Old Town?

[MGC]

We hear you and since collectively we have done many dozens of restorations, we are passing along our opinions. Benson likes to say "it's your canoe", do with it what pleases you. It's not a historically significant hull so however you choose to go, there is no damage done. If the existing finish is good, there is no harm in leaving it. If it's peeling, bubbling, failing, you can hope to get enough "tooth" to get a fresh finish to hold.
If you are really keen on keeping what is there and a furniture/antique guy, you may have a can of the right color RestorAFinish around to apply. That is a product I often use when I am trying to preserve an old finish, on furniture.
That to the side, what's the deal with using webbing on the seats? That's far beyond refinishing in terms of straying from originality, at least in my book.

 

[Gregory Messier]

I did the webbing on the seats just from a practicality, durability and comfort standpoint as the ‘42 is our regular use/fishing canoe. I’ll be caning the seats on the Charles River.

 

[Gregory Messier]

Oh and I was too chicken at the time to try caning the seats.

 

[MGC]

Oh and I was too chicken at the time to try caning the seats.

When I was in High School I had the privilege to work in an architect's office doing mostly grunt work, build books, that sort of thing. When I was doing elevation drawings, I got to enjoy the company of the senior (only) draftsman in the office. He was one of those guys who could draw a straighter line free hand (drunk, he was always a bit over the edge) than I could with a straight edge. I learned from him a line I later used when I took drafting classes. "I can erase more in 15 minutes than I can draw in a whole day".
I have since learned that caning is a very similar kind of thing. I can un-cane more in a few minutes than I can cane in a few hours. Frankly, I am not very good at it. My solution to that is my friend Howie. Howie loves to cane and he's awfully good at it. The only shortcoming of a Howie caning job is that he likes to apply creative flair to the jobs. I'm looking for a Morris pattern, he's giving me the Howie type B pattern. That sort of thing. Thats my story.
Caning is not very hard to do. It is something that anyone who has a bit of patience can do an adequate job of. And (IMHO) caned seats are infinitely better for canoe seats than just about anything else. You can shift and slide on a caned seat. It doesn't grip you and lock you in the way that other materials do. The downside is that it is not a forever product. Eventually it cracks and breaks and needs to be replaced.
You need to find a Howie.

 

[Gregory Messier]

With any luck I won’t completely butcher it.

 

[Gregory Messier]

What’s the best way to get slightly cupped original planks to lay down? Hot water and more tacks?

 

[Howie]

Here I am Mike! And FYI, I'm just itching to cane the 2 seats for the IG right now, but I promised myself that I'll wait until January or February to do so as I'll be desperate then for a fun project.

 

[MGC]

What’s the best way to get slightly cupped original planks to lay down? Hot water and more tacks?

How badly are they cupped? How about a picture or two.
It's hard to alter the memory of a piece of wood that has sat in the same place for 100 or so years. Sometimes you can get away with retacking but in other cases leaving it as is and trimming some of the raised edges (if that is the problem) is a "fix" Since it's easier to split than flatten, badly cupped or split planking is easiest to repair by replacing it. Or, and again depending upon the piece and where it sits and how bad it is, placing a wet cloth over the wood and using a steam iron over the wet cloth, you can soften up the wood enough to bend it and hopefully tack it down without breaking it.

Howie, I have some Carleton seats that need cane. I haven't stripped them though so I'm not sure when I can put them in your back log.

 

[Howie]

You're on. Pop over and you can see the IG. I'll be keeping it in the garage all winter. And you can have a look at the Veazie next to it - I'm still thinking about how to deal with the inner rails - I hate pocketed ribs!

 

[Gregory Messier]

What’s the best way to get slightly cupped original planks to lay down? Hot water and more tacks?

Most notable is the second plank down from the gunwales. I hope you can see it in the picture.

 

[MGC]

Greg,
The picture tells the story, don't it. You could leave that as is but when you canvas there will be a high spot at the pucker. Your filler will be very hard to sand smoothly on either side of it. I'd be inclined to replace that. I doubt you will be able to pull the middle down but before you replace you could try. Pull the tacks near the seams and the tack the plank from the middle to see what happens. If you pull the pucker down, I'm guessing the edges will break when you tack the edges. If you re-plank, a stripped canoe will be easier to blend the new wood into.

Howie...I need some trap loads. Pete's is in your neighborhood. I might stop by this week. I have to check with Pete's to see what they have in stock first. I'll let you know.
Mike

 

[Gregory Messier]

Thanks Mike!

 

[Gregory Messier]

I haven’t posted progress in a while but it’s moving along. I got the broken deck fixed, replaced a rib, did some back side rib repairs scarfed in a new stern stem and did some planking work. Overall I’m pretty happy with it so far. The cupped planks laid down just fine with some more tacks which was great!

Question about fairing the hull prior to canvas: how much am I able to sand it fair since the planks are only 3/16 thick? Do you guys use fairing compound on the hull at all?

 

[Dave Osborn]

You can fair the hull only as much as it allows. I use 60 grit on a random orbital sander.
You can use a fairing compound where there are spots to fill. Be sure that no compound gets between the planks, as it will show through on the inside. Typically you don’t need to fill tack holes, as the canvas will bridge those.
When you sand, you will likely expose tack heads that are proud. You should take the time to re-clinch them, or they will show up in your finished product.

 

[Gregory Messier]

I got the first pass done with the random orbital and am still seeing low spots at the seems. Does the canvas typically “float” over these low spots or should I remove more material?

 

[Dave Osborn]

Wood changes over time. What was likely a very fair hull in 1910 is now full of lumps, humps, and low spots.
You can apply a marine grade fairing compound to fill in areas that you think need it. In general, unless the area has real tight planking or is under the decks where you can’t see it, stay away from planking gaps. After it cures, sand it smooth to blend in with the adjacent wood. You may need more than one application to completely fill the areas. It will likely never be perfect, but you can remediate some bad areas.
I use a product from Jamestown Distributors called Total Fair. It’s a 2 part epoxy compound. I’ve been using it for many years with no failure.

 

[Gregory Messier]

View attachment 52446
Wood changes over time. What was likely a very fair hull in 1910 is now full of lumps, humps, and low spots.
You can apply a marine grade fairing compound to fill in areas that you think need it. In general, unless the area has real tight planking or is under the decks where you can’t see it, stay away from planking gaps. After it cures, sand it smooth to blend in with the adjacent wood. You may need more than one application to completely fill the areas. It will likely never be perfect, but you can remediate some bad areas.
I use a product from Jamestown Distributors called Total Fair. It’s a 2 part epoxy compound. I’ve been using it for many years with no failure.

Thank you Dave that is super helpful. I’ll take some more material off where I think I can get away with it and use fairing compound as you suggest.

 

[Dave Osborn]

Greg, the fairing you’ve done may highlight more planks that are cupped and need tacks to pull the planks down to the ribs. Don’t fair so much that you compromise the tack heads, and re-clinch the ones that the sander shined up.

 

[Gregory Messier]

Smile and keep sanding.

I have a lot of clinching to do for sure but I think I was able to sand it fair in most places without compromising the planking too much. I did have to tack some more cupped planks down in the process.

I really appreciate the advice Dave!

 

[Todd F]

Greg, what grit(s) are you using. Big difference!