Fiberglass removal

[RMR]

Spent four hours yesterday removing a poorly applied (thankfully!) layer of fiberglass from my Morris Model A64 Type 1 17'.
By the ease that it came off, I'd say the previous owner had used Polyester resin which I had been hoping for.
A mild amount of heat from a heat gun did speed up the process further. But I was able to start a section and easily remove it. The bottom was pretty awesome - it literally came off from bow to stern in a piece about 18 inches wide. I strapped it down to a pair of 7 foot saw horses for stability during most of the process.
So, my Morris project is officially underway and the inside stripping will be next - and I know that will be a lot of work, then, I'll have to find a good 'canvasser' to finish.

 

[Dan Miller]

A good start! You can be your own best canvaser - there is a lot of threads and current members that can lead you through this part of your project.

It looks like you have a cat (or six), like to feed birds, and I am curious about the big disk cut from a tree trunk leaning against the wall behind your canoe...

Dan

 

[RMR]

Hey Dan, yes, 5 cats, all with claws, all strays, all trained, and only venture out while supervised by myself and the 'boss'. The trunk cutting is from a 135 year old American Elm that succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease; I was the Elm Preservation Coordinator years ago in Elmhurst, IL. It's resting on a stand and I've been moving (and lifting!) it for 30-ish years.
We love and feed birds too, as well as our neighborhood Owls. The canvassing may happen by my hands - we'll see how how my confidence builds through the 'resto'. Regards, Malcolm.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Malcolm,

A member here is at the same point as you on the same (model) canoe, S/N 13050.
He currently has about 1/5 the canoe scrapped of resin.
Will be watching both as you progress.

Dan

 

[RMR]

My Morris was purchased/used as a St. Paul, MN, Parks Livery Canoe on Lake Phalen. As I've gotten further into the resto project, I noticed under the rear deck varnish was a different label - a sporting goods store (I believe) that reads 'Martin's Sporting Goods' it's not easy saving the decals while stripping so I'm just going to leave it for now. If anyone has history of 'Martin's' let me know.

 

[Rob Stevens]

A Google search yields;
Martin's Sport Shop 1016 17th Ave Monroe, WI

 

[pklonowski]

Monroe, WI is about 4&1/2 hours' drive from St. Paul, so it may have been a different Martin's. Could have been a chain, or they may be entirely unrelated, I suppose.

 

[RMR]

Thanks for the info. It would've had to been around in the early 1920's or even the 19's, my Morris #12286 - around 1915, too, it seems they would have had to be in the Twin Cities then; on the lower right hand corner of the label - hard to see - is - 'MINN'. Also, on further up close examination I think it reads 'Sporting Goods'.
I was initially reading the 'artin' as meaning Martin with the large S on the right side....but, hidden underneath the stripper goop is a 'G' meaning the G at the end of 'Sporting'. So, I'm now 'thinking' (dangerous!) that the Mallard image stands for 'Mallard'.... Sporting Goods. A bit closer perhaps? Either way, still unsolved.... Time tells all tales?

 

[pklonowski]

Google search reveals a Mallard Gun Shop in Mallard IA, but again, it's 100 years after the fact. Might need to spend some time in the St. Paul Archives to unearth this one...

 

[RMR]

Thanks for the reply; yep, I'm thinking the same thing, though I'll make the necessary calls before-hand. It could simply mean that 'Mallard(s) bought canoes from the St. Paul Canoe Livery and put the label on - though - again, the label was/is under varnish. Oh well, more stripping to do, etc., etc., etc.