Saving the canoe....

[Pernicious Atavist]

Hi, all! Been a long time since I posted. Of course, I do so when I need to delve into the collective intellect of THE FORUM. <Okay, relying on flattery here.... :~)>

I have a 'glass-covered, wooden canoe (white cedar, built for me in Maine) that has seen better days. I've mentioned it before, but I really want to use it again. Here's the issue:
-The wood is rotting--pithy in many places.
-The 'glass covering is okay, needs work, but that's easy. NO--it can't be removed from the wood, for many reasons, including I'm not going to do it.
-I can't replace the rotting wood, either, again for many reasons. Seeing would clarify why--just trust me here.

SO--I figure pentrating epoxy to stabilze the wood, apply a coat of West Systems, revarnish the inside, then repairing the outside.

Essentially, this is a wood-lined, 'glass boat. (It's a matter of perpsective, right?) I know the epoxy will add to the weight, that's not an issue. The question is--will pentrating epoxy followed by 'regular' epoxy give it the strength it needs for paddling? I recall some time back an explanation here of what happens when epox soaks and cures in rotted wood, but don't recall enough to recall enough..oh, geez....(sounding like Euker....)

Okay, that's it for now from me!

Thanks, collective intellect!

[Dan Lindberg]

So you are taking a wood/(canvas(?) canoe and trying to make it a fiberglass canoe?

From a canoe that the wood was the load bearing members to one that the glass will be the load bearing members?

So how much extra glass will be needed to get the strength up? 4-5 layers? I don't know.

I do know that with a stripper, (yes the wood is in a different configuration) with just the outside layer of glass on, there is very little strength, such that it can't even hold it's self up and in shape.

If there really is that little left of the wood, ie rotted, maybe you should just have a bonfire and get another boat?

Also, with a canoe, weight is always an issue, as their purpose is to be lifted by hand and moved to another piece of water.

Dan

[mmd]

P.A, does the canoe have internal structure like a traditional canvas-on-wood canoe, or is it monocoque construction like a stripper?

[Hwyl]

Actually there's a company here that makes glass covered canoes, I think P.A. may have one of those.

My shoot from the hip, is I'd use chemicals to kill the rot, before I slurp it with 'poxy. Maybe bleach, or antifreeze as thas guy used to advocate.

I'm not sure of the composition of Git Rot, I think it may have something to kill the rot (looked it up--with 20 % butyl glycidyl ether)

[Thorne]

Mr. Smith here in Richmond recommends using a wire brush to clear out the rotted wood, then MEK to kill / clean the wood prior to saturating with CPES. If you go with his products you might look at the Cold Weather formula CPES -- cures much faster.
http://www.smithandcompany.org/CPES/index.html

http://www.smithandcompany.org/images/potlife.jpg

For both the MEK and CPES -=- work outside on a windy day wearing a good respirator with organic vapor filters. Nasty stuff!

[Pernicious Atavist]

hi, all.

it is, for all intents and purposes, a traditional wood canoe that is covered with fiberglass instead of canvas. again, weight is not an issue, but strength so i use use it again, is.

hywl, it was made for me by an old guy in...oh, hell...a half-hour or so south of caribou....

so, i take it cpes will renew a lot of the original strength. should i add more epox over it? maybe light cloth in places wouldn't hurt, either.....

thorne, and all--thanks for the input!

[Thorne]

Nah, CPES will help keep the wood from rotting any further, plus give a very good medium for the full-strength epoxy to bond to -- try reading the bumph at the Smith & Co website link in my previous post for more info.

Strength will be either from additional wood or epoxy over the CPES.

[Dan Lindberg]

PA,

How much time and money are you willing to spend to continue to use this thing?

And how how old is it and why did it get so rotted?
While I'm against any glass on a W/C canoe, I have seen some that were 50 years ago that had NO rot at all.

I think the 1st step is to determine exactly how much rot there is and how much wood remains to provide strength. Then you can decide where and how much extra glass and resin you need to add. ie, is the rot only at the bottom, and the sides are OK? maybe it's seal/stableize with CPES, and then cover with glass/resin to provide the strength needed.

If indeed "all" the wood is bad, remove it all and add several more layers of glass. (But, I've only seen 1 canoe that was that bad, usually the rot isn't that wide spred.)

And pics, post some pics.

Dan

BTW, some may disagree with me, but I don't believe resin alone provides much strength, you need glass to carry the load, with the resin to transfer the load to the glass.

[Pernicious Atavist]

thanks for your input, dan.

sad to say--this ain't minnesota--it's florida, and down here, everything rots. all year long. the 'glass helped the wood stay damp--i use(ed) it at least once a week, year-'round, so drying never occured.

i earlier had a thought about applying some fabric to the rotted bits. they're bad and need real help. can't be replaced--boat's not worth it. if it doesn't get back to the water--it'll be a nifty bookcase in my library!