Hi Folks
Old post. I hope it's still active.
I have Chris' Racine Navajo #19 here in Rochester, NY. I commissioned this in 198? when Chris and Ellen were still here and I was their attorney.
Tragedy struck about two years later when my office bookshelf, where this beauty was displayed, collapsed from the weight of law books. I was buried in books and the canoe was crushed - two pieces.
Chris was dismayed (an understatement), "First, I hate you. Second, I can't fix it". "C'mon, Chris, sure you can. Just like you would restore the real thing!" and dropped it off at his home. Six months (?) later, it was back on the shelf - re-glued and screwed (the shelf - not the canoe). Perfect restoration. What a craftsman.
Complaint - the center thwart keeps falling out. It seems to be about 1/4 inch short leaving too little to take enough glue to last through the change of seasons. I was fabricating a longer replacement but it dawned on me that maybe there were supposed to be 4 thwarts instead of three and I was mis-placing the "short" one to the widest point in the center and it belonged closer to an end. I called up a photo on-line and found this discussion and pictures. Nope - three thwarts.
At the risk of touching up a Picasso, .... First try in cherry is still too clunky. Needs another 10 minutes of fine sanding. Besides, it should be mahogany. You out there Chris?
Chris Werner
Rochester, NY
mistrfix@aol.com
cwerner@boylancode.com