1950 Thompson

February 5, 2012

This one came all the way from Louisiana and has been in the same family its entire life so it’s a real honor to restore it for yet another generation. Overall it’s in good shape – a couple of broken ribs in the middle and a few more in the stern where it appears it […]

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More Improv on the 59 Otca

February 5, 2012

As I stated in an earlier post, the normal procedure in replacing multiple broken ribs in a row would be to screw some bracing battens to the outside of the hull and replace every other rib then go back a few days later and do the ones you left to help define the shape. In […]

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Toys for Boys

January 22, 2012

I made it by The Antique Boat Center’s open house Saturday. Lots of good wood with big motors! Had a great time talking with Lou, Dennis, Bryan and the rest of the gang plus I added a trick or two to my bag for the shop!

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Canoe CSI

January 10, 2012

I’ve been eyeballing the previous repairs on the Otca with a high degree of suspicion. The replacement planking and ribs didn’t look, feel, or smell like any type of cedar. So I wasn’t exactly shocked to find this: Hey, you can mill any species of wood down to the dimensions used for ribs and planks […]

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1953 Old Town model HW

January 6, 2012

This 16 footer has been hiding in a garage for years. It needs a lot of work but will be a beauty when done since it’s AA grade, meaning all mahogany trim. Most Old Towns are CS grade with spruce rails, oak decks, thwarts, and seats. Not sure what the price will be yet – […]

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Improvise

January 5, 2012

Normally new ribs would go in first, followed by removal of bad planking, then fasten new planking. This poor boat was so badly pushed out of shape I’m having to improvise in order to hopefully reclaim her original shape. I can’t set new ribs against air! There’s going to be a good bit fairing by […]

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Chiropractor

January 2, 2012

Trying to straighten her back out. After removing the broken or deformed ribs I have something to work with! Temporary strong-back screwed through the keel holes. Still a good bit of curve but less like a hunchback!

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Holy Canoe!

January 2, 2012

Feels like the puzzle palace.

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Revisiting the 1959 Otca

January 1, 2012

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted anything on this one.  It’s been in the back of the shop and my mind ever since I skinned it and uncovered its secrets. In addition to the typical rotted tips this one suffered a major accident resulting in a rebuilt midsection. Unfortunately several of the ribs […]

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Renewed

December 30, 2011

Originally built almost 20 years ago (we think) she’s now better than ever. The beauty of these boats is there is almost always a means to renew them. In our disposable society it gives me great satisfaction to do this work. All this canoe suffered from was neglect. Her hull remains original although I did […]

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