Installing New Gunwales under Old

[mikel]

I have a 17' OT HW and I need to replace both sets of inwales and outwales. The tops of most of the ribs are starting to split and I'm afraid they won't survive my removing the inwales as they are attached with steel nails. Also, the planking that is under the outwales had rotted and came off when the outwales were removed. The rest of the planking is sound. So.... I'm considering attaching the new inwales underneath the old ones and cutting the sides down an inch. I have read about people doing this on this board, but what I'd like to find out is if anyone who has done this has regretted it later. I mean once it's done, it's done and there's no coming back from it. This is not a museum piece and it's going to be paddled in quiet water so I'm not too worried about the lower shear line.

So what do you think? Would I be making a big mistake?

Thanks for all the great help and iSight this board provides.


Mike.

 

[Paul Fopeano]

I have cut down the rib tops on several of my canoes for all the usual reasons. It does seem like a radical procedure but once the new rails are installed you really won't know the difference. I did however, do the deed to a 17' OCTA that had sat on the ground for many years rotting almost inches off the rib tops. I cut it down so much that when I portage her with a simple paddle yolk I bump my head on the bottom of the canoe! It still has plenty of freeboard, more than enough to carry two old fat men and their overstuffed packs across all but really rough water.

If you choose to repair those rib tops and don't want to inflict too much more damage when you remove the old rail my I suggest a Rockwell Sonic Crafter with a metal cutting bit. Once you record all the information off of the old gunwale, cut through the wood, through the old nails just inside of each rib and remove the whole thing that way. It is a noisy, dusty job but quick and beats crushing the cedar with your tack puller.

Enjoy!

Paul

 

[Dave Wermuth]

I had Brian Baker cut down an HW for me to remove rot. Never miss that inch. I like it better. I took one trip in it so far and no problem. But that's the limit I think.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

A couple reasons for not cutting ribs down, from someone (me) who isn't a woodworker:

Dave Osborn is performing "a conservation" on my old old old Morris that was really crispy. It's possibly the oldest known Morris and retains a few differences that make it historically significant, so installing new rib-tips was a necessary part of conserving this canoe for posterity. And this was my choice (and Dave's headache).

Another reason to repair rotted rib-tips instead of removing them, has to do with existing gunwale-parts that are in good order and might be difficult to reproduce. I am thinking of a D-shaped Morris outwale, made of mahogany, that might not fit in the same manner once rib-tips were removed. Granted, this could be overcome-- but thought should be given ahead of time to a possible problem.

I'll post a picture of the rib-tips Dave re-created for my old canoe.

Kathy

 

[dtdcanoes]

Yes, Kathy..I just finished conserving nearly 100 tips in a similar effort for posterity. The boat is a JR Williams and unusual in many ways, but having been used in the salt, was in need, indeed, WOW.
See you soon. Dave

 

[Paul Fopeano]

Here are some photos of my 1910 Old Town 16' HW that I just recommissioned. I chose to deal with the badly damaged rib tops by cutting them down and mounting the new gunwale a bit lower than original. This boat was originally had closed gunwale (I guess) and someone had tried to repair the thinned rib tops with epoxy. (It also came with sponsons and a keel that were lost long ago) They dropped the rail a little, prehaps 1/2" or so. The pencil lines show where my rail will end up. I didn't want a closed system. I didn't want to look at the other guy's epoxy. I didn't want to splice just about every rib top and I didn't care if the boat was a little shallower. So what I ended up with is a slightly lower sheer; same profile but open gunwales with only a fresh cut on the rib tops showing. This is a backwoods canoe to me so the sponsons and the keel did not return. Pretty much no muss no fuss and I got a 105 year old boat back on the water. It was kinda like what the hotrod builders do to their old Fords.