During the summer of 1986, Laurie and I purchased our first non-inflatable water craft. It was a Stillwater model canoe made by the E.M White company, which we bought from Green's Marine in Hooksett, NH. The sum total for our new "luxury liner" was $350.00, a small fortune to us at the time, but it did come with two paddles, two orange life jackets and four of those foam thingies you use to carry the canoe on the roof of your car. The marina also threw in some rope.
Our first ten years or so of ownership saw a considerable amount of time spent in that canoe and from "ice out" to "ice in" you could usually find it on the top of my truck when not in the water. That poor canoe got used, abused and plain beat up during that time. It had been on lakes, rivers and ponds from one end of NH to the other, used for fishing, funning and in one instance even entered in a canoe race, which I might add, my friend Brian and I came damn close to winning if we hadn't been passed by just about everybody else.
Eventually, the years of use began to take their toll which were initially made manifest by a cracked bottom brace. Thinking it was of no consequence at the time I continued to use the canoe which not surprisingly led to another brace cracking and then of course the same for the last brace.
Somewhere along the way we purchased a boat, and later another boat, and even later another boat, all resulting in the mis-use, dis-use, and complete neglect of the canoe.
However, not willing to part with the canoe completely, I did what any good New England canoe owner would do: I set it off to the side of the house along the edge of the wood-line where the woods then proceeded to grow in around it. Except for one failed attempt at a quick fix that son Ben and I attempted so that we could get out fishing, and where, the canoe began to "oil can" so badly that it was even odds that we'd make it back to shore upright, the canoe stayed in the woods for many years.
The bracing in the canoe bottom was made of balsa core wrapped in fiberglass. All three braces cracked resulting in a complete lack of stability in the canoe. The round holes are screw holes from the "quick fix".
and spacers.
The Wedding:
Late summer of 2017, Molly and Matt in preparation for their upcoming wedding asked if they could use the canoe as a beer cooler at the wedding reception. After confirming that yes they were serious, I attacked the woods with loppers and buck saw, sprayed a can of Raid underneath the canoe in case of hornets and then carved it from it's tangled tomb.
Once freed, I hosed the canoe off, cleaned it out and realised much to my surprise that the canoe was in better shape than I expected. Perhaps more adequate repairs could be attempted. Upon completion of the festivities I carted the canoe back to the house where I began preparing for the repairs.
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| The Wedding Cooler |
At home awaiting repairs
The Repairs:
The first order of business was to cut out the busted braces. I used a dremel tool with a cutting wheel to make the cuts and scraped out the remaining crud with putty knives and chisels. I did some sanding to smooth out the rough edges to prepare the area for new braces.
Next, it was time to install the new braces. I thought about using new balsa core but when it priced out at roughly $400.00 per sheet I decided exterior grade plywood would be good enough. I cut the plywood to the same specs as the old braces, wrapped the new pieces in fiberglass, and then set them into place. A few more layers of glass to secure them in place and we were in business.
I painted the braces with a hideous metallic silver paint which was described on the can as having the appearance of sea glass something or other. It did not. Thankfully I took no pictures of it.
Now it was time to flip the canoe over and work on the outside. The canoe was covered with finish cracks, stress cracks and a few small holes all needing attention. It was also going to require a new paint job. I began by sanding the entire exterior to expose the cracks, then using a fine bit on the dremel tool I opened the cracks wider. The purpose of this was to ensure that I was addressing all of the damage and by widening them they would be able to accept some body filler.
Most of the cracks were handled with body filler but some of the more stressed and weakened areas required something stronger. For this I turned to a glass reinforced filler. Then I sanded and I sanded some more. Then when I was done sanding I sanded some more. Then I finished up with more sanding.
This was as far as I got when Bird Season 2017 arrived so I put away the tools, packed up the truck and headed to the camp. I enjoyed a couple of weeks of good bird hunting but when the weather report announced that warm weather was moving in I knew I had a small window of opportunity to get the canoe painted.
The Paint Job:
The paint I chose for this project was Rustoleum oil based enamel in Hunter Green. I used the "roll & tip" method to apply the paint. The paint is thinned out with a small amount of thinner, then working in small sections at a time, the paint is applied with a small roller then lightly brushed with just the tips of the bristles of a quality brush. I had never tried this before but overall I was pleased with the results.
I didn't do any more work on the canoe until the later part of fall toward the end of November. I cut some new handles, sanded down the wood work, gave it all a coat of stain and then topped it off with some varnish.
The following week I wove the seats using polypropylene webbing and then set them aside until Spring.
When Christmas season arrived we were looking for some decorating ideas and came up with this brainstorm.
Spring finally arrived and I was able to finish the canoe. Using the original hardware I was able to save, I installed the seats and handles. The project was done just awaiting warmer water temperatures. One thing led to another and it wasn't until this past weekend that we got to actually put the canoe in the water. We headed over to visit my folks where Gerron and I took the canoe out for a ride and to do a little fishing. This was Gerron's first time in a canoe so we spent some time just getting comfortable in it and showing him how to paddle. He was a natural and really enjoyed being out on the water in it.
Time to fish
Thanks for following along.
Ken
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