Repair questions #15445 17

[jordan]

I have a few questions about making some repairs:
The canoe is 1911 CS grade CR model
The receipt says spruce gunwales - they look like red cedar, please look at the pic - comments?
What should the scarf length be for the gunwale repair?
It is hard to read the serial # - should I scrape off the 2+ coats of varnish or use remover?
I can't find pic's of the seat caining - only one set of holes on one side
The canvas looks in good shape, one 3/4" slice - the paint is pealing, the pic shows one of the worst areas, can I prep & repaint?
Thank you, Jordan

 

[Jan Bloom]

old spruce can oxidize (age) dark and may look sort of like aged red cedar.

 

[jordan]

Thanks Jan - any suggestions where I can get a 2' piece of "aged oxidized spruce" to match 100 year old gunwale material?

 

[Benson Gray]

Can you post some pictures of the serial numbers and surrounding areas from each end? The information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?791 may help with the digits that are hard to read. These pictures don't match the build record for serial number 15445 very well. The half ribs weren't mentioned. This canoe has open gunwales not closed. The inside gunwale may be mahogany which would indicate an AA grade not CS grade spruce. It appears that the canvas really needs to be replaced so I wouldn't waste much time trying to make it look good. The rear seat has probably had three sides replaced in a prior repair. The information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?61 may help you rebuild and re-cane it. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Not likely to be red cedar, if it's an OT, the highest probablility is spruce.
>The receipt says spruce gunwales - they look like red cedar, please look at the pic - comments?

8-10 to 1 taper
>What should the scarf length be for the gunwale repair?

use chem stripper, on all of the wood.
>It is hard to read the serial # - should I scrape off the 2+ coats of varnish or use remover?

I can't find pic's of the seat caining - only one set of holes on one side

it's not - re-canvas is not hard. You'll be a lot happier if you do.
>The canvas looks in good shape, one 3/4" slice - the paint is pealing, the pic shows one of the worst areas, can I prep & repaint?

aged spruce - from your last project.

Dan

 

[Greg Nolan]

I agree that this canoe is not a good candidate for a simple repainting. The canvas looks as though it may be mildewed, and in any event, the paint that has not flaked and chipped off already is likely ready to go at the least provocation.

New paint is only as good as what it is put on. It will not prevent old flaking paint from continuing to flake.

I have often suggested that a few more years of use can be got out of an aged canvas with distressed paint -- I’ve done it myself. But yours does not seem a good candidate for this -- I think you’d be very lucky to get even a year of use after a repaint before further flaking and chipping paint will lead to leaks.

Check out this link for some discussion of the issue, and for links to yet further discussion.

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?8906-Repaint-Tips[/url

You will be happier with new canvas as well as new paint.
Greg

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

The cross section of the inside rail looks like it could be mahogany.

 

[Michael Grace]

Rollin has good eyes, Jordan. The gunwales to look mahogany, so yours is probably a AA-grade Old Town. It's still early, even if not the 1911 CR model you thought. It appears to have chamfered rails and seat support bolts that are countersunk and bunged - all pointing to no later than the teens. Unfortunate what happened to the gunwales, but anything can be fixed. And re canvas - what others said. It's time for new canvas. You'll be glad you did. This could be a fully functional and gorgeous canoe again, so read, ask more questions, meet some of the great WCHA folks in your area, and go for it! If you're not up for a do-it-yourself project, there are professional and semi-professional restorers al over (including Rollin) who work magic with old canoes like yours. There's a directory of builders and suppliers here on our WCHA website: http://www.wcha.org/buildsupply/

Enjoy,
Michael

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Agreed.

Dan

Rollin has good eyes, Jordan. The gunwales to look mahogany