam and bend it as a full rib and then cut it in half and then install it. Expect cracking at the sharp part of the V.

 

[Howie]

I like both the above suggestions. I wonder... What device do you use for steaming? I use a device meant for removing wallpaper - basically a heated water tank with a hose and various fixtures that screw onto the end of the hose that delivers the steam. So this Indian I'm working on had both sides that had splayed open - so much so that when the thwarts were installed the inner rails weren't strong enough to hold the canoe's shape in the middle. So I tipped the canoe on its side, got the sides to the shape I wanted using thwarts and straps, then steamed each rib little by little, one at a time, then tipped the canoe to the other side and repeated the process. I used towels to capture the heat as well as the water, and steamed for maybe 15 minutes in each area that was close to horizontal. Took the whole day. But it worked.

I'm thinking the same technique would work for your cant ribs. Use the above suggestions then tack the rib in place. Then flop the canoe on its side and steam the rib some more in situ steam time.

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

Most cant ribs are a bit thinner than the full ribs which helps when bending them by hand. Your cant ribs look to be a bit less than 1/4" thick.
Bending the rib is fairly easy. Wrap the wet rib in a wet towel and use a common steam iron to heat both side. It only takes about a minute or two and then you can bend it over your knee to what you think looks right. Try a test fit. Most often on the test fit you'll see the tapered end, against the stem, will need some trimming. Remove the rib, trim the end again, rewet, resteam and refit the rib. Use a screw button thru the planking to hold the rib in place while you install some clinch tacks. the screw button is just a narrow screw like a sheetrock screw with a wood base so than when you use it the screw, the head doesn't pull thru the face of the good wood. The wood button also distributes the holding power of the screw over a greater area. The screw buttons in the pictures are hold a tapered rib in place and the end of the temporary thwart in place.

 

[Brian J Knudsen]

Thank you all for your thoughtful and informative replies! I'm probably going to bend the rib by wrapping it in towels and then putting an iron on it. I have a long steam box that I could use, but it is probably more work and unnecessary to use that. I have used towels in the past to bend ribs. I think I just poured boiling water onto the towels though. I'm going to need to wait until the temperatures go up before I do this.

The cant ribs are thinner. I wonder if I can just sand a 16th of an inch off the rib to make it the right thickness. I don't have a planer. I will find some short screw buttons. I am not familiar with them, but your description is clear.

Thank you all!

Brian

 

[Howie]

Obviously it'll be a lot easier to bend the thinner wood. You cant samd that much by hand though. You could get a hand planer - they're always handy to have anyway! You're in no hurry I suspect - 1/16" will take a while. Builds character. So maybe ask for Santa/in-laws for Christmas! Better yet go to yard sales or estate sales - look for content descriptions on CraigsList or FB Marketplace.

 

[John Sand]

I once bent new ribs into an old rowboat by pouring boiling water on them and wrapping. I think I used towels and a tarp. They bent easily after that, white oak.