Start up questions ? Restoration and re canvasing

[MackyM]

Hello,
Very nice Chestnut. The wood looks to be in excellent shape. I would think twice about spraying Rhino Hide or ant other plastic on wood. The plastic is waterproof both ways and will keep the wood wet inside. I think this will cause rot in short order. Also if you ever crack a rib or need any other repair it will be very difficult with the plastic coating. The canvas, once filled and painted is fairly slick and hold up very well. just a thought. MackyM

 

[Andy Hutyera]

Hi,

Macky is right on. DON'T DO IT! Filled canvas is a lot tougher than you think and makes future repairs very doable. Looks like a very nice canoe and it would be a shame to do it in. You don't want a covering that adheres to the wood. It guarantees future problems.

 

[JClearwater]

Smithb,

Seriously, DON"T DO IT!! Old Town Canoe Co., Chestnut and all the other companies literally made millions of canoes - all covered with filled canvas. There was some minor use of Verolite [sp] but they stayed with filled canvas for a reason - IT WORKS!! You don't need to reinvent the wheel here - use canvas, just like what was on the canoe from the start. The guy selling Rhinogoop believes in his product and that's good but it's not for a canoe. If you want a canoe that you can drive into the shoreline or bounce off rocks with little concern then buy a used plastic boat - there a lots out there. Restore your Chestnut the way it should be done. You can never have too many canoes - one for every occasion. Good luck with your project.

Jim C.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

I agree with the rest. it might work, but.... For sure the canoe would be rotten in a short time because it wouldn't be able to breathe. the value of a rhino'd canoe would be zero. no one would pay anything for it. And I doubt it would make the canoe any tougher. Wood/canvas canoes are tougher than you'd think. I only need a little touch up after a week long trip with granite everywhere.

I also wonder if it would not cost more to rhino it? Interesting idea though. Let us know if you do it and the result over time.

 

[mccloud]

I don't know the name 'Rhino-Hide', but if it is like the semi-rubbery, lumpy stuff that was sprayed on my truck, you won't like the result. My guess is that you will not get a smooth surface, and the stuff cannot be sanded smooth for painting. And I would expect it to be very heavy. Not something I would do to a wood canoe. Tom McCloud

 

[smithb]

Is there an alternative to canvas??

Many thanks for the unanimous replies to my question about using Rhino Hide (waterproof membrane) instead of canvas. I thought that any water would exit the same way it got in if I had a nice waterproof membrane. mccloud>> they tell me that they can apply the stuff real nice and smooth......they get the lumpy texture by pulling back with the sprayer so that it doesn't flow. I will take all of your advice though and "NOT DO IT". I will start shopping for my canvas tomorrow. I appreciate your input everyone.
Thanks

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Back to the curved deck question.

If you create the curves by removing material, the "grain lines" in the deck won't be right.
So, your options are either repair the original, buy a replacement from OT or steam and bend your own replacement.

I do the latter. In the "bible", either Jerry or Rollin describe making a press and bending decks. I went down that road and if I were to change anything, I'd make a metal press rather then wood. Another option would be to do as Joe did, which was to make a "form" out of sheets of thick steel, and just used large "C" clamps to bend the wood between the 2 pieces of steel.

And yes, generally decks are curved both lengthwise and widthwise.

If you only plan to restore 1 canoe, you might want to just buy them from OT.

Dan