My "new" canoe seat.

I took three day trips on my recent trip to Ak. On the second trip I took my OT Tripper and realized that the stock plastic molded seat was too low for my preference. I didn't like those seats anyway, the bow seat had a cup holder for heavens sake. I decided to replace them with traditional wood seats and put the stern seat back to where OT originally put it, back about six inches.

On my third day trip, on the drive I stopped to check out the new canoe landing and parking lot on Portage Creek to check it out to see if there was a good spot to stash bicycles or the boat for a future trip to float the creek. When I got out of the truck, there laying on the ground was an old discarded wooden canoe seat. It looked to be in such poor condition that I almost left it there. The cane was shredded, the wood was weathered with tape wrapped around it but it seemed strong so I took it home.

I cleaned it up, oiled it, and replaced the cane. I bought some new varnish and cut it to size. I really wanted to get it installed and try it out, but I needed 4 inch bolts so it didn't happen. I used that extra time and new varnish to clean up and varnish all brightwork and paddles that were suffering from deferred maintenance, and also get some things done around the house. This softened the blow of not getting out on an overnight trip but I was OK with it.

I wish I had taken a "before" picture, but here is one from after.

Looks good! Did you press in the new cane from a sheet or use a premade rectangle? I’ve read that it is a pretty tedious job. Would you do it again vs buying a new seat from Ed’s?

Excellent work! And saving the earth from another piece of trash.

Halpc said:

Looks good! Did you press in the new cane from a sheet or use a premade rectangle? I’ve read that it is a pretty tedious job. Would you do it again vs buying a new seat from Ed’s?

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Yes, it was from a sheet that came with the kit that I got from Ed's years ago. I would do it again. Once I ground down a flat head screw driver to fit in the groove and sharpened the tip it went pretty quick. The whole job, not counting finishing the wood probably didn't take much more than an hour.

Thanks Erica. I'd like to think I saved the world from another piece of trash, but now I need to find a home for a molded plastic seat, any takers?

lowangle al said:

Yes, it was from a sheet that came with the kit that I got from Ed's years ago. I would do it again. Once I ground down a flat head screw driver to fit in the groove and sharpened the tip it went pretty quick. The whole job, not counting finishing the wood probably didn't take much more than an hour.

Thanks Erica. I'd like to think I saved the world from another piece of trash, but now I need to find a home for a molded plastic seat, any takers?

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For the last 12 years I have been maintaining a fleet of about 15-16 canoes and about 30 kayaks at the local nature center where I am a volunteer. The place gets regular donations of mostly canoes and some kayaks. A fair number of the canoes are junk so I salvage whatever parts I may be able to use in the future and cut up the hulls into dumpster sized pieces. I like to keep the molded plastic OT seats because the caned seats don’t hold up in rental use. I am not asking for yours Al, but I bet someone local might want it. Mostly, I repair/replace kayak seats. All our kayaks are OT boats and they have redesigned some of the seats based on our rental experience with them. They really don’t hold up very well in rental use

jdeerfoot said:

and cut up the hulls into dumpster sized pieces.

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JD, I'm curious to know what you use to cut up a canoe hull, as I may need to do that. I'm now sorry I didn't keep my father's Sawzall, which probably could do the job.

Glenn MacGrady said:

JD, I'm curious to know what you use to cut up a canoe hull, as I may need to do that. I'm now sorry I didn't keep my father's Sawzall, which probably could do the job.

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Not a canoe, but a badly beat up AMF Sunfish hull that I cannibalized for parts. I used a variable speed saber saw (set on low speed) with a coarse blade. It didn't raise a lot of fine dust, but I wore a mask anyway. A sawsall would probably work too, but you don't need that long of a blade.

Glenn MacGrady said:

JD, I'm curious to know what you use to cut up a canoe hull, as I may need to do that. I'm now sorry I didn't keep my father's Sawzall, which probably could do the job.

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Glenn, I've done it with a carbide grit-edge blade in a sabre-saw (handheld thingie that seems to be referred to here in OR as a jig saw, which to me is a bench-type saw, but different strokes as they say). Was gonna do it to another hull, but turned it into a planter instead. Pic attached of what I mean. There are many styles and brands available, though it would be hard for me to believe that you haven't seen this sort of thing before.

Glenn MacGrady said:

JD, I'm curious to know what you use to cut up a canoe hull, as I may need to do that. I'm now sorry I didn't keep my father's Sawzall, which probably could do the job.

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Sawzall with a wood blade (coarse teeth). If the boat has meta gunwales I use a metal blade. I turned one old OT Discovery into 2 bookcases. The wife makes me keep mine in the basement.

jdeerfoot said:

I like to keep the molded plastic OT seats because the caned seats don’t hold up in rental use. I am not asking for yours Al, but I bet someone local might want it. Mostly, I repair/replace kayak seats. All our kayaks are OT boats and they have redesigned some of the seats based on our rental experience with them. They really don’t hold up very well in rental use

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I doubt I’ll ever get rid of them. I mistakenly got rid of the original seat from my older Tripper when I was overzealously declutterring my garage. This was before I became intimately involved with paddling solo from the stern and discovered the benefits of having the stern seat as far back as possible. I’ll probably give them to the next owner of that boat.

The way I view salvaged canoe parts is, I can always toss them. But for now I am hanging on to them. Now I usually keep them in my garage at home. Several times I have lost parts stored at the nature center garage/workshop due to another volunteer deciding to clear out the junk in the shop.

I have struggled with cane seats and ash frames for decades. Now I only use ash frames and black webbing for replacement seats.