My 1964 15-50 restoration; take two

[Tom Heys]

I'm not sure where to start, or more properly restart. I have owned this canoe for more than 25 years and it has spent way too little time on the water. It's been stripped of canvas, and keel, outwales, seats and thwart have been removed. Its shape has been stabilized with temporary hardwood boards to "stand in" for the seats/thwarts. Its got serious dezincification of the brass tacks and I anticipate that I will have to completely re-tack.
Several ribs will need replacement, and also several feet of planking. Also, though I thought I had stored the outwales appropriately, they have both taken on some funky curves while off the canoe.
I think that is the extent of the bad news. On the flip side, I have taken the canoe down from the rafters (collar ties) in the garage and moved it to my shop space in the basement where I have all of the the tools I should need and some good illumination. Also, I am a member of the Norumbega chapter and have recently been participating in the chapter's latest restoration project. So, I have been rubbing elbows, quite literally, with some other members on Saturday mornings in Steve Lapey's "modest" shop space. I also have a fairly spacious workshop of my own and have been "making sawdust" with new and old tools for most of my life - 70 years and counting. My shop is well equipped and I feel confident that the woodworking aspect of this project should not be wicked challenging for me, but who knows!
It's the intricacies of W/C canoes that will be my biggest challenge. The planking is very dry and seems quite delicate. So... where do I start? The interior looks pretty good, so I hate to initiate the varnish stripping process if it isn't necessary. Should I address the dry planking before re-tacking? Do it try to remove the old tacks before/after re-tacking?
I'm sure many more questions will arise as this process continues and I thank all who might share the knowledge and experience which I lack.
Thanks, Tom

 

[MGC]

Pictures would help but a few quick thoughts.....if you have a major concern about dezincification, you should, start out by stripping the canoe. The salts have penetrated the wood. Then TSP and bleach. When you re-finish, use thinned good quality marine spar for the first coats. I would do that (stripping) before repairing anything or re-tacking.
After that I might want to soup up the planking from the outside. I mix a blend of BLO, turpentine and mineral spirits that I apply warm.
WRT the rails, they will probably go right back into shape when you eventually install them.
Mike

 

[Worth Gretter]

I was also worried about the planking on my canoe. But as I put it all back together, I stopped worrying. I realized that a canoe is a monocoque structure. The combination of ribs, planking, canvas, filler, paint, gunwales, etc, all work together to make it strong.