Rattan instead of spruce root for gunwale wraps?

[Fred Lucas]

I need to do some repairs to my bark canoe. Spruce roots are not as plentiful in Southern Indiana as the North. Rattan is available in craft shops and online. While not traditional, will it work for gunwale wraps and lashing thwarts in place?

Thanks in Advance.

Fred

 

[Benson Gray]

I suspect that Rattan would work, although it may not last as long. Some of the early canvas canoe builders used cane instead of spruce root. Another option is to contact some of the birch bark canoe builders to see if they will sell you some spruce root. Several options are listed at the links below. Good luck,

Benson

BIRCH BARK CANOES by Ferdy Goode……. {HOME}

I am proud and honored to be part of a very small guild of master birch bark canoe builders and basket makers who keep alive the almost extinct traditional techniques of hand crafting these vessels…

beaverbarkcanoes.wordpress.com

Steve Cayard :: Birchbark Canoe Builder

Steve Cayard builds traditional Wabanaki style birchbark canoes in the tradition of the north eastern Native American tribes

stevecayard.com

Birch Bark Canoe

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

Snowshoe rawhide might be another option. Stretched wet, it will then shrink up tightly. I used it for the faux gunwale wraps on my big strip fur trade canoe (faux because drilling a bunch of holes along the gunwales of a stripper is asking for serious trouble). When the boat got refurbished and painted after about 40 years, I replaced the rawhide with a vinyl made for lawn chair webbing due to the presence of mice in its current storage area, but I really doubt that you want to add vinyl to a real bark canoe.