Progress! Now that all of the holes have been drilled I can move onto the reinforcement rings and back of the shell bracing. I just got the first coat of paint on and I'm liking it. I had to do some careful arrangement with the rings so that the front shell has something to register onto the back shell. The front has some nice translucency to it. 

 Now, a little more work to complete the finish and I can work on the dish which these sit on. 

 And...yes...the speakers do fit inside. I checked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that the Peterborough is stripped, I have started sanding the interior. I'm also getting going on the woodwork repairs, starting with the usual gunnel end and stem end repairs. Both ends.  I fit the pieces completely prior to gluing them in, its so much easier that doing it after.

There are also about 20 rib end repairs, then I get to repair the broken ribs.

 

 

An old Peterborough Prospector in for the usual spa treatment.  Some basic rib repairs to be undone, the old canvas is...well, shrinking, evidence that this canoe was red once upon a time, and some lichen along the bottom edge of the gunnel. Its been awhile since the last time any work has been done!

1452 is the model number for the Prospector model in the Peterborough catalog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Evergreen Willow with rotten Ash gunnels needing to be fixed. In this case aluminum gunnels are an appropriate choice. Yet another example of how storage issues effect the service life of a canoe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a chance this season to work on a rare Bill Brigden Double Blade canoe paddle. Bill was a well know Winnipeg competitive paddler and canoe builder.  Bill had an interesting approach. Ever the pragmatist, he used basic sheet aluminium screwed onto a prepared round of Spruce. Simple and effective. 

 Crude, yes, but it does have a certain charm.

 

 

 

 

Some of the paddle making this spring. Most notable is the cedar/fiberglass double blade canoe paddle with a very nice carbon fiber ferrule. Also in the set is a Malecite Classic made with cedar and cherry, and a Historic Voyageur made with cedar and walnut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Carbon-Tec Souris River canoe came in for some repair work. The tie down straps from the bow were a bit loose during transport and the car wheels rolled over them pulling the entire bow of the canoe down rather suddenly. You can see how the gunnels were bent. So, a full gunnel replacement was required. Also, the hull surface had some sort of peeling and yellowing finish on it and that required a LOT of sanding and then a coat of varnish to make it look a lot better.

 

 

 

 

The NRC is all done and reunited with her owner! Hardly looks like she was ever impaled.

Hint, the four ribs in the centre are the new ones.