Matting between planking and canvas

[Denis M. Kallery]

At the Rec show this past weekend I had a fella tell me that when they recanvased a canoe that he thought had the original canvas on it. They found upon removing the old canvas some sort of matting between the planking and the canvas. He thought it was a Kennebec. Said he'd send me photos of the canoe. Anyone ever hear of anything like that?
Denis

 

[Blue Viking]

I am really surprised that no one has responded to this question!...I would love to have seen an explanation....Did you ever find out the why and how-come on it?

 

[Denis M. Kallery]

Nope no responces. Denis

 

[peterng]

was the matting breathable ?

 

[Denis M. Kallery]

He didn't say- I'll try to find out.
Denis

 

[Paul Miller]

My 2 cents

I have read a number of old catalogs and books about canoe makers from all kinds of places and have never come across any account of anyone putting anything between the planking and the canvas.

All of the canoe builders who published catalogs always told the story of how they constructed their canoes. Kennebec never mentioned anything between plank and canvas.

I would question this was done at the factory or by any of the classic original builders. Keep in mind that there were up to 100 or more builders of canoes that no one now remembers that were building canoes 80 to 100 years ago.

Why do it in the first place, it only adds weight and the canvas by itself is plenty tough.

Oh, unless they were voyagers and slept on top of their canoes instead of under them.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[pklonowski]

matting

Perhaps to provide some cushioning, so rocks were less likely to crack ribs & planking?

Perhaps for insulation, while paddling on cold waters... no, that'd only work for one of those tin cans...

 

[Blue Viking]

The only mention of any kind of matting that I have found is in the history of the peterborough canoe co... At one point they used double basswood planking first layer horizontal,second lateral, with a layer of mesh netting in between...But that doesnt even come into play unless when they converted to canvas they kept that theory for the first few ....I dont know...I am just throwing that out as a theory! Not sure if it was even Peterborough,there were so many companies intertwined at one point/B]

 

[Dave Wermuth]

another guess

I have an idea that maybe the canvas only seemed to be original and that it was actually re-covered at some time later. AND the person who covered it used the fabric to hide little flaws in the planks. Like hammer blossoms?

 

[Denis M. Kallery]

All,
The guy lives about 60 miles from me and has not sent photos like he said he would. I couldn't read his e-mail address so I googled him and gave him a phone call. No answer - but I left a message on his machine. We'll see if he responds.
Denis

 

[pklonowski]

Matting

I was reading the back issues of WC (on the CDs), and in Issue 23, page 5, there's an article on Willits canoes. Without going into much detail, the article describes "(Daniel) Herald's Patent Cedar Canoe," which were "double-planked and clinch-nailed, with a layer of lead-soaked cotton between the layers." It then referes to WC #9 for more info.

Looking at WC #9, there's an article on Peterborough area canoe builders, including Daniel Herald. See page 9 of this issue for more detail, on the construction method.

If I have a chance, I'll pull the relevant pages from the pdf files & send them along, if anyone's interested... let me know...

 

[Paul Miller]

The tread started with the question of "matting" between the plank and the canvas on a traditional wood/canvas canoe.

The use of a light cotton or muslin between plank and plank on a Willits or Dan Herald is very different than putting anything between the planking of a traditional wood/canvas canoe and the canvas that covers the planking.

The marine glue soaked muslin between the layers of planking on the all wood Willits and Herald was for water proofing.

The canvas on the wood/canvas canoe is for water proofing. I can't see a need for a second layer of anything to add to the water proofing ability of the outer canvas.

A second thought came to me after my first post. The water that occasionally finds its way into a canoe will definitely makes it way to soaking that "matting" between the plank and canvas and could add a lot of weight to the canoe.

I have attached a picture of my Willits and Herald canoes just for the heck of it.

Thanks,

Paul