Don't Allow Water To Freeze/Thaw Inside Your Canoe!

[shelldrake]

I re-did this Kennebec last year. The owner left it upright in a screened porch and didn't realize that rain water was blowing in. Water sat in the bottom of the boat at the lowest point and this is what happened.

Time to test my patching ability.........

 

[Dave Osborn]

I have a customer with a similar situation. His canoe, just out of my shop after full restoration (because he didn’t store it properly) sat on his beach right side up for several weeks after torrential rains.
He was grilled in the proper storage protocol for wood canvas canoes several times. Now I need to recanvas it.
It didn’t freeze, but the saturation and expansion did a number on it.

 

[shelldrake]

Interesting Dave. So, the canvas swelled and split as a result of the saturation? Were the splits perpendicular to the centerline? I'm wondering about the physics of this mess.

It would be nice if we could treat the inside of the canvas to render it impermeable to water.

 

[Dave Osborn]

It was a beauty!
The canvas did not split, but it crazed the paint and filler. In my experience, there is no amount of sanding and painting that will hide those flaws for very long, although I presented it as an option to the customer. He opted to have me recanvas, fill and paint to get back to the “just restored” look and luster.
I use a very flexible filler that moves with expansion and contraction.
Had I used a traditional filler, I believe that the crazing would have been worse, possibly split.

 

[shelldrake]

Nice looking boat. Shame it wasn't appreciated......