Canvas Recommendations?

ewitzel

Curious about Wooden Canoes
Does anyone have a favorite type and/or supplier of canvas? I’m in the process of recanvasing the family 1934 Old Town Guide. Any thoughts would be most welcome.
 
There are quite a few folks supplying canvas listed in the Builders-Suppliers section of this forum:
http://www.wcha.org/builders-and-suppliers-directory
Picking a source that is located reasonably close by can save you some cost...
You should consider buying a treated canvas. Check out Rollin's (Northwoods Canoe in Maine) canvas. If you buy it elsewhere find out if it's treated. If not, have a plan for treating it. Some folks treat the filler.
 
Give some thought to the canvas 'weight', or duck, which essentially is the thread size and indicative of overall canvas thickness. Typically the choices are lightweight #12, standard #10, and heavy #8. The weight of the canvas itself is negligible compared to the canoe's weight, but the thicker the canvas is the more filler, aka mud, it'll absorb, and mud is heavy. I believe most canoes 18' or shorter used to be supplied with #10 duck which I assume made the canvas more resistant to rips. I figure people these days are much more careful with their canoes, so I opt for lightweight #12 to make the canoe a little lighter.

You can treat the mud with a liquid algaecide - you'll find some at your local hardware store.
 
Checking the inventories of these 2 canvas suppliers was educational, thanks.
I'm amazed to see the wide range of weights offered.

Dave, do you do anything to prep your canvas for use? Thinking Rollin's are pre-shrunk and treated.

Dan
 
I'm surprised to hear that Big Duck had unreasonable terms. I'd done quite a bit of comparison shopping before ordering from them. I need more canvas when the weather breaks. Hope I can deal with them again. I'll keep Artarama in mind though.
I used a foam roller to apply Cabot's wood preservative to the canvas, and let it dry before filling. Mixing mildewcide into the filler is probably easier. I'm sure someone could offer advice on the quantity to use.
 
I’ve had good quality from Jerry’s Artarama.
I usually order rolls, but they do offer 18’ “blankets”. For a canoe under 18’, that’s perfect. Especially for the hobby guys that do one or two. If I need to cover a row boat, I can order just a blanket in the appropriate width and weight without buying a whole roll.
I like free shipping too.
 
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