Advice for a Newbie...Ribs, Stem and Deck Questions

[Michael Graessle]

I have begun the tear down of my 1924 OT OTCA. I have attached a copy of the build record for reference.

I have questions regarding which ribs to purchase and the deck structure. Looking at Island Fall product list, which rib to I have: white cedar or the other straight rib? I think I will have 6 ribs and a whole bunch of rib tips to replace.

What is the stem made out of? I will have to scarf in a new tip for that as well.

Additionally, when I removed the front deck, the last 4-5 inches of the inner gunwales came with it. I seems it was straight cut and not scarfed. Should I scarf new sections in or just replace the original. Finally, it appears there was some bracing installed under the deck, is this normal or was this put in place to reinforce the chopped gunwales?

Michael

 

[Benson Gray]

The build record for your canoe at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/37296/ is easier to read. The Island Falls list at http://www.islandfallscanoe.com/old-town-parts-and-materials.aspx is a bit vague so I would encourage you to contact them for clarification. My guess is that their "WHITE CEDAR RIB STOCK" is what you want. The specifications page at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/specific.gif indicates that your original stem was probably ash. The straight cuts on your inner gunwales and bracing under the deck are all probably the result of a previous repair. A proper scarf should work much better. Good luck,

Benson

 

[paddler123]

I think their "Rib Stock" is just a rectangular board of the right thickness; their "Rib, straight" are shaped and tapered, i.e. ready to bend. It's almost certainly all white cedar.

 

[Michael Graessle]

Thank you so much for the help and patience. I grossly underestimated this undertaking! I am still excited about it, but very cautious as I proceed.

Benson, thank you for the diagram, it is really helpful. My canoe is a 1924 Otca, do you happen to know how long the decks were? The diagam says Old Town decks were 16 inches, except Otca. Also, were they ogee shaped? I found a picture on the ole interweb, but I am not sure. The picture caption says it is from the 1940s.

After looking at it more closely this evening, the under bracing is just that. Instead of fixing the rib end, bracing was installed. To make matters worse, in addition to using steel screws everywhere he could squeeze on in, EVERYTHING is stapled with small steel staples.

I am stripping the canoe tomorrow and if that goes well I will begin to remove some of the planking to further diagnose the damage.

 

[Benson Gray]

My canoe is a 1924 Otca, do you happen to know how long the decks were? The diagam says Old Town decks were 16 inches, except Otca. Also, were they ogee shaped?

A 1924 Otca would have twenty inch decks with a round coaming as shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/old-town-canoe-032-jpg.21376/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/id/images/otca_deck1.jpg for example. Good luck,

Benson

 

[samb]

This may give you some ideas and help as you proceed.

Sam

 

[Michael Graessle]

Sam,

Thank you for such a wonderful resource. It will help me a lot.

Michael