Tag: canoe restoration

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Breasthooks Part 2–Fit and Finish

New breasthook of African Mahogany provides a nice contrast to the Fir gunwales.
New breasthook of African Mahogany provides a nice contrast to the Fir gunwales.

When we left off, we had fabricated new breasthook pieces, but they didn’t quite fit as well as I’d like.  Check out the previous post if you’ve forgotten.

Rub chalk on the inside faces of the gunwales you're trying to fit to.
Rub chalk on the inside faces of the gunwales you’re trying to fit to.

The trick is to chalk the inside edge of the inwales, fit the breasthook in place, and then see where the chalk transfers to the high spots on the breasthook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chalk transfers to the high spots on your workpiece.
The chalk transfers to the high spots on your workpiece.

Shave the high spots off with your favorite block plane, and repeat until you get a fit you’re happy with the fit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final fitted breasthook with registration marks ready to be screwed and glued in.
Final fitted breasthook with registration marks ready to be screwed and glued in.

You can really dial in a fine fit this way.   Not too hard if you know the trick!  The last step was to glue it in and coat it with special clear epoxy to seal against water.  Then several coats of spar varnish will provide necessary UV protection.

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Breasthooks Part 1–Fabrication

New breasthook pieces glued up and rough cut, ready for fine fitting.
New breasthook pieces glued up and rough cut, ready for fine fitting.

A breasthook is a sturdy piece of wood that marries the sides of the boat together at the stem.  It’s a structurally important piece, and can be tricky to fit.  So I did what I usually do when I have a tricky piece to fit, I made a pattern. Continue reading “Breasthooks Part 1–Fabrication”

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New Gunwales

The graceful sweeping curves of the new inwales clearly show the need for steam to bend them into place.
The graceful sweeping curves of the new inwales clearly show the need for steam to bend them into place.

Gunwale is an old nautical term.  A wale is a plank on the side of a ship or boat.  The top wale on a sailing warship was called the gun wale and was reinforced to carry the stresses imposed by heavy cannon.  Typical of nautical terms, it is not pronounced like it is spelled.  “Gunnel” is the correct pronunciation.  In canoes, it has come to mean the reinforcing strips along the top edge of the boat.  Specifically, there are usually two strips, an inwale and an outwale. Continue reading “New Gunwales”

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Restoring a Canoe–Step 1–Assess the Work

A thorough cleaning with Dawn dish washing detergent and water is the first step.
A thorough cleaning with Dawn dish washing detergent and water is the first step.

The first step in any restoration project is assessing and agreeing on the work to be done.  In this case, we agreed that Ashley River Boatworks would perform repairs needed to the boat, but that re-finishing would be the owner’s responsibility.  Often and owner has special talents and can save money by performing some of the work themselves.   Continue reading “Restoring a Canoe–Step 1–Assess the Work”