gunnels and the cross bars??

[roystr]

my wife picked me up a fg canoe. as i have nowhere else to turn,i hope youll bear with me and maybe offer some help as im stuck.

the boat came with no gunnels,well one side is cracked aluminum and the other is gone.its a fg shell realy. since it has nothing holding it apart(the spreader bars) i have no idea how long to make them. if i make them to long/wide then the boat has a dip in the middle if not wide enough then it has a banana shape.
so my question is,with no name on the boat to tell me what kind it is or any information at all, how do i know how wide to make the spreader bars? is there a way to do some calculation to find this number? or is it one of them things i can "wing" and basicaly fake. for the gunnels i was thinking of 3/4X3/4 and scarfed to length. is that ok? or should it be thicker or deeper?? id like to hang the seat from them as well. ive seen kits for sale and they look like what id like to see on the boat,course when i get that far,maybe ill build them. the thing is,,i dont know the dimensions to make the gunnels.
other than the shell,id like if i can,have the rest of the canoe made/fixed with wood.gunnels/cross bars and any trim i might want.

by the way,the boat/canoe is about 17' long.

any help or web direction would be great.

thanks,
roy
fulton,NY
roystr@hotmail.com

 

[Benson Gray]

I would encourage you to adjust the gunwales and spreader bars (thwarts) so that the canoe is flat along the bottom without any dips or banana shape. Many wooden canoes have inside and outside gunwales that are about 3/4 by 3/4 of an inch so that should be fine. Thicker or deeper would probably not hurt but it will make the canoe a bit heavier. The seats are usually bolted to the bottom of the inside gunwales. Good luck with your project,

Benson

 

[roystr]

thank you BG

thwarts,,,,thats rite.lol
ok,so the bottom ought to be flat. and the gunnels could be a bit more than 3/4"?? thats fine as well.

thanks,
roy