The Brigden is out of the shop now, and the next canoe is in.  This time it is an old Chestnut "Bob's Special".  A particularly unique aspect of this canoe is that it is the first canoe that I every worked on professionally back in 1987.  Well, its back.

Starting off is to strip out the old and tired varnish from the interior, then open it up for rib repair.  There are about a dozen broken ribs.  Which isn't surprising, really, as the "special" part of the name "Bob's Special" refers to an ultralight weight approach to building.  Most notably are the very thin ribs, about 1/4" thick, and the every thin inner gunnels.  They still used maple for decks, seats, and thwart!

Once the rib repairs are closed up its time to sand the interior for varnish.