Restored canoe is tippy

[greenvilleguy]

Some of you may remember my many questions and I restored an OT Yankee. The restoration was extensive replacing both stems, 18 ribs and 1/3 of the planking. It looks great, but there is a problem:

In the water, the canoe is not a stable as it was before the restoration. I suspect the large number of ribs replaced may have changed the curve of the hull in cross section, i.e. the bottom is not as flat.

I'm looking for ideas on how to flatten the bottom some now. Would filling the canoe with hot water and weighting it down work? Would the water do damage to the canvas?

 

[Gil Cramer]

Wet, hot canvas will likely mildew in a few days. You can also try simply storing it right side up and putting weight across the rails. It will probably take a while, and might not be permanent. If all else fails, you can install half ribs. At this point they would need to be glued,likely epoxy.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

maybe the seats aren't as low as before?

 

[Paul Miller]

I'd try a variation of Gil's idea.

I think you could fill the canoe with water maybe 3 to 4 inches deep and have it sit for 2 to 3 days.

Drain the boat and let it dry out while it's weighted down across the rails as Gil suggests.

I'd have the weight on their while filled with water as well.

When the canoe dries you should retail quite a bit of the shape and the canvas should be OK if soak for just a few days. The result to the canvas may vary based on your filler and paint work.

But hey canoes get soaked all the time during use, you just don't want to have it wet for a prolonged period of time.

Let us know how it turns out.

Paul

P.S. I've done this with canoes before they were canvased but never after. So I know the bottom can get flat again, just not sure about the effect on the canvas.

 

[scott64a]

Maybe the new ribs repaired some hogging that wasn't part of the original design?

I say, so long as you're not getting in and doing barrel rolls, leave it as it is and you'll get used to it.

18 ribs is a lot though, and you could be on to something in thinking that it's rounder than before, but I'm not sure. I haven't looked at a Yankee design from a head on view.

 

[Benson Gray]

I haven't looked at a Yankee design from a head on view.

The image at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/hull-x-s.gif indicates that the Yankee had a relatively flat floor originally. Rounding of the hull often happens in older canoes, especially those that have had extensive repairs like this one. I agree that it will be easier to adjust to the new shape than it will be to change it. Good luck,

Benson

 

[scott64a]

Ah, thanks for that reference.

That picture even has the profile of my square stern sponson model. I wonder if they ever named it anything other than that. Not meaning to hijack this thread.

 

[Benson Gray]

That picture even has the profile of my square stern sponson model. I wonder if they ever named it anything other than that.

The square stern sponson models changed shape substantially between 1917 when they were first listed in the catalog and 1964 when they last appeared but the name stayed the same. They made many other similar boats with square sterns and sponsons that had other names but this model stayed the same.

Benson

 

[Fitz]

Greenville guy, can you tell us more about how you are paddling the canoe? Most canoes will be extremely tippy paddling solo from the stern seat for example. DAMHIKT !!

 

[greenvilleguy]

Wow! Looking at the hull shape in the link from the catalog, I'm really convinced. My hull shape is very rounded.

 

[greenvilleguy]

Two people in the canoe. This canoe has been in my family for 60 years and I've logged thousands of hours in it. It is definitely less stable to the point of being scary. As far as the seat position, I was careful to match the original spacers although I have thought of intentionally lowering them.

The canoe is beautiful now, but not any fun to paddle. I'm thinking I should take the risk and follow Paul Miller's suggestion above. I did use a mildew retardant on the canvas so maybe soaking it a few days and then drying it out well won't do too much damage. I was thinking I would need to remove the keel, but if I push down from the rafters on the rails, that shouldn't even be necessary.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

This may be a bad idea but what if you made the thwarts an inch longer? If you set it on sawhorses and pile a bunch of stuff on it you might flatten it. After all, that's one way to hog a canoe.

 

[Giiwedin]

I have several old canoes that are very tippy - rounded bottoms designed for 1900s club racing. Over the years I've learned to adjust positions and paddling styles to avoid swimming in a beam sea. Some of these might improve your on-water experience without attempting the uncertain task of restoring your hull's original profile.

First, kneel. That lowers the center of gravity and contributes a lot of stability. Some early canoes, like my English 20, have no seats - just kneeling thwarts - for this very reason. The thwarts are located several inches aft relative to standard seats, so you don't put the canoe at a bow pitch in the water. Kneeling thwarts are easy to make and replacing seats a simple task. A neoprene pad makes kneeling reasonably comfortable, even on ribs.

Second, lowering seats also improves stability. Shallow canoes, unfortunately, don't afford much room for this. Deep canoes do, but if you drop the seats too far your knees are way up in the air and you have to reach up and over the gunwales to catch the water. Seats hung too low reduce the power and efficiency of your stroke.

Third, put some ballast amidships on the floor (one grown-up, two large Duluth packs, several kids if they can sit still). The stability difference between paddling an empty canoe and one carrying 150 pounds of duffle is pretty dramatic.

One hidden benefit of your new rounded hull is that it should have more secondary stability than the old flat one. Just get the boat under way, lean and brace. You'll probably be safer in heavy water.

I look at it as a challenge to improve boating skills. I learned more paddling an empty English 20 one summer than I had in years of powering fully loaded flat-bottomed OT Guides all over Canada.