Let the games begin!

[ahjort]

1915 Carleton "Indian Princess":

So, I picked it up on Saturday and spent the entire weekend disassembling as much as I dared. I am not sure how far I will go but would like to keep it original. It has a few broken ribs and was attacked by ravenous mice in a few spots (mostly the underside of the inwale). Other than that it is in pretty good shape! I will be stripping and refinishing the inside, then re-canvasing.
My 1st question is concerning the planking. I glued any cracks and slivers that were breaking loose. The wood seems awfully dry.
Should I give it a good sloppy coat of linseed oil or something to help make it less brittle?

 

[mccloud]

1915 Carleton "Indian Princess":
Should I give it a good sloppy [/coat of linseed oil or something to help make it less brittle?

Short answer: not yet. The hul looks to be in good shape, but there will probably be places that need glued, a cracked rib back-spliced, etc, and a bit of sanding to the old planking to fair rough spots. Having linseed oil in the planking will make all those jobs more difficult. Sandpaper will fill real fast. Yes, the planking will be brittle while you are making those repairs, so be careful, pre-drill tack holes. Once all those repairs are done, then put on the boiled linseed oil/terpentime. Tom McCloud

 

[ahjort]

Additional pics:

 

[ahjort]

I discovered I have a somewhat local (less than an hour away) expert in the art of restoration! He is also a source for all supplies needed for the restoration of wood and canvas canoes. Some of you may know him...Jack McGreivey. He seems very knowledgeable as is a very friendly person!
I picked up a half dozen rib blanks and a bag full of tacks from him this morning and went right to work removing one of the broken ribs (there are 5 on my canoe, not counting the ones the mice have chewed on)! I fashioned a tack puller from an old flat bladed screw driver and it works great. I cut a notch in the end and ground it down to a very thin taper then bent a nice arc into the blade.
After doing this, I had my steam box heating up and went about shaping my 1st rib. The shaping and heating and bending went off without a hitch! I have it clamped in place and will get to tacking it in place in the morning. I need to come up with a clinching block of some sort. As with the tack puller, I should be able to improvise something!

 

[ahjort]

It has been a long day today, but we made some progress. I was able to remove 3 more broken ribs and successfully fabricate and bend the replacements. Pulling tacks has got to be one of the most tedious tasks I have ever undertaken. With the help of my lovely (and loving) side kick (my wife, Meg) we were able to get about 1/3 of the interior stripped most of the way down (one more light coat of stripper in these areas and that will be it).
I fashioned a clinch block from the butt end of an old splitting maul head, it works fine!

Here are some pics of todays progress, my PVC steam box, and my homemade ribbing tools...