canvas tightness ?

[JRC]

I'm playing with an Old Town Rowboat.
I posted previously about sanding the peeling paint.
I've been sanding one side of the boat smooth, as I'm sanding it the old filler filled canvas is loosening up.
When it had paint on it, I could tap the painted canvas and could hear that it was loose, but now it's leaving ripples in the canvas.

I was hoping to save the canvas.
I have done several wood/canvas restorations over the years, so I'm thinking I can make it watertight, but I don't think fresh paint/primer is ever going to tighten up the old canvas.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again
Jim

 

[Gil Cramer]

Recanvas. Don't waste time and money messing with it. If it were( yes, that is actually grammatically correct, even if it sounds wrong) made in the late '50's or early '60's, it had gypsum as a filler. Once the linseed oil dries, the filler chalks off.

You can canvas by hand. boats are quite easy.

 

[dtdcanoes]

Oh boy, why not , had it been..... GEEZ, I need a supping, yes.

 

[Worth Gretter]

If it were( yes, that is actually grammatically correct, even if it sounds wrong)

I maybe should have learned this in high school English but didn't, until much later.
Turns out "were" is the subjunctive, which applies to anything hypothetical, speculative, contingent, possible, or otherwise not actually factual.
Thanks for putting it out there Gil!

 

[JRC]

A couple observations.
The filler is not chalky, it's so hard I can hardly sand it with 36 grit.
I was convinced this morning that I was going to have to recanvass the boat, so I pushed it out of my shop into the sun and washed the sanding dust off with a wet rag.
Came back a few hours later, and the canvas is tight to the boat, no ripples at all.
Hmm