Shop Updates 11-30-2013

The shop is full of canoes and boats being restored and built for customers that have come to us from all over.  Some of the states include Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Maine, California, Mississippi, and Canada. Once again I have let much time elapse since the last post so there are many pictures to see.

First, a little feed back from customers:

"I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your help earlier this winter and spring on fixing up the Old Town canoe.  I really learned a lot about the process of boatbuilding and had a great deal of fun building the boat back up from the brink of ruin.  You and Emily were both tremendously patient and generous with your knowledge and I really appreciate that.  I think it paid dividends in the final product.

We had a blast this summer paddling around some of the small ponds in the area and on the Connecticut River!  We don’t go many places where people don’t notice and comment on the beauty of the boat!  That seems natural enough to me because, when I look at it, it looks like functional art.  Kathy won’t let me hang it on the wall of the living room, though."

 

This was received from a customer sending us his canoe from California:

 

"You come highly recommended, actually you come higher than highly recommended."

 

We are very touched and encouraged to hear these nice words.

 

 

 

An early BN Morris

 

What is left of the original logo on the deck dates this one to circa 1895-1902.  Thanks to Kathy Klos at the WCHA for her help with dating.

 

 Here is what it looked like when it came into the shop.

 

Emily beginning to disassemble the Morris.

 Rib replacement: replacing some of the damaged ribs with new ones.

 

 Repairing the end of the deck.

 

 Rebuilding the stern end of the canoe that had suffered from rot.

Emily tacking the canvas along the stem

 The Morris canvassed and ready for filler.

The Morris being filled.

 

 

 Chestnut Canoe Company

 

 A nice little 15 foot canoe by Chestnut

 

Whatch-ya doing there Emily?

Getting measurements for some new ribs.

 

 The interior all stripped out, new inner gunwales, and rebuilt ends.

We actually have two little Chestnuts in the shop at the moment.  In fact we have 2 Chestnuts, 1 Temagami Canoe, and a Fraser Prospector - all in the Chestnut family.  Some can be seen in the photo above. 

 

Old Town OTCA

 

A late model OTCA that has seen repairs in the past. Previous repairs are often the largest obstacles to overcome in a restoration.  Some are done well and others, well, not so well.

 

BZZP....BZZZZP...BZZZZZP, the sound of the drill gun as canoes are taken apart for restoration.

 

The interior stripped out and ready for new inner gunwales.

 

 

New Canoes

 

Lots of new canoes being built.  Here are some pictures.

 

A little 10 footer being planked

 

 Bending ribs on the form

 

 All the ribs bent

 

 Planking the hull

 

The hull all planked up

 

The hull off the form

Around the shop

 

 Inside the shop

 

 Nice long, clear ash being milled.

 

 A 20 foot cherry log being milled into gunwale stock.

 

 Canvassing

 

Truing up seat stock on the jointer



 

Looking out the shop window from the workbench

Shop updates - Penn Yan Swift, EM White, Old Town Canoe

Lots of pictures in this update. We have some really nice projects currently going on in the shop which we will get to in a later update. First, lets play catch up and see some of the finished projects from this summer. 

OLD TOWN CANOE

 

 

Here is what the canoe looked like when it came in the shop

 



There were some damaged ribs that needed replacing 

The ribs have been replaced and so have the inner rails

 

When the first coat of varnish goes on those new ribs really stick out....

 

....but with a little effort and stain they start to blend in

Emily installing the new outer gunwales

The canoe all finished

This shot shows the broken and replaced ribs. Which ones are they?

 

 

 

EM WHITE
 

Okay, so this isn't a completed project. 
It is a glimpse of some of the current projects in the shop.

This canoe was purchased by the owners parents on their honeymoon in Maine! 
How cool is that?

 

 

 

At first glance this canoe looks just fine, right?



 

Well, look again.

 

 

The canoe was cracked in half from gunwale to gunwale and there were over 25 broken ribs.

 

 

The nearly 100 year old finish was black

 

 

The canoe has been stripped out, but where to start first???

 

 

First a little rib replacement.....

 

.....Then a little planking work. 

The garboard being replaced here

 

The garboard on.

 

 

As you can see one of the unique features of EM White was his bevel edged planking

 

 

Dylan installing a new rib

 

 

The stems were pretty well trashed too.

 

The new inner rails being replaced

 

 

The inner rails are in

 

 

Still some more ribs to put in

 

Is there light at the end of that tunnel?  Yup, sure is. 

The White is almost ready to head to the finish room.

More to come in the next post.

 

 

OLD TOWN CANOE

 

This canoe was bought new in 1926 and shipped to a resident in the town were Dylan grew up. 

The current owner, who acquired the canoe from the original owner, also grew up in that town.

You probably knew I was going to say this, but how cool is that?

 

 

 

Broken inner and outer gunwales

 

 

Here she is all finished. 

Bought new, sold and owned, then restored all by people

from the same town that spanned nearly 90 years.

 

 

PENN YAN SWIFT CUTM

 

Continued from earlier updates, the Penn Yan swift

 

 

After canvas and filler, the outer rails are installed

and the entire top side is sanded down.

 Finishing starts on the top side.  Got love that deck. 

 

The deck getting caulked

 

 

 Almost done....

Bingo!

 



 

I might be a tad bit biased, but this was one good looking swift

 

 

 

 

Until the next update......................