In article , "Dino &/or
Susan" wrote:

Came across a 30-40 year old canvas and cedar canoe which maybe beyond
particle professional restoration.

Any advice the option of stripping off the canvas and covering with epoxy?

Would only resin be enough? Would cloth be necessary?


Dino



I've done it both ways (re-canvas and epoxy+fiberglass); it required quite a
bit more time, skill and materials to recanvas, but I believe it is The
Right Thing To Do.

I've always felt bad about *******izing an 18 ft Old Town square stern with
the glass-plus-epoxy - I didn't really improve it any, more of a 'quick fix'
really. Compared to the 16 ft 1941 Old Town HW with sponsons which I rebuilt
using canvas, filler and paint- it took me longer, but I am happier with the
finished result. Also, it was more pleasant working with the canvas
materials than the epoxy - fiberglassing is more like auto body repair than
boat building.

Epoxy+glass (and YES, you WILL need the glass!) works best when the wood is
completely encapsulated - not practical when the interior of the boat has a
bunch of ribs. Since both boats have been used very little and are stored
under cover, I can't really say which method is more durable. Too bad they
don't belong to me - I'd test them out.

To help you decide if you want to try recanvassing, read 'The Wood & Canvas
Canoe' by Jerry Stelmok and Robin Thurlow - the last part is about
restoration.

Don't forget - the hull is only half the job: steam bending new ribs,
replacing broken planking, rotten decks and 'wales, scraping and
revarnishing the interior - these chores will likely take longer than
redoing the hull exterior.

My first (and last!) canvas restoration required 314 hours of my time (the
sponsons added some complexity over a normal job). I spent about $600 on
materials, including new decks, stems, 9 ribs, and 10 half ribs purchased
from Old Town. With the same amount of time and materials I can build a VERY
nice brand new cedar stripper - true it won't be an antique Old Town - but
can you really say it's an antique Old Town after you've epoxied one?

So my advice is: EITHER restore the Old Town using canvas, OR build a new
stripper from scratch.

To see a cedar strip canoe I built, you can look at the pictures on my
auction at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3617885338

(auction ends 7/22)
--
Gary Wright
Springfield MO

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