Long term storage ideas wanted for a future restoration project.

[patrick corry]

Having decided to put the St. Lawrence Boatworks Co. 'WhistleWing' aside for some time, I'm interested in hearing opinions about long-term storage methods that will not result in damage, i.e. hogging, sagging, flattening of the hull shape, etc. I have sling-type stands, sawhorses, rigid wall racks for upside-down storage. I had the thought that suspending the canoe in an upright position from slings attached to the ends of the quarter thwarts might preserve the hull curvature. This would place the weight on the center 8' of the hull at four locations of the inwales (which are solid at these locations). It would leave 5' of hull unsupported at the ends, although the ends could be supported with additional slings from above.

Thanks, and pictures are encouraged.

 

[Todd F]

Glad you brought this up and especially mentioned photos. I should start moving canoes into the shop within a month or two and will be installing racks along one wall and then suspending canoes under the raised 2nd floor / ceiling of the 1st floor. My initial thought is storing them upside down and have your same concerns. I look forward to the experience of the group.

 

[Dave Osborn]

I think either upside down or rightside up if you use the rule of thirds, you’ll be ok. Doesn’t need to be exact, but as close as you can get to 1/3 supported and the other two thirds fore and aft.

 

[Michael Grace]

I usually store canoes upside down on the gunwales and while I haven't done detailed shape analysis, the canoes don't seem to change over time. Sometimes I store right-side up in slings (a pair of them) and have seen no evidence of hogging.

The Canadian Canoe Museum stores canoes in various ways when they are on display, but canoes in the warehoused collection are stored right-side up in four slings per canoes (see photo below). To use this method, you should be sure each of the slings is fitted properly to the canoe. Note the plastic sleeves in the CCM collection - not a good idea unless the atmosphere of your space is very well controlled, which it surely is there.

Most important is to keep the canoe well supported, dry, and protected from the elements and critters that chew on wood. When using two supports, I try to locate them such that a quarter of the weight at each end is beyond the supports and 50% of the eight is between the supports. Thus the ends aren't pulling the canoe down and neither is the middle. I once saw a war canoe that had been stored outside on only two supports (too few for such a long canoe) that were spaced too far apart. The moisture and poor weight distribution cause the canoe to sag in the middle and eventually the sad old thing just broke in half.

 

[patrick corry]

For now she's resting in slings. 8.5' between slings, roughly 5' each end beyond slings.

I needed to make room in the work area for tapering 18' inwales for a new build.

 

[MGC]

Hi Pat,
Great call to hang on to that WW. They are scarce as hens teeth and once that one is sorted out, pretty as well as great to paddle. I've spoken with a few folks who think they are a bit tender (they are) but that is what makes them a pleasure on the water.
I like to hang my canoes. I like to use slings, but I also hang from the seats. I also have canoes on horses and right side down on racks but right side up is my preferred storage.
I don't know how long it will be before the WW becomes a priority? If it's going to be a few years, you might want to try and position the stem and decks roughly where they belong. The Brown that I restored (also long deck St. Lawrence County boat) had been apart for quite a few years before I started to restore it. I found that the decks wanted to return to a position that was off center to the stems and lower than the inside rails, with a twist. It took me a very long time and a lot of fussing around to get everything realigned well enough to call it good.
Mike