Rail Caps and Side rails on a Morris

[Howie]

Just found this posting from Scott Rowe on 6/20/2018: https://forums.wcha.org/threads/morris-open-gunnel-short-rail-cap-dimensions.15523/

Very interesting. I'm restoring a 17' Morris (#14067), and its deck & rail tips looks identical to the pic provided by Michael Grace (the 5th reply). Michael provided very very good information on the dimensions of the rail cap - especially on the 'inlet' at the start of the deck.

Now what can you folks tell me about the side rails? What were the overall dimensions? I'm guessing ~1" x 3/16". And did they taper a bit as they reached the pointy end of the deck - and if so when did the taper begin and how much did it taper?

Here's the pic Michael supplied:

 

[ReedLeb]

Hi Howie, I have Morris #5873, a 17', Model A, Type 3, so all Mahogany with long decks closed gunwale. I believe the side rail trim is the similar to the top trim. Mine is 1" wide and about 1/4" thick with 1/4" radius roundover edges. The ends do tape over about 2' of length to about 5/8"-11/16. I'm guessing they were steam bent since they have held the curve for quite some time while off the boat. Hope that helps.
Reed

 

[Benson Gray]

The link below has the dimensions and pictures of two Old Towns with closed gunwales from 1914 and 1919 if that helps. These may be similar to your Morris. Good luck,

Benson

Post in thread 'Old Town Circa 1940?'

Sep 14, 2008

I have attached some pictures of my blue 1914 fifty pound model (which currently weighs 63 pounds) and my green 1919 HW model along with copies of the original build records which both indicate closed spruce gunwales.

My rough measurements of the fifty pound model indicate that the inside gunwale is about 7/8 of an inch wide (horizontally) by 3/4 of an inch thick (vertically) in the middle. The outside gunwale is about 13/16 of an inch wide (vertically) by 1/4 of an inch thick (horizontally) in the middle and tapers to about 5/8 of an inch wide at the ends. The top rail cap is about...

• Benson Gray

 

[B.C.W.]

Hi Howie I have a 1913 Kennebec closed gunwales with a splayed stem and riveted stem bands so it’s almost a morris the rail caps top and bottom measure the same mine are 15/16 wide and 3/16 thick they taper to 3/4 wide at the tip they start to taper at 19 - 20 inches from end of canoe. The caps most likely start out at 1 in but after rounding edges winds up 15/16
Good luck

Bruce

 

[Howie]

Thanks folks. I continued searching through the threads after I asked for help, and rather quickly found that I had asked the same question a few years ago with another Morris. One would think I'd take notes...

I'll be doing 1"x1/4" caps and 13/16"x1/4" rails. I had some 10ft cherry I took as partial payment on a canoe a few years back and just milled out the needed pieces. They're in the pool now soaking up water. I'll bend the rails in a few days (and make good use of these 90deg days). We'll see if they crack!

BTW... I always make forms for bending the last few feet of rails (instead of bending on the canoe itself) and I found a form that I had made a several years ago for a Penn Yan Rainbow that exactly matches the curve on this Morris. Interesting that this Morris and the Rainbow had the same upsweep at the at the decks. But of course the profile of the stems are different.

Here's another question: Do you folks varnish the inner surfaces of the caps & rails? I always do as I feel that's a great way to help stave off rot. Bending on a form allows me to exaggerate the bend the wood needs to take spring and takes spring-back into account. But I don't how you deal with spring-back if you bend on the canoe itself. So I'm thinking that when bending on the canoe you must screw or tack the caps/rails in place once the wood has sat there long enough. Which means that the inner surfaces don't get varnished. Am I wrong? Certainly I've never seen a canoe from a manufacturer where the caps/rails were varnished on their inner surface.

 

[patrick corry]

Do you folks varnish the inner surfaces of the caps & rails?

Timely question. I just this afternoon re-installed a mahogany outwale that I had previously steam bent on the canoe (directly on the filled canvas). After shaping the squared/rabbetted stock, I shaped the profile on the canoe. After a week or so to dry fully I removed them, sanded, colored, and varnished the rails... back side too! I just re-installed the first one this afternoon, and while it did not retain its full curve, it was enough to easily install on the fully painted canoe. There's a little bit of beeswax on the screw heads here and there...

 

[Howie]

Patrick: Sorry - I wasn't specific enough with my question. I can see how you can bend your rails on the canoe, let 'em take a set, remove them, varnish the inner sides, and reinstall them... because they have a very gentle upsweep bend to them. Here's my Morris in the foreground and a Thompson Hiawatha in the background. Now there's a bend with some springback!

Nice job on the canoe BTW!

 

[patrick corry]

Ooh, yeah... that's a little more dramatic upsweep!