Closed gunwales

[chris pearson]

Did the early builders bend and nail rail caps right on the boat, or fixtures then apply? Shape after fastened?

 

[Benson Gray]

My guess is that rail caps were bent and nailed right on the boat. The picture below is the only one I could find showing people working on closed gunwale canoes at Old Town.

Benson

 

[Michael Grace]

I wonder if they bent gunwale caps right on the boat - efficient for highly skilled workers, particularly if two or more of them worked as a team for the installation. But then the outside cap, particularly on canoes with a lot of upsweep in the sheer, might be tough to bend without breaking unless a form were used. The photo above doesn't really show anything with respect to cap installation. These are workers posing for a photo with construction-complete canoes. At best they are sanding or tacking (tack-clothing) the canoes prior to finishing.

 

[Dave Osborn]

I often struggle when bending closed rail caps. To me, it is difficult to make the compound bends and curves with thin wood, and make it lay flat on said bends and curves.
Then use nails to hold it all down.
I’ve never let a crappy job out of the shop and had to sometimes make new strips, work with a heat gun, re-soak, re-steam, and special clamping jigs.
Is there an easy way to do this?

 

[chris pearson]

When I did my 1903 EM White, I made fixtures and used de sta co clamps. It was precise and did not allow the thin wood to twist in any way. Bent them off the boat but it was much prep work….

 

[Michael Grace]

Yeah, that twisting is a nightmare. And the compound curve of top caps... Good fixtures and nice clamps like Destacos - excellent way to go. I wonder too about how they shaped the caps, tapering to the ends. Did they cut to near-exact length, then taper, then bend (on or off the boat), and then maybe do any last-minute trimming with small tools? Caps like those on Morris are so precise including the chamfers - just so very well done. However they did it, they really knew what they were doing. Mad skillz! Here's real proof:

Thread 'unusual Morris'

Nov 1, 2020

Here's a nice 1912 B.N. Morris with a bit of unusual building characteristics. The serial number is 9107,closed gunwale, 24" extended decks.
The rowing station and the tip of the outside stem are rather unique.
There is the standard narrow rail cap on top of the closed gunwales but for the rowing station the cap has been greatly enlarged to support the oarlock socket. I thought this might of been a add-on after the construction but it certainly looks original and there are no extraneous fastening holes in the inwale that would indicate that a different cap was there before this one...

• Rollin Thurlow
• Replies: 8
• Forum: Wood and Canvas

• 

 

[JClearwater]

Regardless of what the Old Town factory photo shows it's still a cool picture and we are lucky to be able to see photos like this. I wish there were photos from other company's factories to see. Kudos to Old Town for saving them and Benson for sharing them with us.

Jim

 

[chris pearson]

Yes, I wish we did know more about how they did this….bending, cutting, tapering, beveling…….

 

[1905Gerrish]

I know I spend wayyyy to many hours into trying to get the things perfect. Having a good run at it now!