Welcome back canoe fans.  While not much posting has been going on, I have been busy.  Sanding and sanding and sanding.  Finally, all the insides have been sanded, and the outside of the planking has also.  Obviously, this took a while, and almost surely not worth the effort, as this is a canoe after all.  But, once I got going I couldn't stop.  Here are a few pics after sanding (and trimming the new ribs).

The new ribs are quite obvious, and did not seem less so as I looked at it more.  So, I decided to go the stain route.  I chose Minwax Early American stain that seemed pretty close.  I stained the ribs (white cedar) but chose to keep the new planking (western red cedar) natural - there does not seem to be as much color variation there, and I think the red cedar will darken more and blend reasonably when varnished.

Below is the (unvarnished) finished product.  As you can see, the stained ribs are a bit browner and do not have the yellow tinge of the old ribs.  But, overall, I think it is a pretty good match.  We'll see how it looks varnished!

 And on to the varnish.  I am using Epifanes clear gloss varnish - the same as I used on the Pocock single.  I like it and it seems to have good reviews...

The first coat will be thinned 50% - mainly to seal the wood.  I plan to do this inside and out.  (this will be the only sealing for the planking - instead of linseed oil or other treatments discussed on the canoe heritage web site.)  Below is a pic of the first bit I have done.  I am planning to work rib by rib to try and avoid seams and overlapping coats.  I could not get the brush into the very front - hopefully the old treatment is sufficient to keep the bow and stern from rotting...  I am not planning to varnish the gunnels at this point - I will do them all at once when the outer gunnel is installed.  This will be after the canvas is on so will be a while.

That's about it for now.  Hopefully varnishing will not take too long and next post will not be too far in the future.  I may need to use the blog to collect my thoughts for figuring out how to get the canvasing done.

Oh yes, a few more prices:
medium (100) sandpaper - lots but out of my stash...
stain - about $6.00   (I really do not recall)
varnish - $45.00.
brushes, etc - so far only from stores...

Summer has been busy, but progress is being made, albeit slowly.  Apparently my last post was the end of May, and here it is mid august.  Sorry about the long wait...

Ribs are pretty much as the last post - I decided that I have replaced enough.  The remaining are correct shape and likely as strong as the new ones.

The stems are redone with a bit of new stem material and a new deck tip on both ends.  A few pics...
 Bow

rotted sections removed

 

epoxy on a new dec/inner gunnel piece

stem extension added to meet deck

trimmed and ready for planking

Stern

a bit more wood to replace

same procedure as the bow

ready for planking

An attempt to repair a split in the stern deck, and re-finish  the trim piece

Note the trim piece split out at the screw, both bow and stern.  I epoxied it back together - the bow seems to have held, the stern needed a small patch of dacron epoxied to the back to keep from re-splitting.

And the planking goes on...
The western red cedar takes a bit more steaming than the ribs, even though it is thinner.  The short sections split easily, especially the ones near the bow.  But, even with the splits I think it is good enough.  The new planks are also a bit proud of the old planks, so a bit of filing and sanding will hopefully get things smooth enough for the canvas.

After planing is on, also needed to add short flooring ribs, and tack the new plank sections to the old short ribs.

That is pretty much the status.  I may come back and fill in some details, but all is pretty much as you would expect - a lot of patience is required.

In summary so far:
strip old varnish
repair ribs
repair stems
replace planking

next up:
sand topsides
varnish topsides
sand and fair bottom
canvas (or dacron)
paint
paddle about
sponsons

Me-thinks it will take more than a year to get this done...  Until next time.

Another long pause between posts, but progress has continued.  I am up to 13 replaced ribs. I have 3 more cut from the 4 white cedar boards we bought so long ago.  There are a few more that could use replacing, but they are not mis-shapen, so perhaps I'll leave them.  We'll see...

Note the straps.  The tops of a few ribs separated from the inner gunwale when I was working on others.  I added the straps to keep them all in place until I get to putting on the outer gunwale.  Seems to be working.

Also went out to the Cape a couple of weeks ago and Dave and I cut some planking from an 8' Western Red Cedar board on his fancy macines.  We got 3 4" wide 8' long planks - 24' should be more than enough.  The board was quite expensive as it was quarter sawn.  After the fact, we realized that Dave has lots of left over cedar siding from his house - yep, it is western red cedar and we could have cut and planed it down to planking thickness.  Oh well - next project!

I purchased a couple of 2.5x2.5x12" ash boards from Woodcraft to create shapes to repair the stems and decks.  I cut a few pieces out on Dave's band saw when we were working the planking.  Still a bit of figuring to do to figure out how I want to do the repairs.

I think it is about time to figure costs again - here is a summary of reciepts since last year:

Katz                       pcv pipe (steamer try 1)                        19.00
Isl Falls Canoe     1/4 lb tacks                                               11.00
Home Depot         boards + styro for steamer try 2         22.00
Home Depot         boards for steamer try 3                       23.00
Katz                       hardware for steamer                              6.00
Katz                       2 clamps and hardware for steamer   14.00
Isl Falls Canoe     1/2 lb tacks + 1 diamond bolt                30.00
WoodCraft            2 ash 2.5x2.5x12 boards for stems      13.00
Parkerville Lumber     west red cedar                               68.00
Isl Falls Canoe      2 ash gunwales + keel                          189.00
Home Depot          lashing straps - 4                                     17.00

2nd total                                                                                 412.00

(2014 Expenditures)
Katz                        stripping supplies                                    40.00
Katz                        stripping supplies                                    60.00
Parkerville Limber  4 white cedar boards                       140.00

1st total                                                                                    240.00

I guess it has been a while since I have posted.  Some progress to report.  I managed to finish a wooden steam box - used the same design as the styrofoam try 4.  Works fine!  Temp gets up to about 205 - not quite as hot as the styrofoam box, but can be used more than once!

Last week I steamed removed, cleaned, steamed and installed 2 more ribs, these toward the center.  Then this week, did the same again, this time replacing 2 more toward the stern.  So, up to 5 ribs installed!  So far they seem to going in quite well, better than I expected.  All the prep, shaping of the ribs, etc. takes about 8 hours for 2 ribs, so that is about all I can do in a week.  None the less, at least I can see steady progress.

It was looking like the bottom was sagging a bit in the stern where the most damaged ribs are located.  I added another temporary 2X4 'keel', attaching it ahead and behind the damaged area.  This seems to pull the bottom up to flush and hopefully will keep the ribs in place until I get to replacing the bottom planking.

I think I am up to about 14 ribs that will need to be replaced - perhaps more.  I'll continue replacing them 2 at a time - looks like I'll need to shape a few more from the lumber we bought last winter.

First rib installed!  It is possible.

The rib sprung back quite a bit when unclamped from the outside of the canoe.  That makes it hard to get it worked under the gunnels (after turning the canoe right side up).  To remedy single handed, I put a strap clamp around the rib to pull it to about the right width.  This let me get it between the inner gunnel and the planking, but it still did not like to lie flush with the planking - the ends needed quite a bit of pressure down to seat.

(the following is the wrong way, I'll get to the right way in a moment...)  So, I put a single nail in one side of the rib while pushing down to get it 'close' to the right location.  Then on the other side, I pushed down quite hard on the end while pushing the inside of the rib out to the planking, to align the center mark with the keel holes.  Then again, a single nail to hold the rib to the gunnel.  All the while being careful to keep the rib aligned and centered between the remaining ribs.  At this point the rib was close, but not seated against the planking.  I then started nailing the planking to the rib working my way down from the gunnel.  I used the original nail holes in the planking to place the nails.  This pulled the rib in flush with the planking quite nicely, down to the bottom of the canoe.   I did not yet nail the rib to the bottom planking as much of it is rotten and will need to be replaced.  I then moved to the other side and tried to do similar, mostly failing miserably, until I realized the right way to do it...

So, the right way to do this is to use a clamp from the gunnel to the top of the rib, and use it to push the rib down and seat it against the planking. This worked like a charm, and allowed me to nail the other side of the planking, again down to the rotted section of planking at the bottom.

Result - one rib installed!  yahoo.  Of course, it is April only 6 months since picking it up!  And this is only the 2nd step.  Now another 12+ ribs to go, then fix the stems, then repair the planking, and then figure out how to canvas and then paint.  In other words, no end in sight...

Also, I have a wooden - try 5 - steam box almost complete.  Only missing hinges and clamps for the ends.

So, at last, it looks like some progress.  Next step is to remove another rib in the center section.  Should not be a problem to steam at least 2 at a time.

Well fans - after a few last minute re-considerations, there is indeed now a rib bent over the outside of the hull over the 4th rib from the bow stem (to be used to replace the 5th rib from the stem in the stern).

The adjustments - I re-read the Stelmok and Thurlow sections on replacing ribs and figured I needed a bit more prep.  Mainly, it looked like I would need quite a bit of pressure to bend the rib, and perhaps I needed something to hold the rib in place.  I did not like the brace to the ceiling suggestion, and realized there are holes through every other rib for the keel.  So, I found some small diameter bolts, cut some oak 'washers' and an oak 'keel'.  This lets me clamp the center of the rib in place when it is hot so I can bend the rib without worrying about it moving around.  (it worked like a charm!)

While I was reading I also noticed how they put some battens on the inside to pull  the hull into shape.  I tried some thing similar for the forward rib I am planning to work next.  I'm not sure it really pulls the hull in much, but will  report more on that later.

With that done, I figured I was ready to give the steam box a try.  I decided to stick a towel in the end to heat up with the rib so i could wrap the rib and keep it warm once it was well steamed (that seems to work also, but I'm not sure it is needed).  The steam generator, and Styrofoam steam box worked fine.  It took about 25 minutes for the generator to get boiling well.  The duct tape had a tendency pucker and soften, and there was some steam leakage, but the candy thermometer said about 205 degrees, and the meat thermometer well over 195 (its highest reading).  While waiting for the box to get to temperature, I 'soaked' the rib, keeping it wet with a rag.

I opened the end, pulled out the towel, put in the rib and towel back in.  I steamed the rib about 20 minutes (only putting it in once the box was up to temperature).  Took a bunch of pictures of the whole setup while waiting.  Pulled it out, wrapping it in the steamed towel, clamped it under the pseudo keel, put the warm towel over it, bent one side (working it up and down about a half dozen times) and clamped it.  Then went to the other side and bent it down the same way.

Amazing - no splits, or cracks.  The rib was hard to bend, but not terribly.  Holding it and clamping it was a bit tricky, but doable.  One lesson - make sure there are no nail heads protruding where you are trying to bend the rib.

Now letting it dry, and will see how it fits and nails into place tomorrow.

I'll note here that try4 at steaming while successful ended up being a one time use steam box.  The tape got a bit puckery and wet, but the box, while operating appeared as if all was well.  Then, after running in to bend the rib, I went out to clean up, and found the box in this state.

Apparently, the styrofoam was over-temped - and pretty grossly deformed on cooling.

Before dinner, I ran out and bought another $20 of lumber to build the box out of wood, maybe tomorrow.  Also need to shape the next rib.  There is one already removed, this one near the center so a bit longer...

OK OldTownRestoration blog fans, no giggling.  Tomorrow I try attempt 4 at steaming.  What does that attempt look like you ask?  Well, first I'll go back to try 3...

The 3rd incarnation was to be an enhance boiling water towel wrap.  I got it all ready, cut attempt 1 PVC in half, embedded the halves with a towel in between to insulate the  bottom, and use the old camp stove to hopefully keep the water boiling while continuously dipping in and pourning over the towel.  The problem arose when I went to start the old Coleman stove - I could not get any pressure in the gas tank :-(  After much frustration, I gave up and decided that I would likely not get hot enough anyway.  Back to the internet...

Where, I found that there are actually steam generators out there, that are likely less expensive than the parts I would need to build a propane bomb, er boiler myself.  Seems like a bit of a wimp out, but I made the purchase And $90 later I have a steam generator.

That leaves a steam box.  The manly thing to do, naturally, would be to weld up a nice, insulated, stainless steal torpedo, to go with the propane bomb.  Or for those woodworking purists, at least a nice wooden box with screws and tight seals.  But me, no,no,no - try 4 is made of styrofoam and duct tape!  I figure the styrofoam will insulate well, and I am using one wood board to build it around for stiffness.  No laughing until it all falls apart when the duct tape gets a bit soggy.  Until then, a few dowels for shelving and it seems pretty sturdy.  Tomorrow I poke a meat thermometer through, hook up the steam generator, and we'll see how hot it gets.