Re-planking

[patrick corry]

Okay, a philosophy discussion ensues...

Please entertain me with your opinions on re-planking this 1927 Old Town 50#er. I'm planning on completing a restoration in time for a centennial splash at Assembly next year, hopefully at Paul Smiths College because the canoe was delivered to Lake Clear Junction (Saranac Lake area, NY). It was delivered to Mrs. F.B.Trudeau, wife of Dr. Francis B. Trudeau of early tuberculosis research fame. Apparently the doctor's research on Rabbit Island, within Spitfire Lake which is adjacent to Lower St. Regis Lake & the college campus (formerly the site of Paul Smith's hotel), was instrumental in understanding recovery from tuberculosis.

The canoe was apparently painted inside, mostly removed by a previous owner. I have repaired all the rib tips and stem tops. No decks, thwarts, seats, are present. The dilemma for me is the planking. It has significant damage, I think caused by removal of a prior 'skin' which may have been fiberglass. There is lots of residual filler, putty, etc. on the exterior which fills the gaps between planks.

I have been thinking of completely re-planking the canoe but I worry about the appropriateness of juxtaposing new planking with the old ribs. One advantage in re-planking is that it would enable me to remove all the white gunk from the canoe along with any paint and dirt which has migrated between ribs and existing planking.

I guess the answer lies with the intended purpose of the restored canoe. Will it be a daily user? An exhibit in someone's cabin? One thought is to donate it to the Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake; it's a center for disease research, founded by the Trudeau family. Will it be owned once complete by descendants of the original owner? Who knows, but it may have some bearing on how it gets done. I would love to hear some opinions about any of it... the aesthetics, the history, the practical details of re-planking (I know it's going to be difficult to clinch all those tacks without a form under it!).

Maybe I should re-install the upper planking I saved, make some inwales and re-install the broken outwale bits, then someone could display it as is- no canvas or interior finish... but I'd rather it become a user!

Fire away with your thoughts.

 

[MGC]

The classic post glass mess. It's often ugly.
What I generally do is make sure that I remove any remaining hardened resin that might break loose under a fresh canvas. So in this case, I would be picking the resin that is covering tack heads and also all of the resin that is visible between the planks. I would also be trying to get any resin that seeped behind ribs between the planks out. I use heat, a pocketknife, dental picks, putty knives, whatever works to pick the resin loose after it has been softened. Some of it pops loose without being heated.
I would not re-plank, but would replace those bits that were damaged when the fiberglass was carelessly ripped off. I keep pieces of scrap around that I try to re-use where I can. That helps with the color match.
That's me. I know folks who grab a can of bondo or faring compound and go to town over the damaged wood. The idea is that once the canvas is on, who cares? It kills me to use faring compound and especially that much, so I tend to either live with imperfection or repair the damage.

 

[Dave Osborn]

If it were in my shop, I would remove the worst of the worst planks and replace them with planks from a “donor” canoe of similar patina. (It pays to NOT walk away from a too far gone beater sometimes) Those planks would likely need to be planed to .125” to match original thickness on a 50Pounder.
And like Mike, I would use a heat gun to soften and remove resin. I would use Quick Fair or Total Boat equivalent to fill the smaller anomalies. Be careful when sanding where resin meets cedar. The cedar will be removed much quicker and leave a high spot where the resin was.

 

[Worth Gretter]

I agree on picking out the junk between the planks with a heat gun and sharp picks.
But for the planks damaged by the fiberglass removal, I think I would glue down the splits, then sand them down to match the contours of the hull, then fill the remaining depressions.

Be careful when sanding where resin meets cedar. The cedar will be removed much quicker and leave a high spot where the resin was.

Dave is right about that. My approach, which I admit is very unorthodox, is to mix up the epoxy filler, then thin it with lacquer thinner so it will hold more micro balloons. This makes it weaker and easier to sand. The only drawback is that evaporation of the lacquer thinner causes it to shrink (which epoxy filler does not usual do) so a second layer may be needed.

 

[Dave Osborn]

Good point about gluing down any wood flaps that could save a plank, Worth!

 

[patrick corry]

Oh man... the "keep the old planking" folks have spoken. When are the "rip it all off and start over" folks going to chime in?

Seems like am gonna need to develop a lot of patience. I did this very same thing on an old Chestnut Bobs Special... and I swore I wouldn't do it again, but here I am! Hopefully I can get this done before Fall in order to get new canvas and filler on prior to winter...

 

[Worth Gretter]

Patrick, we have seen pictures of your good work. I'm sure you can make it work either way!

 

[Dan Lindberg]

If you want to "pass on" a new canoe, it would be easier to just build a new canoe.
But if the purpose is to save and pass-on an old canoe with it's history,
I'd do what I could to save as much old wood as possible (see Dave's post).

 

[Dan Miller]

You could replace all of the planking. And if you don't like the contrast between old and new wood, you could then replace all the ribs.

 

[dtdcanoes]

So, Pat. I know you have sworn before but I have learned that for sure I have on occasion needed to repeat my boobooshka to get it right. I think this is more often the case than many care to admit. So I vote for the save as much as you can , blast ahead and share the full story only with those
you know who will appreciate your deep sense history that comes with some canoes . If you want to minimize the faring stuff get some sheets of veneer and glue it on and sand flush. Maybe add a lot of cedar dust to the glue/epoxy to feel even better. After rereading your intro I think some would say the overwhelming value of this boat, as it came to you, is its history. ( I have sworn three times and it cured me )
Dave

 

[patrick corry]

OK... the consensus is to keep the old planking. That's my honest wish also, I guess I wanted to assess other opinions before I plunged into all the scraping and picking!

I think I have a plan. I removed the top two courses of planking in order to make the rib tip repairs. I was careful to make sure the inner side of the rib repair would be covered by the inwale, so those new tips will only be visible from the end grain, sandwiched between inwale and outwale. The planking I removed was marked for position port & starboard, and I will begin by scraping (with applied heat) and cleaning those pieces on the workbench. Once I'm sure that the plan works I will remove planks one or two at a time, clean them up, then re-install after cleaning the rib backs and edges. I will likely re-install planks with tacks in new locations in order to find solid wood in which to clinch.

Here's a sample of one sheer plank portion, before and after:

So yeah... I have dedicated myself to doing the right thing. I'll save whatever I can, and do the hard things necessary! Thanks for the encouragement. I'll be sure to post progress along the way.

 

[patrick corry]

It's hot in the barn today, but the work goes easier when you wear the correct shirt...