See "The Saga of Bits & Pieces" at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/15877/page-3#post-83317 and in the Wooden Canoe Journal issue number 155 if you ever need inspiration. Good luck,
Benson
Re: Old Town #2266 - Is Probably A St. Louis Instead
- Thread starter STL2266
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See "The Saga of Bits & Pieces" at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/15877/page-3#post-83317 and in the Wooden Canoe Journal issue number 155 if you ever need inspiration. Good luck,
Benson
Shari Gnolek
Have dog, will paddle
Your enthusiasm is contagious and I look forward to seeing pictures of the restoration!
MGC
Scrapmaker
You have already figured out the first step..having a plan. I always start with that. I never consider the time or the effort or risk...only the tasks, tools and sequence. If you have the desire to get it restored and the willingness to take a bit of risk you will eventually get a chance to paddle it. Don't worry about how long it takes. In the life of that canoe a few years of restoration time is just a passing season. It took me over 45 years to get one of mine done... when we finally put it back in the water it really meant something.
Thank you all for the encouraging words and support! It'll probably be spring before I really do much (besides a good thorough washing so I can better evaluate things). I'm sure I'll have questions as I go and will do my best to document repairs as they progress and share pics here.
Hoping to touch base with Mr Hauck sometime to see if he'd be willing to discuss (maybe even take a peek at it) and help me plan the repairs before I inadvertently damage something out of ignorance. I'm only about 65 miles from St. Louis so it'd be an easy thing to run it up there for him to look at it. Seems like it'd be foolish for a novice like me to really do much without at least trying to get an expert opinion if it's possible and so close.
Hoping to touch base with Mr Hauck sometime to see if he'd be willing to discuss (maybe even take a peek at it) and help me plan the repairs before I inadvertently damage something out of ignorance. I'm only about 65 miles from St. Louis so it'd be an easy thing to run it up there for him to look at it. Seems like it'd be foolish for a novice like me to really do much without at least trying to get an expert opinion if it's possible and so close.
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monkitoucher
Canoe Curious
I had to replace 14 of the center ribs on my Bob's Special. It took a pretty good knock midship. I also bought it from a guy as a project. The inner rails were installed but cracked on the ends. The project was a bit of a mess. It ended up turning out pretty well. But definitely not a pristine trailer queen. That's OK. I had a lot of fun with it this summer. And she still gets compliments from folks who see it.
The key to a job like this is not to get too far ahead of myself. Don't remove anything without a plan to quickly make it better. Baby steps will be the mantra.
First, buy these books;
http://www.wcha.org/store/wood-canv...tory-construction-restoration-and-maintenance
http://www.wcha.org/content/old-canoe-how-restore-your-wood-canvas-canoe
Between them, you will get a good idea of how to do just about anything. Where they fall short, then this board will fill in the rest of the gaps.
I think I'd try to splint everything up externally with batons to get the shape back to as close as possible.
Then I think I'd start on the inner rails, next the ribs, and ultimately the planking.
Keeping the planking is going to act as the pattern. If you put a rib in and it causes significant gaps between the planks will tell you that the rib needs to be adjusted.
The key to a job like this is not to get too far ahead of myself. Don't remove anything without a plan to quickly make it better. Baby steps will be the mantra.
First, buy these books;
http://www.wcha.org/store/wood-canv...tory-construction-restoration-and-maintenance
http://www.wcha.org/content/old-canoe-how-restore-your-wood-canvas-canoe
Between them, you will get a good idea of how to do just about anything. Where they fall short, then this board will fill in the rest of the gaps.
I think I'd try to splint everything up externally with batons to get the shape back to as close as possible.
Then I think I'd start on the inner rails, next the ribs, and ultimately the planking.
Keeping the planking is going to act as the pattern. If you put a rib in and it causes significant gaps between the planks will tell you that the rib needs to be adjusted.
Thank you for the book recommendations. Got this book to start out with - EXCELLENT!!!
This Old Canoe: How to Restore Your Wood Canvas Canoe
Author:
Mike Elliott
The other will have to wait for awhile, but it's on my "Christmas wish list" - maybe I'll get lucky!
This Old Canoe: How to Restore Your Wood Canvas Canoe
Author:
Mike Elliott
The other will have to wait for awhile, but it's on my "Christmas wish list" - maybe I'll get lucky!
monkitoucher
Canoe Curious
Mike's book is really well done. I depended on it a bit more for technique and restoration information. His stuff mainly focuses on Chestnut/Canadian style canoe restoration. He also has a blog. https://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/tag/this-old-canoe/
Jerry's book is mainly focused on the build process, history, with a lot of repair information. It has a bit where he uses battens to shore up the hull while ribs are replaced. His stuff is centered around Old Town/Maine canoes.
Between the two I found myself leaning on one or the other depending on what it was that I was doing.
Jerry's book is mainly focused on the build process, history, with a lot of repair information. It has a bit where he uses battens to shore up the hull while ribs are replaced. His stuff is centered around Old Town/Maine canoes.
Between the two I found myself leaning on one or the other depending on what it was that I was doing.
Thank you for the book suggestions and the link to the blog! I was thinking the books probably complemented each other and if I had both there would probably be very little that couldn't be figured out. There are some really good videos on YT by several people that I've found are quite helpful too. I plan to use it all!
Next step is to get it somewhere I can clean it up really well and assess the damages thoroughly, then come up with a plan of attack.
At present I am expecting the biggest challenge will be getting the longitudinal 'twist' out. Hoping things will spring back to normal as damaged areas are removed. I think the broken and deformed ribs and gunwales are 'locking' the twist in at present so it'll gradually fix itself as I remove/replace them. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me at all if I end up having to build some sort of a full hull form, disassemble until everything gets to the point I can move things around enough to fit the hull onto the form and then rebuild out from there, reestablishing and stabilizing to the correct original shape as I go.
Making and fitting individual replacement pieces like the ribs, etc. isn't too intimidating. It just takes practice, time, some wasted materials and patience to become an 'experienced expert', right? Time will tell...
Next step is to get it somewhere I can clean it up really well and assess the damages thoroughly, then come up with a plan of attack.
At present I am expecting the biggest challenge will be getting the longitudinal 'twist' out. Hoping things will spring back to normal as damaged areas are removed. I think the broken and deformed ribs and gunwales are 'locking' the twist in at present so it'll gradually fix itself as I remove/replace them. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me at all if I end up having to build some sort of a full hull form, disassemble until everything gets to the point I can move things around enough to fit the hull onto the form and then rebuild out from there, reestablishing and stabilizing to the correct original shape as I go.
Making and fitting individual replacement pieces like the ribs, etc. isn't too intimidating. It just takes practice, time, some wasted materials and patience to become an 'experienced expert', right? Time will tell...
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