outside stems
- Thread starter owlsroost
- Start date
Adirondack1
Curious about Wooden Canoes
The disadvantages would be just the time it takes to make, install and maintain them. The inside stem is made wider than normal to facilitate mounting the outside stem. This can sometimes be accomplished by taking a belt sander to the existing inside stem and removing enough material for at least a 5/8th inch wide mounting surface. This of course needs to be done before canvasing
The advantages are -- they add to the strength of the bow, (and stern if you're backing up) which is often subjected to impacts such as: running into rocks, docks, boats, or anything else that a novice canoe-er might happen upon... Yes, and they look pretty nice too.
The advantages are -- they add to the strength of the bow, (and stern if you're backing up) which is often subjected to impacts such as: running into rocks, docks, boats, or anything else that a novice canoe-er might happen upon... Yes, and they look pretty nice too.
Howie
Wooden Canoe Maniac
Seems to me that there are two types of 'outside stems'.
There's the showy type, maybe 7/8" thick. Although they're a pain to stem & bend, once attached they are easily sanded down to match the width of the brass stem band and so have a nice 'pointy' look. And when they are attached on top of the canoe they can look just great when varnished. I had a Penn Yan Rainbow that was just gorgeous.
Then there's the other type that gets nailed atop the inner stem and gets covered with canvas. These tend to be much thinner. It's purpose is simply to provide a good surface on which to nail the canvas end flaps. You use them when the inner stem is in decent condition but has a lot of tack holes from previous recanvassing jobs.
There's the showy type, maybe 7/8" thick. Although they're a pain to stem & bend, once attached they are easily sanded down to match the width of the brass stem band and so have a nice 'pointy' look. And when they are attached on top of the canoe they can look just great when varnished. I had a Penn Yan Rainbow that was just gorgeous.
Then there's the other type that gets nailed atop the inner stem and gets covered with canvas. These tend to be much thinner. It's purpose is simply to provide a good surface on which to nail the canvas end flaps. You use them when the inner stem is in decent condition but has a lot of tack holes from previous recanvassing jobs.
