White wrap-around stembands?

[mccloud]

I'm near the stage of putting the original 1948 White wrap-around stembands on the rebuilt canoe, but there are two puzzles: neither of these stembands extend all the way up to the underside of the outwales. My guess would have been that they should have, but I have a gap of about 3 inches. I can assure you that I did NOT add an additional strip of planking, . How would these stembands have looked on the day the canoe left the factory? And the other thing that I notice is that the two stembands do not have the same length extending along the keel. My guess would be that the longer stemband went onto the bow. Is this guess correct? Tom McCloud

 

[Paul Fopeano]

Hey Tom!

I was hoping that there was a build record somewhere that might have a few answers to questions about my White. Until I find something I'll just assume a few things like the mahogany outwales may not be original. I do think that the copper stem cap is, due to it's good condition. Whoever put the mahogany on tried to fill the rot at the stem tops and to do so destroyed the original copper caps that wrapped the ends of the rails and decks. My stem bands extend all the way to the top of the gunwales - originally, they would have been covered by the ends of the rails - then the final caps covered and protected it all. At least thats what I think. The copper bands are both the same length and extend from the sheer down to cap the tapered end of the keel.

You might be able to see from the pictures what the copper does on the '47. Good luck!

Paul

Onlyone Maine Made Wooden Canoe Works

 

[mccloud]

Paul, Thanks for the photos. It certainly shows the stembands extending all the way to the top. The stembands on my canoe are shorter by ~4 inches. Unless it is possible to braze and extension on, guess I have to live with what I have. Tom McCloud

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

the top part of t he bands should be right under the bottom of the rails. the rails extend past the stem for several inches. the tips of the rails had there own copper cap made from flat stock as shown in the picture. Unless the top part of the wrap around bands were both broken off or cut off at the same place, which I think would be unlikely, I bet the bands will go back on as they should. When they are taken off, the bending and movement of getting them off sometimes will stretch them out of shape just enough to make it look like they will not fit on again! Most of the time just a bit of force will get them back into position.
If you have a narrow wheel or roller, you can roll the inside curve of the band and help it curve a bit better to the stem.

 

[mccloud]

Hello, Rollin, Thanks for the info and photo. The shiny brass makes me think this is a canoe you built rather than a 50 year old one. The attached photo show the two brass bands I'm working with, and clearly shows that one is longer than the other. And the next attachment shows that the stemband does not reach the bottom of the inwale. I can only assume that it was shortened during some previous repair. Maybe I could re-form the stemband, leaving less sheathing the keel?! This is the canoe I will bring to Assembly. Maybe you can stop by for a chat. Tom McCloud

 

[dtdcanoes]

Yes, you can have an extension brazed on. I have had this done to preserve original stem bands and when you finish trimming and polishing, you cannot tell where the new material is. Patience is a virtue.

 

[Denise MsWdnBoat]

Hello, Rollin, Thanks for the info and photo. The shiny brass makes me think this is a canoe you built rather than a 50 year old one. The attached photo show the two brass bands I'm working with, and clearly shows that one is longer than the other. And the next attachment shows that the stemband does not reach the bottom of the inwale. I can only assume that it was shortened during some previous repair. Maybe I could re-form the stemband, leaving less sheathing the keel?! This is the canoe I will bring to Assembly. Maybe you can stop by for a chat. Tom McCloud View attachment 31500View attachment 31501

Tom.. braze or solder (I'm sure solder will be ok for this) the piece at the bottom end so the joint doesn't show to the casual on looker

 

[dtdcanoes]

TOM.....You would not see a joint with brazing, but sure, the solder probably will be fine, especially if you have the shape just right prior to adding on. BTW....if you need to do any reshaping/reforming of the curve....it can be done with hardwood blocks that are shaped at the ends to conform to what you need. These blocks would be correct for the width of the stem and the curve as they change along the curve. Line an expansion joint in your garage floor with a folded towel, on bended knee lean the stem against your shoulder and using the appropriate block inside the curve gently, tap and tap to resize......remember , no rush here, and it will be tough, I MEAN TOUGH, to correct for too much correction. You should be able to get a perfect fit on your stem....so much so that it will hang right there even without nails, for the moment. ANAL, YES. But once in a hundred years for a good old boat ? We should be so lucky....have fun !