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JimT
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
perfect, thanks Dave. good to get back to work on this!!
Possible new project: choosing between two boats?
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perfect, thanks Dave. good to get back to work on this!!
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JimT
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
So decided to pull the screws for the middle section of the keelson to see what would happen. I had suspected the middle piece is a previous repair job. It popped right out and had no screws holding it in place from underneath. I'll get the bracing in place tomorrow and then pull the keel off to see what the bottom looks like.
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JimT
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
Didn't get to the point of flipping the boat over today, but got the keel off and pulled the rest of the fiberglass, then put the seat rails in and screwed in a single seat. Could use tips on what other braces/attachment points might be helpful. Seems to me that a couple of simple straps around the boat would help hold it together also. Where it stands tonight:
on edit: here is what I've rigged for bracing, the straps seem to help the two halves stay tighter together. It occurs to me that figuring out the keelson replacement is a pretty high priority.
on edit: here is what I've rigged for bracing, the straps seem to help the two halves stay tighter together. It occurs to me that figuring out the keelson replacement is a pretty high priority.
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JimT
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
Looking pretty much like I'll just pull the bottom two planks to access the two ends of the original keelson. Got the sternward section of the keelson out yesterday, as Dave said there are lots of hidden nails and screws. Gives me a better sense of how the boat was assembled and in what order. Still working on finding a mahogany strip for the keelson.
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JimT
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
So the curveball yesterday was that the "front piece" of the keelson that I thought would be removable turned out to be the stem. Someone along the way had cut a kerf in the stem which threw me off--pics below to show what I mean. Just never occurred to me that that would be the case. (I need to get better at my wood identification, I assume the stem is oak?)
The good news is that I did find out that about 6-8 inches of the sternward section are dry rotted, so my plan is to lop off that section and replace the keelson up to around the point of the blue tape in the picture below.
With luck I'll have a piece of mahogany in hand next week to start fashioning the keelson. Between now and then I'll try to get the rib ends and remaining floor planking cleaned up.
The good news is that I did find out that about 6-8 inches of the sternward section are dry rotted, so my plan is to lop off that section and replace the keelson up to around the point of the blue tape in the picture below.
With luck I'll have a piece of mahogany in hand next week to start fashioning the keelson. Between now and then I'll try to get the rib ends and remaining floor planking cleaned up.
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JimT
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
The curveball from last week turned out to be a double curveball. I had messaged Dave Osborn who mentioned the half lap joint that would have been used originally between the keelson and the stem, so I went back with better light, some scrapers, and more patience, and found out he was right. So . . . here's where it stands today.
Went to PA yesterday to pick up the mahogany to make the replacement keelson--the three pieces I pulled from the boat are on top of the board. Turns out my estimated length was an inch short, but that shouldn't create a problem, I'll just tuck a small beveled piece of mahogany scrap up under the bow stem to fill the space (or else scarf a short extension to the keelson). So now it's on to fabrication.
Also got the wider board in the photos, which has some figure to it. Need to replace one of the corner braces, hope to find it in the wide piece. pics below.
on edit: my hand planing skills leave a bit to be desired, but I think I found my corner brace
Went to PA yesterday to pick up the mahogany to make the replacement keelson--the three pieces I pulled from the boat are on top of the board. Turns out my estimated length was an inch short, but that shouldn't create a problem, I'll just tuck a small beveled piece of mahogany scrap up under the bow stem to fill the space (or else scarf a short extension to the keelson). So now it's on to fabrication.
Also got the wider board in the photos, which has some figure to it. Need to replace one of the corner braces, hope to find it in the wide piece. pics below.
on edit: my hand planing skills leave a bit to be desired, but I think I found my corner brace
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JimT
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
Weekly update. Got the mahogany board planed on both sides, not the most stable workpiece setup ever, but it got the job done.
I could use some advice on which line to cut through this piece of mahogany for the keelson. The board has a crook, and my thinking was to cut what I need along the outer edge to follow the taper of the keelson-to-be. I was also thinking that leaves me quite a lot of extra board leftover in case I need to do another one of these in the future. The photos show what this would look like.
But I'm wondering about the dimensional stability of the board--would it be better to go straight down the middle? or along some other cutting line given the grain pattern etc? just curious what folks think here. Ultimately I'm more concerned about the stability of the keelson than I am about waste. Also am I cutting it too close to the edge of the board?
I could use some advice on which line to cut through this piece of mahogany for the keelson. The board has a crook, and my thinking was to cut what I need along the outer edge to follow the taper of the keelson-to-be. I was also thinking that leaves me quite a lot of extra board leftover in case I need to do another one of these in the future. The photos show what this would look like.
But I'm wondering about the dimensional stability of the board--would it be better to go straight down the middle? or along some other cutting line given the grain pattern etc? just curious what folks think here. Ultimately I'm more concerned about the stability of the keelson than I am about waste. Also am I cutting it too close to the edge of the board?
