It's Official - my '51 OTCA project

[dtdcanoes]

M&M, I think there is another insert or "fix" that addresses the stress concerns , and properly fit will never be seen on a closed gunnel or can be minimally visible on an exposed top wale ( if one chose the insert with the correct grain in the same wood type, stained well and perhaps with some added grain feature ). I will attach some I needed to do on a rare Williams 16 foota ie. 16 of them.

Note: the insert below was some 16-18 inches and I could replace wood all the way to the outer wale surface.
with an open wale you could come from the wale bottom and not sacrifice the top surface and effectively hide the repair and not be concerned with a stress point.

 

[dtdcanoes]

M&M, I think there is another insert or "fix" that addresses the stress concerns , and properly fit will never be seen on a closed gunnel or can be minimally visible on an exposed top wale ( if one chose the insert with the correct grain in the same wood type, stained well and perhaps with some added grain feature ). I will attach some I needed to do on a rare Williams 16 foota ie. 16 of them.

 

[Dave Osborn]

MMM,
I probably would have put longer angles on the ends of the cut giving it more glue surface. You could probably still do that. I have seen worse looking repairs that have been just fine. You still have quite a good amount of original inwale there. If you are satisfied with your little insert, just add a couple of screws to help hold it in place in addition to your adhesive. It will most likely be fine.
The first two photos are of a Morris Canoe and the third photo is from a Racine. In both cases the damaged inwale that I repaired was in far worse condition originally than your little crack. Also both were closed gunwale canoes so most of the repair was hidden.

 

[mmmalmberg]

One of the problems in trying to pound the bolt out, is that the rail flexes or moves so much that that the pounding force is being wasted. Also when the bolt comes out it tears some of the wood fibers at the top of the rail. I found that using the clinching iron, set on its side, so that the hole in the middle of iron surrounds the head of the bolt and holding the iron tight on the rail does a lot to steady the rail and the pounding force is much more effective. Of course the treads have to be protected but this works just about in all stubborn cases with out any damage.

Thanks Rollin. I found the pounding too threatening to the boat and ended up with a very simple setup with a large c-clamp and two blocks of wood, one drilled to clear the diamond bolt head and the other to protect the threads. That resulted in a press that didn't apply any stress to the surrounding wood. They were extremely tight and I do think I would have broken something before some of them budged!

 

[mmmalmberg]

MMM,
I probably would have put longer angles on the ends of the cut giving it more glue surface. You could probably still do that. I have seen worse looking repairs that have been just fine. You still have quite a good amount of original inwale there. If you are satisfied with your little insert, just add a couple of screws to help hold it in place in addition to your adhesive. It will most likely be fine.
The first two photos are of a Morris Canoe and the third photo is from a Racine. In both cases the damaged inwale that I repaired was in far worse condition originally than your little crack. Also both were closed gunwale canoes so most of the repair was hidden.

Thanks. It's not unlikely I will do one of those things. I'm thinking maybe instead of screws some small dowels glued in through the ends of the patch. It -is- a bit inelegant having to do that but would certainly be helpful. Mostly worried about getting a really good fit over the whole surface of long tapers on each end. Thanks again

 

[mmmalmberg]

M&M, I think there is another insert or "fix" that addresses the stress concerns , and properly fit will never be seen on a closed gunnel or can be minimally visible on an exposed top wale ( if one chose the insert with the correct grain in the same wood type, stained well and perhaps with some added grain feature ). I will attach some I needed to do on a rare Williams 16 foota ie. 16 of them.
View attachment 44365

Note: the insert below was some 16-18 inches and I could replace wood all the way to the outer wale surface.
with an open wale you could come from the wale bottom and not sacrifice the top surface and effectively hide the repair and not be concerned with a stress point.

View attachment 44366View attachment 44365 View attachment 44366

That's really nice. Did you cut that with a jigsaw?

 

[mmmalmberg]

Here's the curved version. Or I could just extend the angled cuts on what I have out to an 8-1 angle. I'd be fine with either. The curve might even be easier to make fit - I could fit sandpaper to one piece to sand the other and alternate from one to the other.

The sitka spruce I bought ($$) has a much finer grain than the inwale. Is there a particular variety of spruce that would be more likely to match?

 

[mmmalmberg]

Also here's what I'm considering for the inwale tip replacements. I just need to make a jig of some sort to get nice flat cuts. I bought a couple of fancy jointery handsaws but I think my grandfather's old jigsaw is going to be the tool of choice

Has anyone had any luck with something like this?

 

[mmmalmberg]

Here's a table set up from which to saber-saw these. Seems like either this or orient to each of the top surfaces. No right angles so have to establish some reference plane...

 

[mmmalmberg]

And I still can't figure out what to do with the skin

 

[Craig Johnson]

Here is what I prefer, a nice long scarf joint. If both sides need repaired it is nice to make them match. I don’t mince being able to see a repair if it is well done.

 

[mmmalmberg]

View attachment 44378 Here is what I prefer, a nice long scarf joint. If both sides need repaired it is nice to make them match. I don’t mince being able to see a repair if it is well done.

Very nice! Were those cut straight or curved?

 

[Craig Johnson]

Straight cut. Simple jig, piece of plywood clamped to inwale with a taper attached to it for the saw to ride on. If you look close the other inwale is already done.

 

[mmmalmberg]

View attachment 44379 Straight cut. Simple jig, piece of plywood clamped to inwale with a taper attached to it for the saw to ride on. If you look close the other inwale is already done.

They totally look curved - must be an optical illusion!

 

[mmmalmberg]

The sitka spruce I bought ($$) has a much finer grain than the inwale. Is there a particular variety of spruce that would be more likely to match?

Any suggestions? The inwale has grain lines spaced about 1/8" apart. The sitka I have is very tight. I know it can work visually also to have it be distinct but my first choice is to match the grain if possible.

 

[Benson Gray]

I suspect that your canoe's inwale was made with Eastern white spruce (Picea glauca) which is quite different from Western Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis). See https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/separating-spruce-and-other-lookalikes/ for more details. Good luck,

Benson

 

[mmmalmberg]

Great - thanks Benson! The inwales look like what I "think" spruce looks like, based on what I knew growing up in PA so I think you're right.

 

[mmmalmberg]

I'm going to follow suggestions for much longer joints, just need to find some eastern white spruce. Doesn't seem to exist out here, and have not yet found anyone online selling and shipping it. I came close with Aircraft Spruce - they have some photos that look correct but when I asked they said they have only Sitka.

Any suggestions for suppliers that would ship a small amount of spruce? I'm replacing four tips, and figure I should get twice what I need since I've neither bent wood nor done scarf joints and I want to make it nice. Let me know if any suggestions. I posted in Classifieds "Wanted" section but I think it's not such an active area

 

[Benson Gray]

need to find some eastern white spruce

I would encourage you to contact some of the restorers listed at http://www.wcha.org/builders-and-suppliers-directory who sell supplies and materials. It will help if you can be very specific about how much you need. Good luck,

Benson

 

[mmmalmberg]

I would encourage you to contact some of the restorers listed at http://www.wcha.org/builders-and-suppliers-directory who sell supplies and materials. It will help if you can be very specific about how much you need. Good luck,

Benson

Thanks Benson. I've reached out to a few but only heard back so far from one or two. A couple weren't really interested in shipping small bits of wood. Although I think one could literally put a stamp on a board and drop it at the post office

I am grateful to have just heard from Rollin who is willing to help out so hopefully problem solved. Will update if otherwise - thanks again.