I need longer arms!
- Thread starter Michael Leone
- Start date
Michael Grace
Lifetime Member
Michael,
Decks can sometimes be difficult to remove without damaing surrounding structure. I've done several very early AA-grade Otcas, all of which had decks installed with steel screws. As much as I wanted to get the iron out of there, they were impossible to remove without damaging the near-perfect wood they were in. Thus I was left with a situation much like yours. I've also had this problem on torpedo-ended courting canoes- even with the decking removed, it's a long way into the ends of the canoe. I agree with Gil- remove the decks- but if this isn't a viable answer...
The solution to stripping is easy- just slosh stripper up in there, and distribute it with some long-handled device. You could duct tape a cheap chip brush to a longer handle, or you could wrap a bit of a rag around the end of a stick. My personal preference is a bottle brush. I use long wire-handled plastic-bristled bottle brushes in the lab every day- they are impervious to most chemical insult including methylene chloride-based strippers, they easily reach the ends of even an Otca (a "real" Otca with decks as in yours), and the bristles do a great job of distributing and cleaning. After the stripper sits a while, I just go back and scrub the ends with the bottle brush to loosen all the gunk, rinse, then scrub out again with concentrated TSP. The plastic bristles are very gentle and the way they are inserted into the wire, there is no danger of metal damaging wood. Results- perfectly clean all the way into the ends and in every nook and cranny.
Michael
Decks can sometimes be difficult to remove without damaing surrounding structure. I've done several very early AA-grade Otcas, all of which had decks installed with steel screws. As much as I wanted to get the iron out of there, they were impossible to remove without damaging the near-perfect wood they were in. Thus I was left with a situation much like yours. I've also had this problem on torpedo-ended courting canoes- even with the decking removed, it's a long way into the ends of the canoe. I agree with Gil- remove the decks- but if this isn't a viable answer...
The solution to stripping is easy- just slosh stripper up in there, and distribute it with some long-handled device. You could duct tape a cheap chip brush to a longer handle, or you could wrap a bit of a rag around the end of a stick. My personal preference is a bottle brush. I use long wire-handled plastic-bristled bottle brushes in the lab every day- they are impervious to most chemical insult including methylene chloride-based strippers, they easily reach the ends of even an Otca (a "real" Otca with decks as in yours), and the bristles do a great job of distributing and cleaning. After the stripper sits a while, I just go back and scrub the ends with the bottle brush to loosen all the gunk, rinse, then scrub out again with concentrated TSP. The plastic bristles are very gentle and the way they are inserted into the wire, there is no danger of metal damaging wood. Results- perfectly clean all the way into the ends and in every nook and cranny.
Michael
Rollin Thurlow
member since 1980
Taking the deck out to provide the access to the area is the best solution but as it was pointed out, that can be a fairly difficult job. Short of that I would suggest that you place the boat upside down on some very tall sawhorses and then you will be able to stand or kneel under the boat and reach right up into the stem area. If you use a liquid stripper at this point you may want to remove a section of the top row of planking so the liquid can run out of the boat and not fill up the stem! Sanding the area is still a finger busting excercise but at least you'll be able to reach it. This is a good place for a small child or wife with smaller hands to get invovled in the wonderfull experience of wooden canoe restoration!
Rollin
Rollin
), I ended up using a toilet bowl brush. Nice long handle, bristles all around and I didn't feel bad about throwing it out when I was done.
