I am restoreing an Easdale wood/canvas from Guerneville, California. It has been in the family since my wife's father purchased it from the Easdale Canoe Company, about 80+ years ago . My brother-in-law had it fiber glass and then gave it to my nephew. He, after many years of the canoe siting in his garage, gave it to my wife. I now have a new "honey do" project. The canoe is in fairly good shape, having been well taken care of by the family, one son, two daughters, several teen-age girl and boy friends, and several nieces and nephew, as well as several grandchildren. The first thing I did was strip all the fiber glass off the canoe, very easy job. However, the front and back stems have to be replaced, which I'm in the process of doing. Two or three of the ribs need attention. My biggest question is "how can the tips of the ribs be reapired". Several of them are cracked, broken or dryed. The inwales are in good shape and will not have to be taken off, except for the ends under the decks, which I have replaced. Some of the planking should be replaced and will tackle that when it comes time. I have removed all the old varnish from the front and back, under the decks, and will revarnish with spar varnish prior to rebuilding the stems. I sure there will be other jobs and will tackle them as the time comes. Any help with the tips of the ribs would be very much appreciated. thanks in advance.
repairing rib ends
- Thread starter Ron Bull
- Start date
Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
it's pretty simple to splice in new rib tops. I like to make the splice from the outside - inward. that way the new wood is mostly hidden behind the planking when it's done. Multi-tool, belt sanders, sharp chisels are all used to make the tapers. I usually make the taper and then use a pencil to transfer the lines onto the new piece. I make a mark at the beginning of the taper and at the top of it and connect the dots. then I cut that taper with my band saw. It's usually good right off the saw. I use titebond and spring clamp to glue it in place. It only takes a few minutes to do the job.
