Song of the Paddle: A Wood-Canvas Canoe Trip on Film
December 13, 2009
Bill Mason’s film, “Song of the Paddle” (1978), gives a glimpse into what binds people to their wood-canvas canoes. Your life and health depend on the canoe’s ability to navigate rapid rivers and carve through meter-high waves on windy lakes. When you put that much faith and trust in something or someone, a strong – almost unbreakable – bound is formed.
The film follows the Mason family on a canoe trip. They encounter a full range of situations on this Northern Ontario adventure. They watch a cow moose munching on water lilies in the shallows. They dance through rapids in a river and then wade and portage the sections that can’t be navigated safely. On Lake Superior, they get everything the lake can offer; from nasty head winds and fearsome waves, to vicious storms and finally a spinnaker run down-wind with two canoes lashed together.
The overall feel of the film is compelling. I almost forget that one of the canoes is aluminum. The other is a wood-canvas canoe. At the start of the film (1:44 minutes in), an overhead shot reveals a cane bow seat and the shallow profile of a Chestnut Pal (a 16’ Chestnut pleasure canoe). At 3:16 minutes into the film, a good, long head-on shot shows the sharp upward turn in the sheer line at the bow which is unmistakably that of a Pal. That shot also illustrates the beautiful entry lines in the bow at the waterline that make this 36”-wide canoe an absolute delight to paddle.
However, for the rest of the film, the canoe that carries them effortlessly through rapids and waves is a 16’ Chestnut Prospector. It is a deep canoe capable of carrying heavy loads. The sheer line has a gradual, sweeping curve from the centre to the stem. The seats are simple wooden (ash) slats instead of cane (the seats are seen clearly at 16:46 minutes into the film).
The wide variety of conditions encountered in the film give the Prospector ample opportunity to shine. Bill Mason is often quoted as saying, “If I could have only one canoe, it would be the original Chestnut wood-canvas 16 ft. Prospector.” In this film, it becomes clear as to why Bill sings its praises. It is truly a versatile craft and a must-have for the traditionalist. However, attempting a solo carry of this canoe in the midst of a Lake Superior wind storm (21:16 minutes into the film) is fool-hardy at best. It seems to me that it best illustrates a typically male “I’m an idiot, but won’t dare to admit it” attitude.
So, sit back on this cold December day and watch this film with dreams of canoe trips yet-to-come dancing in your head.
Check out Kettle River Canoes.
In 1979, I worked as a Naturalist Interpreter at the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in Midland, Ontario. I was one of five summer students hired by the Canadian Wildlife Service to operate the Centre for school groups and the general public from May to August that year. We were offered excellent training and then given free reign to design and deliver programs that helped visitors make sense of the ecology of the region. That summer job was one of the best I’ve ever had.
Like most jobs, there were aspects of working there that we did not look forward to. Top on that list was cleaning the washroom three times a day. Next, was presenting the film “The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes” by Bill Mason (1968). Don’t get me wrong. I love that little 16 minute film. However, watching it once a day, every day for four months takes the edge off a little. Our copy of the film was faded and worn; full of scratches and definitely showing its age.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, the film follows a canoeist as he paddles through the life history of the Great Lakes. The hapless paddler is at the mercy of the narrator/singer as he is subjected to instantaneous shifts from one stage of the life history to another – “bouncing like a tennis ball through time”. In one classic scene, the paddler is enjoying a peaceful day on the water, then as the narrator sings about the Ice Age, his canoe is instantly frozen in deep snow in the middle of a blizzard (the kids always laughed at this point). A minute later, the ice is gone and the paddler and his canoe fall a mile back to the water again (accompanied by another roar of laughter from the kids).
That summer, I met a guy who worked as a park warden in Gatineau Park, Quebec (just north of Ottawa). He told me that Bill did some of the filming for that movie in Gatineau Park. At one stage, Bill had a Chestnut Pal (equipped with a life-sized mannequin) dropped from a helicopter to get the scene of the paddler crashing back to the water from the top of a now-non-existent glacier. Apparently, Bill went through about a half-dozen Chestnut Pals to make that film. I like to think that some of them were rescued and restored to live another day on the lakes and rivers of Northern Ontario and Quebec.
Back in those days, I could be a source of annoyance for those around me when we went to the movie theatre (I could be a source of annoyance in lots of other settings, but that’s another story). I would notice birds and/or bird songs that were out of context for the movie and, in a loud voice, let everyone know about the mistake. For example, in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, Indiana Jones is hacking his way through the thick jungles of South America. One of the exotic bird calls in the sequence is, in fact, a Willow Ptarmigan – a bird found in the barren tundra regions of Europe and North America. I was fascinated by stuff like that. However, my enthusiasm was rarely shared by others.
Now that I spend many of my waking hours in close contact with old wood-canvas canoes, I find myself watching a film like “The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes” and noticing things on the canoe that need to be repaired. For example, at 7:27 minutes into the movie, a close-up of the stern seat reveals that the cane is completely gone and has been replaced with a make-shift weaving of utility chord. My, oh my, that will never do. It’s time to get those seats fixed, Bill. And I’ll bet you anything that the stem-ends are starting to rot and need to be rebuilt.
Alright, I’ll be quiet now. Sit back and enjoy the movie. Then, leave a comment here and let me know what you noticed in the movie.
Check out Kettle River Canoes.
Stripping Old Varnish from a Wood-Canvas Canoe
November 29, 2009
Now that my son, James, is helping me in the shop, he is learning all of the stages of a canoe restoration. While I was doing woodwork repairs on one canoe, I asked James how he was getting along with stripping the varnish from the interior of another canoe. He gave me a withering look and stated, “This is the worth part of the whole process.”
Truly, the only positive thing to be said about stripping varnish is that as long as you keep going, it will be done at some point. Therefore, it is no wonder that people ask me for tips about removing varnish without resorting to those harsh, nasty chemicals. Unfortunately, in most cases, there is no other way.
I have heard of some people using a pressure washer to remove the chemicals from the hull once they have done their job. This would work well as long as the nozzle is wide enough to reduce the pressure to avoid ripping the planking apart. In his blog, Doug Ingram of Red River Canoes describes his trials and tribulations. One downside I see to removing the chemicals with a pressure washer is that they end up on the ground and (probably) in the water-table. At the very least, you would succeed in killing all of the grass in that corner of the backyard.
From time to time, the varnish comes off with a combination of a paint scraper, coarse steel wool and a great deal of elbow grease. I have tried sanders and “sandpaper stripping wheels” powered by a variable-speed drill, but soon gave them up when I saw that I was removing just as much wood as varnish. When it comes right down to it, the only way to remove all of the old varnish (and still have the original ribs and planking left intact) is to apply chemical strippers.
The first step in this job is to be protected from all those nasty chemicals. The commercial products usually contain dichloromethane (commonly used as a propellant in aerosol cans) and methanol (wood alcohol). Sometimes toluene (lacquer thinner) rounds out the mix. Besides long sleeves, long pants and an apron or coveralls, be sure to wear gloves (heavy-duty latex or neoprene), a respirator and eye protection. Have lots of water close at hand to wash off any stripper that contacts your skin.
It is essential to maintain a wetted surface when using varnish strippers. It evaporates quickly, so be sure to use lots of this stuff. Spread it over the surfaces with a sturdy scrub brush and let it sit for a few minutes to do its thing. When it turns dark brown and becomes thick, you know it is working.
Use a scrub brush and a scraper to remove the stripper.
Any stripper remaining in the canoe can be cleaned out with tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) mixed in a pail of water. Use a scrub brush, a scraper and/or steel wool to ensure that remaining stripper is removed from all of the nooks and crannies.
As much as I want this job to be over and done with as quickly as possible, there is no way to speed it up. It takes time to do a thorough job. Sometimes, it even has to be done twice. So, the job takes as long as it takes – no short cuts.
Check out Kettle River Canoes.
Replacing Broken Ribs in a Wood-Canvas Canoe
November 22, 2009
By the time your canoe is ready for a new canvas, there is usually evidence of a life well lived. Most often, the hull has at least a couple of broken ribs. Although it is possible to patch it up in the short term, the only way to replace broken ribs is to remove the canvas.
Broken ribs can be obvious, but usually the only evidence is a small bump in an otherwise fair hull. Cracked ribs still hold the original shape of the hull and don’t necessarily have to be replaced. However, since you are going through all the trouble of repairing the hull anyway, what are a couple more ribs in the grand scheme of things?
Depending on the type of ribs in your canoe, preparing the new rib stock can be as simple as cutting clear cedar to the appropriate width and then planing it to thickness. The “regular” ribs (2-3/8” wide and 3/8” thick) in many Chestnut canoes are tapered on one side to bring the width of the rib to 1½” at the sheer line. Other builders tapered the ribs on both sides. Whatever the design of the rib, it is important to duplicate the shape of the original. The goal is to make repairs that don’t look like repairs. Therefore, I take the time to duplicate tapers with specialized jigs. The edges of the ribs are rarely right angles, so a sliding bevel is used to transfer those angles into the appropriate bevel cuts on the table saw.
Once the new rib stock is prepared, the wood is soaked (usually for 24 hours) and then steamed (usually for 45 minutes).
The hull of the canoe is used as the mould to shape the new ribs. The rib is bent over the outside of the hull. You want the rib to fit on the inside of the canoe where the old rib was. Therefore, the rib is bent over the rib that is one closer to the end of the canoe than the one that is being replaced. If the hull is not fair where I would be bending ribs, I often bend the ribs in the opposite end of the canoe.
The newly bent ribs are held in place with spring clamps and left to dry for at least two days. I mark the centre of the canoe on the new rib and mark the orientation of the rib in relation to the end of the canoe. These markings help ensure that the rib is installed correctly.
It is important to ensure that the original shape of the canoe is maintained. Normally, all that is required is to replace the ribs one at a time and use the floor of the shop as a backing to prevent the hull from being pushed out of shape. Occasionally, a whole section of the hull is missing. In this situation, it is necessary to run batons along the hull to create a form for the new ribs.
When replacing a rib, the first step is to remove the fasteners. To get at the fasteners holding the rib to the inwales, it is necessary to remove the planking along the sheer line. Then the rib can be removed. Normally, the rib simply falls away from the hull. Sometimes, it is stuck somehow and requires a little persuasion.
Use a little steel wool to clean the hull in the area where the rib was. Then insert the new rib and hold it in place with spring clamps at the sheer line. Drive new tacks through the planking and clinch the end of the tack with a “clinching iron”. This can be simply an auto body dolly. To get at the tacks in the ends of the canoe, I use an old axe-head. Once the rib is completely tacked into place, the rib-tops are trimmed flush with the top of the inwales.
Re-install planking that was removed and replace any broken planks. Fill any gouges or spaces in the planking. Then, sand the new planking to ensure that it is flush with the rest of the planking in the hull.
The final step is to stain the new wood to have it blend in with the original wood in the canoe.
Check out Kettle River Canoes.
Repairing Torn Canvas in a Wood-Canvas Canoe
November 9, 2009
Before the days of synthetic canoes (fiberglass, Royalex, aluminum, etc.), field repairs to your canoe were as much a part of canoeing as the J-stroke and the portage.
Back in the day when canvas canoes were the norm, a standard repair kit cosisted of canvas patches, Ambroid Cement, brass canoe tacks in various lengths and some enamel paint for touch-ups.
I came across an old brochure printed by Old Towne Canoe Company. There is no date on it, but I would guess that it was produced in the 1950’s or early 1960’s. I’m just going to transcribe the information for you. The one thing you need to know is Ambroid Cement. First produced in 1900, it is an amazing waterproof adhesive that is ideal for gluing canvas-to-canvas and is still available at most large hobby stores today.
The brochure reads as follows (with words added in parentheses for clarity):
“Fill deep scratches with a mixture of Ambroid Cement and sand dust (325-mesh silica available at most pottery supply stores) kneaded into a paste if the canvas is not punctured. Allow to dry overnight and sand smooth.
“If canvas has been cut, patch as follows:
“Cut a patch (of number 10 canvas) large enough to extend about an inch beyond the edges of the slit. Insert the patch through the cut and work into position between the planking and the hull canvas. Coat the patch with Ambroid Cement and close the cut. Apply pressure with fingers to smooth cement until it is forced out through the slit opening. Wipe smooth. If the cut is large, use brass tacks to secure the edges neatly over the patch.
“If part of the fabric is missing, make a patch of heavy canvas (number 8 or number 6 canvas). Fill with sand dust and Ambroid. Tack patch in place. When tacks are used, they should be driven onto a hammer or heavy piece of metal so as to turn back the point and provide a clinch. Use long tacks to penetrate through the planking and ribs, shorter tacks to penetrate planking only in spaces between ribs. Clinch tightly to make a firm fit to the hull. Space tacks about ¼” to 3/8” apart.
“When cement is hard (after drying overnight), touch up with enamel paint to restore the appearance.”
I met an elderly gentleman who stopped me in a parking lot when he saw my wood-canvas canoe on top of my car. He told me about a time some fifty years earlier when he and a buddy were moose hunting. They worked their wood-canvas canoe into some thick willows at the edge of a small lake in northern Ontario. After sitting quietly for a half hour, he gave a moose call. Before they had a chance to think, a big bull moose came thundering out of the willows and drove its front legs right through the middle of the canoe between the two of them. For the next eight hours, while one of them gutted and cleaned the moose, the other patched the canoe together in order to get home with the meat.
Check out Kettle River Canoes.
Cedar: The Essence of the Wood-Canvas Canoe
November 1, 2009
“Do I have to use Eastern White Cedar to repair my wood-canvas Canoe?” The short answer is “No”.
Without a doubt, White Cedar is the best wood for canoe construction. It is light, strong and bends beautifully when soaked and steamed. Brass canoe tacks that are driven into it to hold planking to ribs don’t split the wood. When it comes time for the canoe restorer to remove tacks from 40-year-old cedar, very little damage results from the process.
By comparison, Red Cedar is more prone to splitting when canoe tacks are driven into it and older Red Cedar planking breaks more easily when tacks are removed from it. It steams and bends well – although not as well as White Cedar.
For many wood-canvas canoes, White cedar was the only wood used to construct the hulls. As the supply of good quality white cedar became harder to come by in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, many companies turned to the abundant supplies of Western Red Cedar for the planking of their canoes. Bill Greenwood, who built canoes in Richmond, BC from 1934 to 1975, used Red Cedar exclusively for the planking in his canoes.
As a canoe restorer in British Columbia, I use Red Cedar exclusively for my repair work. It is abundant, reasonably priced and I can get it custom milled locally. I find it matches very well to the older wood in the rest of the hull. I always have to stain new wood to darken it to match the original wood. By the time I’m finished, I’m hard pressed to tell which ribs are the originals and which are the replacements.
I suppose I’m more of a pragmatic canoe rebuilder than a purist. For me, the results are what matters. What do you think?
Check out Kettle River Canoes at: http://www.canoeshop.ca/
Song Lyrics – The Swine Flu Soiree
October 28, 2009
On CBC Radio, Dr. Brian Goldman refers to it as “Swinefeld – The Flu About Nothing”. http://www.cbc.ca/whitecoat/2009/09/swinefeld_well_at_least_we_got.html
I was on a recent road trip listening to one of a seemingly endless stream of radio news reports about the H1N1 virus. Immediately following the report, another program started with an old Newfoundland song – Kelligrew’s Soiree. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNABQtpG4OI&feature=PlayList&p=CF2F099B485AA565&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=37
It didn’t take long before I started making up new lyrics for the old tune. So, here is my Swine Flu Soiree:
Now, since the world economy has taken a decline, There isn’t much from day to day to give you peace of mind. But we in pharmaceuticals are standing up in line; To rake in all the money from the flu they call the swine.
A public that is frightened is so easy to control. Say the word pandemic and you shiver to the soul. Now take a mild infection that is deadly to a few, The world believes it could become another Spanish Flu.
We don’t care if you are feeling sick or feeling right as rain, If you don’t fall in line with us, we’ll treat you as insane. Even if the population is feeling fit and fine, For economic stimulus, the flu came just in time.
We have special soap to keep you clean, sterile gowns and new vaccine. All backed up by research that no one has ever seen. We’ve got all our favourite doctors disinfected head to toe. We’ll treat you all as patients and then watch our profits grow.
This latest bug that’s going round is such a nasty flu, The health administration has come up with something new. No need to fill the office, you can call us on the phone, Just tell us how you’re feeling and then leave us all alone.
This handy little service is provided day and night, An easy diagnosis and who cares if it is right. No matter how you’re feeling, we will tell you that you’re ill; The major task in all of this is writing out the bill.
Overzealous news reporting is a welcome thing to see. It’s massive advertising that they give away for free. We provide some speculation and some highly biased views; Which then become the facts behind the local evening news.
We depend on mass hysteria to make the money flow, So boards of health and governments all make the panic grow. Who cares if the infection is just a hulla-balloo, We’re busy makin’ money from the H1N1 flu.
The lyrics were written by Mike Elliott with assistance from Christy Luke. Enjoy.
Painting Decorative Designs on a Wood-Canvas Canoe
October 25, 2009
Tom wanted a decorative design as the crowning touch to the restoration of his Huron canoe. We exchanged thoughts and ideas back and forth for months. At the end of one e-mail, he wrote, “It’s too bad you can’t put flames on a canoe.” I replied, “Give me a minute.”
Decorative designs on canoes go back centuries to the native traditions of decorating birch bark canoes by scratching designs in the bark.
As canoeing became a fashionable recreation in the 1920’s, many canoe companies (primarily in the United States) offered a wide variety of designs which could be added to the canoe. In Canada, canoes were seen as utilitarian vehicles, so decorative designs were less popular. Most of the clients asking me to decorate their canoes have asked for designs based on those offered by Old Town Canoes in the 1920’s and 30’s. No matter what the design is, the question remains, “How do you paint a design on a canoe?”
The first step is to figure out what you want to do. I consulted with my friend Darren who does custom painting on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He came over to give me a crash course in flame designs. After looking at the canoe, he concluded that flames wouldn’t fit the proportions of a canoe. Then his eyes lit up and he asked, “What about scallops?” We used a modified “1950’s Hot-Rod Scallops” design and got the go-ahead from Tom.
Once you have a design idea, the next step is to lay it out on the canoe. I do this with a grease pencil which adheres to the enamel and yet can be removed easily with mineral spirits afterwards. It is important to lay out the design evenly. When I am doing a simple stripe, I use a home-made measuring jig that keeps a set distance between the gunwales and the stripe. In the case of Tom’s canoe, the design was more free-wheeling, so I measured and marked out some key angles and proportions to follow. I then drew the design in grease pencil free-hand.
Then, mask out the design with tape. Since this design involves some tight curves, I started with 1/8” masking tape. Specialized “striping tape” is available for laying out a stripe with a consistent width along the full length. Once the line is laid down, you simply remove pre-cut sections of the tape to expose a line of the width you desire. In this case, the line was more free-form, so I laid it out by eye producing some lovely tapered curves.
Once I was satisfied with the initial layout (which took a number of attempts to produce an even, pleasing design), the regions of the canoe which would not be painted were then fully masked. I used progressively wider masking tapes – from ¼” to ¾”.
When the masking is complete, the grease pencil marks are removed with a little mineral spirits in a soft cloth. While the paint thinner is allowed to dry (it only takes a few minutes), the paint can be mixed. I use the same type of paint that is used for the body of the canoe – i.e. alkyd enamel thinned with a small amount of mineral spirits (seven or eight parts enamel to one part paint thinner).
I apply the paint with a small disposable brush. The sponge brush spreads the paint smoothly and evenly. I avoid using a lot of paint, yet I also want to get full coverage. The thinner in the paint helps the paint spread out over the surface and “self-levels”. Therefore, it is not necessary to fuss and bother over the paint. Any streaks or bubbles disappear on their own a few minutes after the paint is applied.
Remove the tape one or two hours after the paint is applied. Don’t leave the tape on too long. To achieve an even line, it is important to clean up any bleeds that occurred along the tape line. Take a small putty knife (1” or 1½” wide) and cover the edge with a cloth that has some mineral spirits in it.
Careful cleaning gives you a line that is sharp and even. Allow the paint to dry for a few more hours before removing the grease pencil marks from the rest of the canoe. A gentle wipe-down with a smooth cloth and a little mineral spirits produces clean results.
Tom refers to his canoe as the “WOW” canoe. Indeed, when I put it on display in front of our house (located on the main street through the centre of town), it was literally stopping traffic. Initial feedback in town has been quite divided. It seems people either love it or hate it, So, leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Check out Kettle River Canoes at: http://www.canoeshop.ca/
Installing New Inwales in a Chestnut Prospector Canoe
October 18, 2009
Dan and I looked at his Chestnut Prospector. The previous owner had stored it for years on the floor of his garage – leaning up against a wall with the weight of the canoe resting on the gunwales on one side.
I told him that the only way to correct the warped gunwales is to replace both the inwales and outwales with new ash. It turns out that Dan had grown up with this canoe. One day, his father sold it without consulting the rest of the family. About twenty years later, Dan happened to meet the man that bought their canoe. Dan immediately bought it back and now wanted it to look the same as when he was a kid.
I told him, “It’s a big job. I basically have to take the entire canoe apart and put it back together again.” I then took him step by step through the process. Dan looked at me and said, “Wow! That is a lot of work. Let’s do it.”
Once the canoe is uncovered – having removed the outwales, stem-bands and canvas – the first step is to mark the positions of the decks, seats and thwarts on the hull of the canoe. To have any hope of re-installing these components correctly, their original positions have to be recorded on the canoe.
In order to have access to the rib-tops, all of the planking around the canoe at the sheer line has to be removed. This is generally a fairly straightforward task involving a tack remover. However in this case, I discovered that several coats of spar varnish applied over the years had essentially glued the planking to the ribs of the canoe. Without removing all of the varnish first, the removal of the planking resulted in some unexpected breakage.
The ends of the canoe must be opened up completely. This involves removing many of the planks at the end as well as the cant ribs and the decks. While doing this, you’ll often discover that the stem-ends need to be repaired. Indeed, in this case, I found that both stem-ends needed new ash scarfed into them. This process has been described in a previous article: http://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/2009/08/02/wood-canvas-canoe-stem-end-repair-a-pictorial-guide/
Remove the thwarts and seats. Start by securing the canoe in at least three places with ropes or ratcheting webbing straps. These will maintain the shape of the canoe once the thwarts and seats are removed. Then, spray the carriage bolts with WD-40 and let it do its thing for a few minutes. This will facilitate the removal of the nuts. Next, the components are removed. This often requires some persuasion. I use a solid piece of 2×4 birch that I have carved into a mallet. A couple of sharp whacks will usually do the trick. Then, the bolts come out of the inwales fairly easily. However, sometimes they are corroded and fused into the wood. But that’s another story.
At this point, reset the ropes or straps below the inwales in order to maintain the shape of the canoe. Now, remove the inwales from the canoe. They are normally attached to each rib-top with a couple of copper nails. In the last few years of the life of the Chestnut Canoe Company, they used common nails to secure the inwales. As a result, the fasteners often corroded thereby causing the inwales to separate from the ribs. This probably happened to this canoe because we discovered that, during the previous rebuild, two small (#4 – ¾”) bronze wood screws were used to secure every rib-top to the inwales. It took about ten hours to remove about 200 screws from the rib-tops (that’s about three minutes per screw). It was fussy, pain-staking work because we didn’t want to do extra damage to the rib-tops.
Solidify the exposed rib-tops with an epoxy sealer or a wood hardener of some sort. These products are very toxic, so make sure to wear a good mask. The hardener usually has to cure overnight.
Fill any holes in the rib-tops with a two-part epoxy putty. This stuff usually comes in a small roll. Pinch off a small amount and mix the two-parts together by mashing the material in your hands for a couple of minutes. Once the putty is a uniform colour, you have about an hour to work with it before it hardens. Use a putty knife to work the putty into the wood. Small areas of damaged wood can be replaced with putty. If there is too much damage, the rib-top will have to be replaced. This procedure is described in a previous article: http://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/wood-canvas-canoe-rib-top-repairs-a-pictorial-guide/
Once the putty has hardened, sand the both the inside and outside surfaces of each rib-top to smooth them out. I usually use an 80-grit sandpaper. It is aggressive enough without running the risk of removing a lot of wood.
Cut the new inwales from new ash. I am fortunate enough to have a local source for 16’ lengths of 4/4 ash lumber. If you can’t get lumber in long lengths, you will have to scarf a couple of shorter lengths together to get the length you need. Then you can cut the wood to the final dimensions of the inwale. Chestnut and Peterborough inwales (in most models of canoe) are ¾” wide on the top surface, 7/8” on the bottom and 15/16” thick (from the top to the bottom of the inwale). The surface of the inwale where the rib-tops make contact is angled to conform to the tumblehome in the canoe hull. This angle is eight degrees on the table saw and results in the desired dimensions on the top and bottom surfaces.
Install the new inwales. Clamp the inwale in place at the centre of the canoe. Make sure the top surface of the inwale is flush with the rib-top. Drill a pilot hole with a 1/16” bit and secure the rib top to the inwale with 7/8” 14-gauge nails. I use either copper canoe nails or bronze ring nails (whichever I happen to have on hand at the time). A tack hammer and an auto-body dolly are used to drive the nails into place.
The sheer line of the Chestnut Prospector has a graceful, even curve as it rises along its length from the centre to the end of the canoe. Therefore, it is not necessary to steam-bend a curve into the inwale prior to installation. This is required in canoes such as the Chestnut Pal and adds a certain degree of complexity to the entire procedure. However, we can now see the original shape of the canoe returning.
The final step is to install the decks in the canoe. In this case, I was able to re-install one of the original decks. The other deck had rot in the tip, so I made a new one from ash. The procedure for installing the decks is described in a previous article: http://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/2009/08/02/wood-canvas-canoe-stem-end-repair-a-pictorial-guide/
Check out Kettle River Canoes at: http://www.canoeshop.ca/
