My Mate Pete

[Nick Dennis]

My neighbours must have thought that a Woodpecker had taken up residence in my garage as I worked along and around the canoe re-tacking where needed. Light thumb pressure on the planks easily identifies where a tack has failed. There is now a slight moritorium on the noise as I have run out of tacks and am waiting for some more to arrive.

The garden went early quiet which was not just down to me ceasing tacking; look at the photo carefully and you will see why...

The wet weather has slowed things up a bit here in the UK. but I managed to rub the inside down with the Mirka Gold pads which are able to get into the curves, nooks and crannies. I then applied some stain to even out the colour and then gave everything a coat of shellac as a good base beneath the varnish. It gives a great rich patina. Similarly the sanded inwales and new outwales where also given a coat. I willed all dry and hard for a few days and then get the first coat of satin matte varnish on.

The canvas and filler have arrived; I am still awaiting the arrival of the bolts and screws from the US but they should not hold things up. I had my 5th Covid jab yesterday so have a sore arm today which is forcing me to be on lighter duties.

The decision has been made...NO KEEL! Cedar plugs were cut and the old keel fixing holes plugged, and sanded.

Cheers,

Nick

 

[dtdcanoes]

So nice and warm on my feet, he said with a grin, and then some breakfast.
Dave

 

[Nick Dennis]

Shellac and first coat of satin matte varnish. A lovely rich patin is evolving.

 

[Nick Dennis]

Life always throws up a conundrum from time to time and as I went to trial fit the seats I was presented with one. My original assumption, thinking symmetry, was that the thwarts would be a mirror of each other so I made a new front thwart to the dimension of the rear one. How wrong I was; the front and stern thwarts are set at different lengths from their respective canoe ends, the front thwart is at rib 19 whilst the rear is at rib 21. Ideally then, the front thwart should be slightly shorter than the rear. Mine were the same length. Years without thwarts and complete gunwales had resulted in the canoe spreading significantly. I had pulled it in and at the rear the seat will fit as do the decks and thwart. At the front whilst the shape looks good,

the decks fitted but the seat would not fit. So I took the width measurement at the rear 19th rib and transferring this to the front position showed I was about 5/8th out.

I removed the over -length thwart, wrapped a ratchet strap around the canoe and gently eased it in by 5/8". The thwart was cut down, re-drilled and bolted in. The seat then fitted far better.

It's a bit like the blind leading the blind on the seat hangers. I have cut the hangers 3/4" square to 1 1/4" drop but the shear of the canoe means that I will need some shorter than others and cut at an angle so that the seats sit level. I levelled the canoe first

I then put the level on the front seat to see how far out it was

I then found a block to set it level . This then gives me the difference in length of the hangers

I then repeated the exercise with the rear seat. Again to get the difference so that the seat sits level.

I need to now work out the optimum length for the longest of the seat hangers and work back from there. So it doesn't look daft I may look at 1" for the shortest and lengthen the other one to about 1 3/4" for the shear. A bit of experimentation is needed.

I have the canvas, filler, primer, paint and Rollin has posted the bolts and screws from Maine. Even with the drop in the value of the £ it was still cheaper to import than to buy here in the UK.

That's it for now. More light sanding now between varnish coats.

Nick

 

[Nick Dennis]

I always think that getting the canvas stretched on is a real turning point in the project. The day was looking fine and dry so I assembled all my gear ready for the off. Then a spanner was thrown in the works as Angelika ,my wife went shopping so, with her Ford Kuga gone I had lost one of my anchor points. I was using the tow hitch on my Land Rover at one end but then found a convenient fence post who stepped up as "Super Sub"

As the drive fell away slightly and the canvas was longer at one end I chocked up one of the cradles so that the pull would be downwards. Once certain that all was secure I applied tension as much as I dared and then started from the centre using 10mm stainless steel staples. I find that using a staple gun is far easier than having a third arm and hand grafted on.

Of course doing the job out the front of the house resulted in the things taking far longer due to the chatting involved with intrigued passerby I wasn't too far into the job when Angelika came home with the other anchor point but the fence post was holding up well as was the Land Rover so I cracked on. Including tea and wee stops and chatting it took 4 hours. I was fussing a lot at the stems and there was some slight puckering of the canvas around the tight curve but that will be hidden by the stem band and bedding compound. I was not unhappy with the result but the pulling on my hands made it exceptionally difficult to hold a gin & tonic that evening!

The next two days were spent adding two coats of "filler". We have found that Zinsser Watertite works well It is a flexible but strong basement waterproofing paint with an anti mould and mildew additive. I applied it with a hard 4" roller. It will get a light sand once cured at which time I will see if a 3rd coat is needed but I am conscious of not wishing to add too much weight. A 5l tin of Watertite weighs hell of a lot!

It gives a slightly "gritty" finish but is easily sanded smooth before primer, primer and topcoats. Just need patience now to allow the finish to cure before moving forward. The hardware has arrived from Rollin so I will get the seats in and perhaps a bit more varnish on the inside.

That's it for now.

 

[Nick Dennis]

The first couple of coats dried quickly so I went over the whole hull with a Mirka 150 grit pad and rubbed the "grittiness" off and then applied a good 3rd coat leaving it thicker and not spreading it so far with the roller. A much smoother finish was the result.

I left it out in the autumn sun to dry and bake off whilst I cleaned up but suspect my crocs are now beyond help but I could Ebay them as "trendy" :0

 

[Nick Dennis]

An Indian Summer here in the UK has helped with the drying.So I have cracked on with a couple of coats of primer. Most of the first coat was rubbed down and ended up on the garage floor. I will lightly rub the 2nd coat over before applying the undercoat to the final colour. I like to refit the outwales at this time so that I can lap the undercoat and topcoat on the underside of the gobtwales to form a good seal between them and the hull.

I dipped all the screws in Bison Wax which helps them go in; it also lines the screw holes. The backside of the outwales were coloured and varnished the other week to give them protection from behind.

It is now all coming together.

I do have to keep reminding myself that it's a 92 year old canoe and, like us all with age there will be lumps.bumps and imperfections. A lot are now vanishing under the primer and paint but it won't be perfect. The canoe has a slight twist but I can live with that.

The last job was to cut, shape drill and start fitting the stem bands which I am bedding on caulk; fitting the first one has highlighted the stem twist slightly.

I am now away for a few days which will give everything further time to dry and cure. I can then start building up the layers in readiness for the final finish. I need to make a clamp on portage yoke and also a "Welsh Plank" so that I can paddle the canoe solo.

One daunting job on the far horizon is to empty the garage and clean all the cedar and ash dust off everything. I think there will be a dust slick behind my Swift Osprey this weekend on the Norfolk Broads!

 

[Nick Dennis]

The Indian Summer here in the UK has meant that I could make good progress on the paint.

So the "Scores on the doors" are:

Filler- 3 coats lightly rubbed down.
Primer- 2 coats. Rubbed a bit more vigoursly.
Top Coat- 2 coats of Epifanes with rubbing down between. A 3rd would be good but not justified.

All finishes have been rolled on with a 4" hard roller and then tipped with a foam brush. I like a bit of bling so I have added a "Post Box" red band beneath the gunwales. This will then have a 6mm cream stripe to define it from the steel blue. I am liking the colour. Its Epifanes yacht enamel which is very shiny; too shiny in fact so it shows all the unevenness on the hull and filler. I knocked it back with some matting agent but may take a scotch pad over the whole hull to take it down further before applying some wax.

When the hull had had a couple of days to harden I turned the canoe right side up and started adding some satin varnish.

I am now away for a few days paddling the Thames with the UK Chapter so the canoe can be left in peace to cure.

Looking at this photo reminds me that I must tidy the garage and dust everything off. I pulled the Pal out for the weekend trip and had to hose all cedar dust off otherwise there would have been a cloud following me down the road.

Looking forward to a bit of paddling.

 

[Nick Dennis]

Well save for a few minor bits I think I can call this 1930's Peterborough 16S project done. It is now on the rack for the paint and varnish to harden. I will fashion some carrying handles and also a kneeling thwart so I can paddle it solo.
I rubbed the whole canoe over with a Scotch pad to take the shine off the high gloss Epifanes paint which also helps even out the lumps and bumps accumulated over 90 years.
I must now be patient before putting the canoe on the water for a paddle.

Thanks for following progress. Go get on with your own project; you know it makes sense!

 

[samb]

Looks good!

 

[patrick corry]

Well done! Let us know how she paddles once the paint has cured.

 

[Nick Dennis]

THE LAST CHAPTER

On a chilly and dull December day inn the UK i got the canoe out on my favourite river. A heavy canoe but paddles nicely and I suspect that with a crew of two she will go like a dream. Grab a coffee, turn your sound up and enjoy the video. You will spot an otter who joined in the party for 5 minutes or so!

Thanks for following the progress; it's been fun.

Nick

 

[samb]

The colours look really good. New boat and a new toy to film with!
Sam