I'm in the process of restoring a Rhinelander canoe and have encountered something interesting. It would appear that the seats and the thwarts are not original, at least they appear to be much newer than the rest of the canoe. One of the thwarts has a Maple Leaf made from wood veneer and inset into the wood. Have never seen anything like it before on a canoe. Have attached a picture and am hoping someone can tell me more about who made it. The seats and the two thwarts match, are made from Oak and finished with a light Oak stain. I would like to know if they could possibly be original, and assuming they are not, is anyone familiar with a company who made custom replacement seats and thwarts and used the wood inlays for decoration.. Another interesting item relating to this canoe is that all the planking is made from 1/8 inch material and looks like both red and white Cedar was used in the planking and arranged to give it more eye appeal. Again it is possible that the white planking was done in previous restorations but I doubt it. All other canoes I have worked on have planking 3/16 inch thick. I specifically checked to see if Rhinelander used 3/8 inch ribs like the Morris they were patterned after but no, they are 5/16" which is standard. The 1/8" planking was easily damaged and I am finding lots of holes to repair... Fiber glass was used in the last restoration and I ruined a lot of the 1/8" planking in the process of getting the fiber glass off. I'm pleased however to find only one rib that was cracked or broken and reinforced that with a copper plate inset under the break.
Rhinelander 16' Lake Model Restoration
- Thread starter HEBlumer
- Start date
Dave Osborn
LIFE MEMBER
Harold,
Cool inlay... I'm not sure who did it, but I like it!
Standard canoe planking is 5/32" on 90% of the canoes that I've works on, the exceptions being Old Town Lightweights at 1/8" and some Shell Lakes and early Racine at 3/16".
You may direct your questions to Ed Peters....he is on the Board of Directors for the Museum in Spooner. His father was the last owner of the Rhinelander Boat Company...
Cool inlay... I'm not sure who did it, but I like it!
Standard canoe planking is 5/32" on 90% of the canoes that I've works on, the exceptions being Old Town Lightweights at 1/8" and some Shell Lakes and early Racine at 3/16".
You may direct your questions to Ed Peters....he is on the Board of Directors for the Museum in Spooner. His father was the last owner of the Rhinelander Boat Company...
