Just picked up an 8' cartopper in need of restoration. As a first timer can someone tell me the type of cedar used for the hull strips and the type of wood for the inwales and outwales. Also (newbie question) is it necessary to "pre-form" the bend in the outwales, or will the ribs and other attachments hold the curve? Thanks in advance.
Cartopper construction
- Thread starter Transpac
- Start date
Greg Nolan
enthusiast
To answer your question with any certainty, it would be useful to know the maker of the canoe. Pictures of the canoe would also be useful (besides, we just like looking at pictures of canoes). If the boat is an Old Town, give us the serial number and we should be able to provide you with a copy of the build record which would have details of your boat's construction.
Also, Whether you are going to do the repair/restoration work yourself or have someone else do it, you would do well to get a copy of "The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration and Maintenance" by Rollin Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok, which is back in print and available from the WCHA online store, and other places. (Beware -- Amazon and others are selling used copies of the earlier printing for more than a new copy of the current printing.) Also very useful is Jerry Stelmok's "Building the Maine Guide Canoe."
Also, Whether you are going to do the repair/restoration work yourself or have someone else do it, you would do well to get a copy of "The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration and Maintenance" by Rollin Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok, which is back in print and available from the WCHA online store, and other places. (Beware -- Amazon and others are selling used copies of the earlier printing for more than a new copy of the current printing.) Also very useful is Jerry Stelmok's "Building the Maine Guide Canoe."
Gil Cramer
The wooden canoe Shop, Inc.
Your boat is likely an 8' PY aerodinghy. The planking is vertical grain western red cedar 1/8" thick. The ribs are likely western red cedar also, either 1/4" or 5/16" thick. They might be Northern white cedar. If the boat is an aerodinghy, the inwales and outwales are Honduras, genuine, mahogany. The seat frames are probably mahogany, but could be oak. The transom shield is mahogany, and the skeg/ keel is oak or ash. The inwales and outwales will need to be soaked for a few days before they are bent around the hull. Steaming isn't necessary. The original covering was grade 'A' aircraft cotton covered with airplane dope and painted white with some color stripe. The transom on a '48 model is double 1/8" cedar; vertical on the interior and horizontal on the exterior.
Gil
Gil
Greg Nolan
enthusiast
Nothing blasphemous abut a Penn Yan cartopper -- we're pretty inclusive here, and some of us have rowboats and other boats (some even built of non-wood) -- I have a 16' wood'canvas restoration project rowboat built by a fellow named H. A. Packard. If you use the search function above and run "car topper" and "cartopper" you will find quite a bit of discussion. Searches on "dope," "airplane," "cotton" and "dacron" will also provide some information -- not all relevant to your situation, but some of which may be. And as Gil's response shows, expert information can be found here
While the two books I mentioned are about canoes, there is much in them that is applicable to almost any wood boat covered with canvas or other fabric.
Good luck with your dinghy.
Greg
While the two books I mentioned are about canoes, there is much in them that is applicable to almost any wood boat covered with canvas or other fabric.
Good luck with your dinghy.
Greg
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