Why do we still use cotton to cover?

[Dave Osborn]

For whatever it is worth, today I sanded and repainted a dacron covered hull today that was originally done by a reputable restorer.
The dacron seemed loose to me..... showed lots of tack heads and hull anomalies.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

...if your wooden hull is up to the task.

That's a mistake many people make - often assuming a hull is too far gone or unsuitable for anything but fiberglass and epoxy. It's amazing how resilient wood-canvas canoes are, how well they can be repaired and made functional again. People often say "the wood is really dry", not knowing that even that "dry" wood can be very functional and even beautiful. One recent Old Town restoration I did began with a hull that was extremely weathered, gray and without a hint of varnish, had a great deal of damage to the planking and some ribs, and was spread out because the thwarts/seats had been removed for years. But it came back great! It's now a fully functional beauty... and it's covered in canvas.

I'm working on another now - a Rushton - that's even worse, but it's also coming back great.

And all the knowledge one needs can be gained right here and in a few books.

 

[peter osberg]

Canvas is great for hiding minor imperfections in many production canoes, and the white lead fillers that were used originally were great as an all purpose rot inhibitors. The part that was the biggest issue for me was the rapid wicking of moisture in the back of the canvas (and subsequent weight gain), a problem that is much reduced with Dacron. I have had slightly longer active exposure to the various canoe materials than Todd; but for me the starting reduction in weight, and lack of deterioration with moisture, become sweeter over time with my dacron covered canoes. I posted a routine for dacron covering (a number of years ago on this forum) which over time has proven tougher than any other covering I have come across. The only breach of the fabric was caused by a highway guard rail, and that was repaired by dinnertime. If you are trying to do a restoration, I can understand the desire to do everything with original formulations, it doesn't mean there aren't better materials out there.

 

[Gil Cramer]

13oz. Dacron

This Penn Yan cartopper has 13oz. Dacron partially heat-set sailcloth with pipe lagging for filler. It has 2 coats of white paint and will get more before a special paint job.

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

Which variety of Dacron sailcloth? Since Christmas I'm sporting a new upper aorta made from accordion-folded Dacron tubing. Don't know what they used for filler. Hope it holds up as well as Peter's canoe cover, but maybe I should invest in some patching material, just in case......

 

[Gil Cramer]

North Cloth pulled it from the production line after the first heat set. I think they called it greige goods. It still has enough stretch to conform to the hull shape of a PY cartopper, and has had some heat applied to remove a few wrinkles along the rails.

 

[Dave Osborn]

Gil,
Do you use a heat gun to shrink it?
Dave

 

[Gil Cramer]

I only used a heat gun to remove the wrinkles that I couldn't get out by stretching. I stretched it by hand without a come-along. It is harder to stretch than cotton, and a cartopper has a quick change of girth in the bow.

 

[ctharker]

My son and I have been restoring a 1948 Penn Yan and hope to get it in the water this month. We covered it with Dacron, ironed it and then filled the weave with multiple coats of EkoFill, sanding in between. It definitely does show the "imperfections" in the hull, as mentioned earlier in this thread, but I'm sure some of that is due to our being complete novices. Anyway, we are now in need of paint. What would you (Gil and others) recommend?

 

[sam.p]

George kirby paint.

Cordially,
Sam

 

[Dave Osborn]

If you are using the Chris Merigold filling process and use the fortified primer, as described in the process, some of the hull anomalies and weave patterns will be filled or minimized...thus more pleasing to the eye. Don't fret using enamel over a premium latex primer....it works, as the primer can tells you.
Paints.... Interlux Brightside, Kirby, Pettit Easypoxy, or Epifanes are all premium quality marine paints.

 

[peter osberg]

I came around to the routine of doing a small test patches when using new paints (after stumbling into some incompatibilities between paints), before you do the full deal
Peter

 

[ctharker]

Many thanks, guys.