Recanvasing a Seliga canoe

RAN

Curious about Wooden Canoes
In lieu of heavy canvas I'm interested in updated materials (such as dacron) and lighter weight filler materials. I'm most interested in longer life, rather than just weight. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Have you had problems with canvas that would make you want to use something else?
A well applied canvas and properly maintained canvas will last almost forever. What are your objectives in terms of longer life? I have several canoes that have canvas I put installed over 30 years ago that look perfect even with heavy use. I also have a 1950's Chestnut that still has it's original canvas.
Use a fungicide or treated canvas, properly fill and paint it and the properly store a canvassed canoe the canvas will last. Canvas is more tear resistant, does not show hull imperfections and is easily repaired if it gets torn.
The ballistic nylon seems to be getting some traction again.....I would never consider it for one of my canoes.
 
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Thanks. Our Seliga is 31 years old and was left outside uncovered during the Summers of it's early years. Pine pollen collected along the gunwales and keel and deteriorated the canvas. We restored it about 15 years ago, but this time it's necessary to recanvas. Perhaps I'm overly paranoid. We now have a covered canoe rack for Summer and inside storage off season. I'm also interested just as a matter of wood canoe restoration evolution. We stopped using canvas tents decades ago due to vastly superior materials. It seems the same may be true for canvas/putty canoe coverings -- without being blasphemous. I've heard that airplane dacron has a higher tensile strength and is much thinner and lighter, for example. But I'm also not too interested in being the first Guinea Pig. Why would you never consider an alternative for your canoes?
 
Many forum users have used Dacron as a replacement for canvas - do a search and you shall find several threads. Tom MacKenzie was probably the builder best known for his use of Dacron, but his canoes were didn't exceed 15' as I recall, and his audience was quite different (freestylers rather than trippers). Tom demonstrated Dacroning a canoe at an Assembly several years ago (the last at Keuka, which was 2008 I think). I don't think his method was ever written up though. It was not as simple as stretch and tack like it is for canvas.

I think Tom McCloud, a forum member, has also experimented with Dacron; perhaps he'll chime in.

Personally, if I am looking to save weight on a canoe 15' or less, I use no. 12 canvas and a lightweight filler.
 
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We did a demonstration of stretching Dacron over an old canoe hull at Assembly 2017. If you are serious about Dacron, I can provide some notes. I assume you have looked at GABOATS.com, where the process is well described. I would not say that Dacron is 'easier' than canvas, just different, but can be faster since you are not waiting for a traditional filler to cure. Keep in mind that any and all imperfections in the hull will show thru the Dacron covering, so spend an excessive amount of time in making the hull absolutely smooth, if that is important to you. A Dacron covering will save you perhaps 7 lbs. Having done both, I continue to use canvas. Tom McCloud
 
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Our canoe is 17 feet.
Dan -- Joe built our canoe in December, 1989. He then took it to the Mpls boat show where I met him to pick it up at the close.
Thanks to everyone for the information. I'm curious about why people who have looked into it continue to use canvas.
 
Whether working inspecting and repairing hot air balloons or making sails, I've probably used more Dacron (polyester) over the years than just about anybody here. Though there are certainly differences in the types and to some extent the properties of various Dacron fabrics, there are also some aspects that fairly similar versions all share. Despite what you seem to have heard, Dacron is not a super tough, super high tensile strength fabric, and very often has really poor resistance to tearing.

Much of this is due to the limited amount of stretch that the fiber has (compared to most other synthetics, like nylon). This is good for canoes and fixed wing aircraft, as it resists "bagging out" with age pretty well, but bad as it isn't really thick enough to resist abrasion very well and those styles of Dacron tend to be subject to what is called "explosive tearing". This is when a small cut or defect suddenly and quickly expands big time. On a Dacron balloon envelope or a sail, this can mean that within a few seconds, a small tear can expand from 2" long to seventy feet long if there isn't some reinforcement to stop it.

The key issue, nutshell version, is that the stretch-resistant yarns of the Dacron fabric don't help each other out very much. The first yarn tries to take all the strain and then breaks, then the second yarn tries the same thing with the same result, followed by the next, and next, and next. Fibers with more give (like nylon) stretch when strained and the stress is spread over many at once, giving the finished cloth better tear resistance. Nylon has some drawbacks of its own, so there is no way I'd personally put either one on a canoe. They also really do show every tiny irregularity in the planking, which often looks awful on old canoes which aren't quite as smooth as they once may have been. In general, for good looks and actual, real-life durability, I think you'll find canvas very hard to beat.
 
Thanks Todd. That thorough explanation helps. I’m convinced by replies and shared links to stick with the canvas I know. I truly appreciate everyone’s input.
 
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