First WC and first restoration attempt

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Greetings WC and B canoe folks-
I’m a new member… name is Drew (DT). I purchased my first WC canoe this past Tuesday. I was encouraged to post a thread to hopefully share and definitely get feedback and advice on this new endeavor. It is a 1940 OTC CS Yankee 16’. I spent last night poring over the This Old Canoe (thx Robin) and setting up my cradle. I am going to begin the investigation/ note taking part tonight and taking pictures before I do anything else. Oddly enjoy going into the shop and just admiring the beauty. Here is a picture or two and the manifest kindly provided by Benson at the Wood Canoe Society.
Cheers
DT

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

Wow- that’s in great shape. You will paddling in no time. I am looking forward to seeing the progress!

Welcome aboard Drew

 

[yellowcanoe]

Love the build records..I am amazed that the boat was essentially off the form and canvassed in a day but the fillers needed a long time to cure before finishing off. Thanks for sharing, Drew.

 

[Patrick Corry]

Welcome to the w/c canoe club. I'm in the middle of my second w/c canoe restoration and I can affirm your notion of "admiring the beauty". I thoroughly enjoy spending time with the details of my canoes as well! I find it interesting that although most of the w/c canoes we might find were production built, it's impressive how finely detailed they are and so completely repairable.

Being a somewhat detailed note-taker myself, I also keep for future reference the old planking tacks, rib/inwale nails, and screws I remove for future reference if replacement hardware is required. It's easy to measure the old fasteners and hardware for replacement.

Here's mine currently... It needs two planks replaced, and I made them out of western red cedar; ripped from 1/2"x 8" bevel cedar siding. It'll yield at least two full length planks ripped to 7/32", then drum sanded to final thickness to match the existing planking.

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Wow- that’s in great shape. You will paddling in no time. I am looking forward to seeing the progress!

Welcome aboard Drew

Wow- that’s in great shape. You will paddling in no time. I am looking forward to seeing the progress!

Welcome aboard Drew

Thank you Bob-
appreciate the support!
DT

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Love the build records..I am amazed that the boat was essentially off the form and canvassed in a day but the fillers needed a long time to cure before finishing off. Thanks for sharing, Drew.

I thought the record was interesting too… like looking back in time

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Welcome to the w/c canoe club. I'm in the middle of my second w/c canoe restoration and I can affirm your notion of "admiring the beauty". I thoroughly enjoy spending time with the details of my canoes as well! I find it interesting that although most of the w/c canoes we might find were production built, it's impressive how finely detailed they are and so completely repairable.

Being a somewhat detailed note-taker myself, I also keep for future reference the old planking tacks, rib/inwale nails, and screws I remove for future reference if replacement hardware is required. It's easy to measure the old fasteners and hardware for replacement.

Here's mine currently... It needs two planks replaced, and I made them out of western red cedar; ripped from 1/2"x 8" bevel cedar siding. It'll yield at least two full length planks ripped to 7/32", then drum sanded to final thickness to match the existing planking.

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Pat that looks awesome…funny you mention the production build, yet the detail orientation of the build…i thought it was ironic that with all that is out there in modern builds… these are still lasting and their life extended
thanks for the pics… it look great.. will be using that technique for the planks…thank you
DT

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Pat that looks awesome…funny you mention the production build, yet the detail orientation of the build…i thought it was ironic that with all that is out there in modern builds… these are still lasting and their life extended
thanks for the pics… it look great.. will be using that technique for the planks…thank you
DT

And love that shop floor! Reminds me of our family barn from my childhood

 

[Patrick Corry]

And love that shop floor! Reminds me of our family barn from my childhood

Its the original threshing floor of my Pennsylvania German bank barn. Lumpy and makes setting sawhorses level, but full of character! I love spending time in the barn and admiring it’s history, character, and the talent of the post & beam builders.

 

[Sdrew22]

Have fun. I remember my first W/C canoe. Now I have seven.

 

[alsg]

i thought it was ironic that with all that is out there in modern builds… these are still lasting and their life extended

Some have lasted amazingly well. Some ended up in the trash. And others are like the Ship of Theseus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

 

[lowangle al]

A Yankee was my first w/c canoe. A very nice boat, good luck with it.

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Have fun. I remember my first W/C canoe. Now I have seven.

Love it! Thank you

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

A Yankee was my first w/c canoe. A very nice boat, good luck with it.

Appreciate that!

 

[Fitz]

Oh boy! Watch out! Wooden Canoe Bug is a fatal affliction. Before you know it, you have a barn full and a kink in the neck from driving by and checking out people's backyards. There is no known cure...

 

[Robin]

That’s in great condition, looking forward to the restoration, and what Fitz said.

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Well… I cleaned the outside and inside … rinsed and began cleaning out the screw heads and removed the stem bands and port side outwale. Some of the tacks under the outwale were still bright and shiny. Others… not so much. I found one repair on the gunwale done with a steel screw. So far the wood under the first gunwale seems good. Did find two new areas in need of attention on the planking after cleaning the inside.

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Here’s what she is starting to look like under the varnish… pretty exciting

 

[Patrick Corry]

What do your stems look like? I will re-canvas and fasten with stainless steel staples, including along the stem. Because the stems usually look like Swiss cheese from previous canvas nails and stem band screws, I fill those many holes with round toothpicks, cut in half, and dipped in yellow glue, then gently inserted point first into the holes. A day later you can easily cut them off and sand flush. My concern is that it's likely that many of the staple legs would otherwise not have a solid place to grip the stem, allowing the canvas to come loose in places. I also use toothpicks in a similar way to insert along with the gunwale screws into the original holes. Makes the screws just a little bit tighter.

The chalk marks indicate planking tack heads which need re-clinching.

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Great advice! Here are the stem views. I am getting close to having all the old varnish mostly (ha) removed. I am planning on washing with TSP with bleach added as per instructions to clear up the mildew on the wood. Is that appropriate? Appreciate you checking in on me. Yours looks great… can’t wait to strip the canvas and glue up the holes,