Canvas Canoe

[Pat B]

I have an old covered canvas canoe that my wife got at a auction, what i like to know is if i could turn it into a epoxy cedar strip.
Thx Pat

[ahp]

My inexpert opinion is NO! Stip off the old canvas and redo it. It will last for many more years with good care.

[KimApel]

Sorry, that's a bit like saying you've got a vintage Ford and you want to make a vintage Chevy out of it. If the canoes is too far gone to restore, you can copy it - sort of - in strip construction. Why not restore it for what it is? There's lots of help at the Wooden Canoe Heritage Assn. website

[Dave Hadfield]

I've done that and I wish I hadn't. It ruins the authenticity and value of the canoe. It makes the boat quite strong and serviceable, sure, (I'm talking about re-covering with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin), but it's not the same any more.

It's no more work to cover with fabric, and you'll be prouder of the result.

[nedL]

Wood and canvas canoes are very 'collectable', and still very servicable & usable. It is just about as easy to do a canvas job as it is to fiberglas it & you haven't 'ruined it' by recanvasing it. (Resale value will be MUCH higher if it has not been glassed.) Properly maintained a canvas job will easily last 40 years or more. Wood and canvas canoe restoration & recanvasing is a subject on which lots of good information is available and lots of books have been written about, lots of stuff on the internet also. Look at it as preserving a bit of North American heritage that you can enjoy when done & have fun with the project. Check out the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (http://www.wcha.org/) , they even have a discussion forum there to where you can ask for help.

[ 04-09-2003, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: nedL ]