smallboatshop
Restorers
Today I looked at this canoe:
18' about 35 1/2" wide and 12" deep
Open gunwale with long decks
Tapered ribs
Massachusetts like thwarts
Short, heart shaped decks are underneath the long decks
Gunwales are rounded and nailed from the inside
Decks and deck trim pieces are also nailed
The current owner's father had begun to fiberglass the hull and had taped all the spaces between the planks apparently to minimize seepage of resin or wood filler. He didn't remove the gunwales, but ran the cloth up to about an inch below them. There appears to be wood filler applied to the hull before the fiberglass, probably to smooth the surface. This filler obscures much of the planking joints at the gores, but from what one can see, the gores are normal.
The canoe had outside stems and a keel which are now gone. I have seen a Kennebec with nailed gunwales - from the outside; but never a Kennebec with wide thwarts. Most all of the Charles River canoes that I've worked on had closed gunwales, and untapered ribs - Arnold, Nutting and Robertson so I don't know how they attached gunwales in their open gunwale models or if they hand models with tapered ribs.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Dan
18' about 35 1/2" wide and 12" deep
Open gunwale with long decks
Tapered ribs
Massachusetts like thwarts
Short, heart shaped decks are underneath the long decks
Gunwales are rounded and nailed from the inside
Decks and deck trim pieces are also nailed
The current owner's father had begun to fiberglass the hull and had taped all the spaces between the planks apparently to minimize seepage of resin or wood filler. He didn't remove the gunwales, but ran the cloth up to about an inch below them. There appears to be wood filler applied to the hull before the fiberglass, probably to smooth the surface. This filler obscures much of the planking joints at the gores, but from what one can see, the gores are normal.
The canoe had outside stems and a keel which are now gone. I have seen a Kennebec with nailed gunwales - from the outside; but never a Kennebec with wide thwarts. Most all of the Charles River canoes that I've worked on had closed gunwales, and untapered ribs - Arnold, Nutting and Robertson so I don't know how they attached gunwales in their open gunwale models or if they hand models with tapered ribs.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Dan
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