Canoe Re-do

Here's my crack at a fixer-upper. The canoe is a 13-foot Tremblay from what my brother says.

I decided right off that since it was my first shot at this it was going to be an experiment; so I did my homework and certainly went my own way at times.

Here's the shape it was in when I got it:

Started by removing planks that definitely needed replacing and pretty-well all nails that had worked their heads above the wood surface.

I lightly sanded the interior to remove flaking varnish.

Striping off the old varnish.

Post-bleaching.

Varnishing the interior.

Soaked the exterior.

What you get when you order 5 yards...

After checking out all the canvas tips, suggestions and hints, I figured this is just a base for the filler so I used a 45% cotton - 55% hemp curtain material (!). I calculated that the voids between the individual threads were about the same as the #10/#12 suggestions I'd read and since this was only going to be a flat-water fair-weather canoe, what the hell, eh?

Filler obtained from Headwaters Canoes "Our shop is located in the Gatineau Hills, near Wakefield, Quebec about 40 minutes from Ottawa."

I decided I liked seeing the planking thru' the filler so I didn't try to get a mirror finish on the hull.

I then proceeded to paint it white...

...then red...

...then yellow...

That way I could sand it and see what the heck was going on a little bit easier!

Then I painted it white again...

And finally the first coat of blue.

And I sanded it again...

Then blue again...

And moved it outside to trim the canvas which by now was nice and stiff!

Here's what the surface looks like...

The paint I used was all Tremclad and dried pretty good and quickly. As I stated above this was just an experiment and altho' the the filler/canvas was a fairly good base I thought the paint as it polymerized came out as a relatively tough suface.

Now, the gunnels; the pieces cut by a friend at his mill. He's:
Terry O'Connor
Sawyer and Carpenter
and he runs:
Valley Wood Products and Services
RR#1, Almonte, Ontario K0A 1A0
"Rough and Dressed Lumber, Trim, Sawing (portable)"

I said "To hell with tradition and used good old Canadian Robertson screws thoughout!"

Posed after its first outing at the cottage...brass stembands from Rollin Thurlow at Northwoods Canoe Company, which I chose because of his sterling reputation and because he hired Pete Wallace and admires "... his bank of information on Frank Zappa...". Any friend of FZs' a friend of mine!

Of course, for the first outing, do you think I could find a PFD that'd fit a grown-up? Not likely!

The thing paddles great and turns on a dime...

Later, my brother Rollie, who's a pinstriper from way back painted the name I'd decided on. See more of his work here.

Originally, I wanted to call it "Rollie" for my dad, then my girlfriends mother, "Byrtha", died in a kitchen fire in May so I thought I'd add her on the other side, but read up that naming a boat two names was unlucky so I settled on "RnB".

That's all folks!