Repair Project Freight Damaged Northwoods Canoe Morris 15 - Part II

BCam

Curious about Wooden Canoes
I've finally finished my project and it's been less than a year (barely)! I was ready to paint last winter but held off for warmer weather. In the meantime, other priorities got in the way but it's done now, except for a few touch-ups. Here are some photos of the finished canoe -- I'll add some more after it's launched.

This Morris 15 replica was originally built by Rollin's Northwoods Canoe Co. as a sweepstakes prize for the Pemmican Jerky company and was damaged in shipping to the point it was a total loss. I traded an old Schwinn tandem for it at a garage sale. For those interested, Part I of my report can be found at:

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.p...hwoods-Canoe-15-Morris-Replica&highlight=BCam

I found the filling process was the most daunting and much more stressful than the job of replacing 22 out of 32 ribs. I think the low humidity and high heat of our Sacramento area summer made it especially difficult. It will look great on the water but the fill and paint jobs wouldn't stand up to the original builder's (Rollin Thurlow) standards. I finished it with two coats of Interlux Pre Kote primer and four coats of Interlux Brightside Polyurethane enamel (#4247 Sea Green). It's not a 100% accurate restoration since it was blue when it left Rollin's shop but green is my wife's favorite color.

I'd like to thank everyone who gave me the benefit of their advice and encouragement with a special thanks to both Rollin Thurlow and Mark Adams. Mark came all the way from Reno to help me canvas the canoe last summer.

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I should have added that I'm a first-time canoe owner and don't know the first thing about paddling it. I don't think I've paddled a canoe since boy scout camp sometime around 1960. Since then it's been sailboats and kayaks.
 
What a wonderful story to salvage an otherwise lost canoe. Well done on the restoration...I'm sure you'll enjoy every paddle stroke with it.
 
The Morris 15' is finally been re-christened and launched as "Pemmican", the same name that Rollin gave it. I launched it last Friday (photos) and, on Sunday, went on a 3 1/2 hour guided paddle at a local wildlife preserve. I haven't paddled a canoe since Boy Scouts and, at that, never learned how to paddle properly so this was quite an experience. And, yes, that's tequila that I'm using to christen it, besides it happens to have the same name as my surname (no relation).

On Sunday, about half-way through the trip, I finally was able to do a halfway effective J-stroke and was able to get in 100 yards or so before having to switch sides. I may be doing it wrong but it seems to work better once I've built up a bit of speed. The sooner I get some instruction from someone who knows what they're doing, the better.

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You look right at home in your canoe, and I'm sure your paddling soon will be as fine as your reconstruction work. Nice canoed, nice work.
 
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