I fired up the steam box for a few skinny ribs for the Thompson. At only 7/8″ wide the ribs bend like spaghetti once hot. That such a lightly built boat only needs a few ribs replaced is a testament to both the durability of wood canvas canoes and the respect of the brothers that […]

It’s always nice to see your work end up in print! In this case it’s a double – both the image and the boat. The scan below is the inside back cover of the latest issue of Wooden Canoe (bottom right image is my shot of the first Old Town I restored). You can click […]

After adjusting and nailing the rib ends, I removed the temporary braces that I used to sandwich the new ribs into alignment. The technique worked as hoped. The old Otca won’t be as fair as she once was but she’ll be vastly improved.