Old Town HW 39013

[Mark Harmon]

I recently acquired this Old Town HW canoe. the build sheet indicates that it was finished in 1916, was a CS grade with spruce gunwales and maple decks, seats and thwarts.

The hull suffered some significant damage at some point in it's life and at that time the broken ribs were patched with glass,the damage to the planking was filled with bondo, and then covered with glass including the gunwales.

The glass came off of the hull pretty easily but the gunwales were slow going with a heat gun.

Attached are some photos. Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Paul Miller]

Hi Mark,

Sorry to see no one has replied to your request for assistance.

I'll start with the assumption you're not going to make this your user/knock around boat.

Start by stripping everything; you might want to remove the outwales if they are still in place as appears in the picture.

I don't know what you've done next, but I would start by removing broken or previously glass repaired ribs. Never removed 2 adjacent ribs at the same time. If you have 6 or 7 in a row, remove every other one.

Use what ever method of rib replacement you like. I prefer to replace them in place from the inside with a girdle around the outside of the canoe. That is also why I leave the broken plank on until the ribs have been replaced. That is unless the plank is way out of shape.

If you plan to replace in the inwale I would still fasten the rib tops to the old one but not with ringshank nails.

You may need to do some research on this site for gunnel construction of the early OT canoes. You look to have a closed gunnel canoe, but you didn't mention it in your post as being on the build record. OT built Closed Gunnel canoes and Double Gunnel canoe; not the same. I have a 1913 Double Gunnel HW with solid one piece long decks.

The stem tops and inwales would be my next project; to replace or repair the ends with damage. If you don't have Rollins and Jerry's book about restoring the Maine Guide Canoe you should get it at the WHCA store.

You will learn a great deal about restoring your canoe to include steam bending new ribs and gunnels if you don't know that already.

After the inwales are good I'd replace all the broken plank. You'll find posts here with favorite methods.

While you are up at the bow and stern tips you will be making some new decks as well; your choice as to timing of when you put them in.

I usually remove the original thwarts and seats and replace the thwart and deck with a simple board; putting the refinished or rebuilt new ones in at the end.

Now you canvas and fill the canoe and wait until spring.

Hope you're still at it,

Paul

 

[Paul Miller]

Hi Again Mark,

Do you have a photo of the serial number and a better shot showing the planking pattern at either end of the canoe; profile shot of either end of the canoe. Are those rip tops tapper on one or both sides? Do you have a picture showing them meet the inwale?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Benson Gray]

You look to have a closed gunnel canoe, but you didn't mention it in your post as being on the build record. OT built Closed Gunnel canoes and Double Gunnel canoe; not the same.

The build record for this canoe didn't scan well but indicates that it had a traditional closed spruce gunwale as shown below. The pictures of a similar canoe at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?3968 and another restoration (with open gunwales) at http://www.wcha.org/Beeby-canoe/intro.html may be helpful. Good luck with the restoration,

Benson

 

[Mark Harmon]

Hi Paul,
Thanks for your response. The out wales have been removed they were not salvageable. It is a closed gunwale construction and one of the inwales has considerable rot at both ends for the last couple of feet. I am thinking that I can splice new pieces in.
Concerning rib replacement; do I need to be in a heated space when I install new ribs? Would cold temps cause problems as the ribs are drying? I am in Vermont So it definitely gets cold in the barn in the winter.

Thanks
Mark

 

[mccloud]

A heated space is not needed when installing ribs. I've steamed and bent ribs outdoors in the 30's-40's. I assume you will be cutting, shaping, & steaming the rib blanks, then bending them over the hull. My only concern - and I have no basis in fact for this- would be to let those fresh-bent ribs freeze solid before they had a chance to dry properly. I would find a way to keep wet ribs above freezing for a couple days at least, and then install them. Tom McCloud

 

[Mark Harmon]

Hi Tom,
My concern is just as you said, the wet ribs freezing before the dry. Sounds like the temp should at least be in the mid thirties?

 

[Dave Wermuth]

I've done lots of ribs in my barn.. No heat either. Never worried about freezing ribs, and suffered no ill effects. The cold tends to freeze dry maybe?

 

[Greg Nolan]

Wet laundry hung on a line to dry in freezing temperatures will freeze, then dry. Ice passing directly to gaseous water vapor is a process known as sublimation, and I expect it occurs with wet, frozen wood. Freezer-burned food is another example of the process.