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.

 

 

 

 

Also this week, I have an older Souris River canoe in for gunnel replacement. This canoe had Ash gunnels on originally and the owners, who keep a cottage at Big Whiteshell Lake, don't have a covered storage space, which is typical of many canoe owners. The wood has deteriorated and it was decided that aluminium gunnels would be a more appropriate choice.

The gunnel replacement on the old Souris River Jensen Tripper is done. Black looks pretty good on the old girl. I made up some fibreglass end caps, too, to cover and protect the gunnel ends. As a finishing touch, the outside face of the rivets is painted black.

 

 

 

 

 

The Kevlar patch on the Souris River canoe is done.  Sanded all nice and smooth.  The owner didn't want to get into all of the work and expense that a near invisible cosmetic match would require, he was happy with a well done functional repair, so that is where I drew the line on this job.  He is considering painting the canoe in the spring.

The patch is done in fiberglass alone as Kevlar, for all of its wonderful attributes, is just inpossible to shape and smooth after laminateing it.  New gunnel on this side, and new webbing for the melted out bow seat and she's done.

 

 

Another Souris River canoe in for gunnel replacement. This is one of the older Prospector models and the gunnels were fabricated as a single piece with a slot cut along the length, allowing the hull canoe hull laminate to slip into it. The screws clamp it tight. At the stem end some undercutting is required to allow the gunnel ends to reach the end of the canoe.  For scale, the gunnel stock is about 1" square.  The original was more like 7/8" tall and 1 1/8" or 1 1/4" wide (I can't remember now).

I'm not sure why the gunnels were done this way.  I'm assuming that there was an expected time saving as only one piece per side was needing fitting, maybe easier to fabricate.  My experience fitting these gunnels is that one person working alone would have an easier time fitting a two piece gunnel as they are more flexible and easier to get started.  This style is much easier a a two person job as there really is no way to hold it into its curve while you get the first half installed.  Its very similar to fitting aluminum gunnels in this regard.

A 1974 Brigden canoe came in for a little repair. It is actually in excellent shape, it just met a rock last season and needs to be readied for this season.

The Bill Brigden designed and built M3 really was a canoe that was ahead of its time. It had an efficient hull that no other fiberglass canoe was being like. It was not until the Jensen canoes of the mid to late '80's that canoe design caught up.

I had to move the Souris River out of the shop to make some space, so I happened to put it atop of the Brigden, that's when I saw this...(don't be tricked but the stem of the Chestnut poking out from behind)

Some fiberglass canoes have come in for some work. None with major work to do, so I am getting them all done and out before I star the bigger jobs awaiting me.

First, a Souris River Eugene Jensen designed canoe needing new outwales.

Before:

After: