Newbie looking for help restoring Huron!

[babinke]

Hey all, After getting help from these forums on identifying where my canoe came from, Im looking for some advice on how to do certain things. Ive been on Kettle river canoeguys blog and there is alot of information but theres a few things that I couldnt find and need help with. The canoe is 15ft long.

Ive been looking around for ash for my gunwales for awhile now and finally found a 17ft length, 1inch thick and 3 1/2 inches wide but its not enough to do all the gunwales. I can get smaller lengths and make a scarf joint.

1. If I had to make scarf joints, should I make the joints on the inwales or outwales? 12:1?

2. I assume the ash that I have is pretty dry so should I soak the wood underwater for a few days then steam it? How long?

3. When steaming do I have to steam the entire length at once or can I put one end in and bend it then the other? Is there a way to clamp it to the old gunwales and form it that way?

4. Ive seen some guys use jigs to bend the gunwales but how do they bend it to form their canoe... Does it have to be near perfect or once its bent a little itll fit easier?

5. Can I use Oak for the thwarts?

6. The tops of the ribs are split a little where the screws hold the gunwales together. The canoe was fiberglassed over which would make it a massive job to fix the ribs. Could I use an adhesive of some sort? Or should I cut the tops off and scarf joint small pieces to the ends?

7. The outwale has a 3/16" x 5/8" cut taken out of the length to overlap the planking and canvas(fiberglass). Should I make the cut before bending or after bending?

Any suggestions or help is appreciated..

Thanks
Keith

 

[Andre Cloutier]

that dimension ash should be enough to make 2 outer rails no problem, and with hurons typically the upsweep is not dramatic so you shouldnt need to use a jig or soak them much if at all. Fasten it starting in middle and work toward the ends, if you find it needs steam put a plastic pipe around the last 2 feet or so and steam it for 1o or 15 minutes, its not a dramatic rise. White oak is fine but likely the canoe was trimmed in maple, that should be easy to find. post some pictures of it if you can, this all assumes its in original as-built condition. if its been glassed or rotted from the original verolite covering then it might require some more custom touches.

Hey all, After getting help from these forums on identifying where my canoe came from, Im looking for some advice on how to do certain things. Ive been on Kettle river canoeguys blog and there is alot of information but theres a few things that I couldnt find and need help with. The canoe is 15ft long.

Ive been looking around for ash for my gunwales for awhile now and finally found a 17ft length, 1inch thick and 3 1/2 inches wide but its not enough to do all the gunwales. I can get smaller lengths and make a scarf joint.

1. If I had to make scarf joints, should I make the joints on the inwales or outwales? 12:1?

2. I assume the ash that I have is pretty dry so should I soak the wood underwater for a few days then steam it? How long?

3. When steaming do I have to steam the entire length at once or can I put one end in and bend it then the other? Is there a way to clamp it to the old gunwales and form it that way?

4. Ive seen some guys use jigs to bend the gunwales but how do they bend it to form their canoe... Does it have to be near perfect or once its bent a little itll fit easier?

5. Can I use Oak for the thwarts?

6. The tops of the ribs are split a little where the screws hold the gunwales together. The canoe was fiberglassed over which would make it a massive job to fix the ribs. Could I use an adhesive of some sort? Or should I cut the tops off and scarf joint small pieces to the ends?

7. The outwale has a 3/16" x 5/8" cut taken out of the length to overlap the planking and canvas(fiberglass). Should I make the cut before bending or after bending?

Any suggestions or help is appreciated..

Thanks
Keith

 

[bluedcanoed]

Check out Mike Eklliot's blog at http://www.canoeshop.ca/ He has a section about Huron canoes.

Bob