HI,

This canoe has been awesome. I am doing some repairs this week. Refinishing the gunwales and a little fiberglass work. I was going to oil but someone looked at it to give me advise on fixing the ding in the bow and said that it had been finished in the past so that I should just refinish it again instead of oiling because the oil wouldn’t penetrate. Is this true? If so what finish would you recommend. I did a toboggan last year. After sanding I used a wood conditioner, stain and helmsman poly. I have a lot left do you think that would work? I have hand sanded (because they told me that you could easily sand through thin areas with a power tool) for about 6 hours and there are still some shiny spots visable. My other choice would be Watco Exterior Natural.

Then, the tip has worn and a piece broke off on the gunwales. Any Ideas short of replacing the gunwales? I’m thinking of cutting a piece to fit in there, finishing it and holding it in with the epoxy that I’m fixing the ding in the bow with. Got it from Rutabaga, it’s West System G/flex 650 toughened epoxy. I also have West System 205/207 that I will be using on my Souris River. Have not tried to take out that front screw yet (this screw holds the two sides of the gunwales together in the front of the bow) but maybe I could run that screw through the replacement piece.

The part that is damaged is where the ends of the gunwales come together in front of the deck. The deck is fine and there are two boards that make up the gunwale on each side. the outer boards that run along the sides are fine the inner boards of the gunwale that run along the top and inner side are the part that is broken off right on the tip of the bow.

I am replacing the seat too and having some trouble getting it out. One side came out fine but the other side is stripping. Is that just a hole that goes through the gunwale, seat drops and seat or is it threaded all the way through? Any ideas how to get the old ones out? The nut came off easy but the head is imbeded in the gunwale and won't budge. It may be the old finish holding it in (maybe another reason to oil instead of poly). Hate to use a solvent near the wood but do you think a drop of solvent in there might lossen the screw? Other ideas?

I have a photo of the ding in the bow as well but will have to discribe it for now. It is a dent about an inch long more on one side but right on the front of the bow about 6 inches above the water line. I have the epoxy that they recommended. Talked with three people, one suggested some fiber glass cut up in small pieces as a filler and another suggested putting some wood flower in the epoxy as a filler and then cover with a small piece of cloth. The third said don't use filler and build up the dent in layers. Which would be better? Other suggestions?

Thanks so much,

Catrina

The seat mounts are through holes, not threaded. If the nut is off the bolt use a hammer to lightly tap it up out of the gunwale. It's probably stuck due to the finish or even the misalignment of the various pieces. Note that you may lift some adjoining wood if it is really stuck. One thing to try before you do that is to use the tip of a knife or a scribe to score around the screw head. That may loosen things a bit.

Without pictures it's hard to advise on the gunwale repair.

Thanks for your answer,
I was able to get the seat out yesterday without damaging the gunwales. one of the screws was bent so that was the problem.
The administrator replied to me on another message so hopefully I can give you a photo soon.
In the mean time. Has anyone used the West System G/flex 650 toughened epoxy? Do you think it would work to hold a loose piece of wood in place? The other optionis to make the piece a little bigger and try to remove the front two screws, drill holes in the piece and run the screws through it. The problem with that would be that there are two screws comming in, one from each side and they won't be going into the piece straight (because of the curve of the canoe). So, there is a large margin for error. I suppose I could cut more than one of the little pieces so that if I fail the first time I will be able to try again.
This damage was caused by rotating it on the tip while loading onto a boat loader bar on my pickup. I am aware that I will not be able to do this any more. I am thinking of trying to figure out some sort of rubber bumper that would be removable for loading.
Thanks again for your ideas,
Catrina

Regarding refinishing your gunwales you can use whatever you like. Once you've removed the old finish there's no reason you can't use oil. I like an oil finish and avoid Watco since it's so poisonous. I have a Bell where the screws were buried almost halfway down the gunwales and once I got them out (with an electric screwdriver) I added finish washers so they won't burrow into the wood again plus they hold their torque better and the boat feels a little tighter.

Hi Paddlers,
So, I decided yesterday that we are retiring our old Souris River tripping barge. This means the timeline for fixing this boat has been moved up on this boat. Unless we find a new boat soon we will be taking the solo and a pacboat kayak.
I think I have the questions on the fiberglass work answered.
It's just the gunwales that I still have questions on.
Great point about the washers. I did notice that some of the screws on my had them and some did not. The bent ones did not the ones that were easy to get out did. Note to self whenever installing seats.
Just paddlin says I can use oil "once I have removed the old finish" so, I have sanded for more than 6 hours. I am hand sanding because someone I spoke to at Rutabegga said that there are parts of the gunwales that are quite thin and it is pretty easy to sand through them with power tools. Also I am using a thin plastic cutting board to hold aginst the side of the canoe while sanding so that I don't scratch up the surface. Don't know if I could hold that there and use the power tool with one hand. Tried taping it but that doesn't really work. Sorry I'm long winded but my question is. If there are still traces of what was probably stain and poly can I use the oil. I have most of it off but will the oil be really blotchy if there are traces of the old finish left? Another reason why I don't want to use stain poly is that I think #1 that could seal any moisture in that gets under the finish. I'm not removing the gunwales so the inside surface (the one that is touching the boat) will not be finished. #2 I think that is a big part of the reason why the screws are hard to remove.
Then, heading into a big heat wave so I probably won't work on it this week but the big thing that is holding me up is the part that broke off the end of the gunwale in front of the deck. See my discription on my other post of this thread. I think the next time I work on it I'll cut 3 or 4 pieces to fit and just start trying. Sorry, I can't seem to post a pic so I posted some pictures on my facebook page and will now try to link to it here. I rarely post on facebook so you should not have to wade through a whole bunch of unrelated posts there.
Pics of bell wildfire solo repair

Again, oofda. How does that even happen? Seriously. Did it fly off a car?

Umm, I'd spread the rails and cut what's left of the deck back to something solid and do one big triangle. Maybe some sort of a mushroom tipped triangle to save what's left of the rails and provide more purchase and protection. They look a bit rotted as well.

To me it looks like a lot of trial and error type fun messing around. Close enough sometimes is. Good luck!

justpaddlin: "I like an oil finish and avoid Watco since it's so poisonous."

So what kind of oil do you use? I've never found Watco to be any more harsh than other marine oils.

Best not to use varnish as it seals in moisture and black mildew/mold can grow underneath it even if stored in your garage. Use Watco Teak or exterior which lets the wood breath. Wipe on with a rag, let it soak in for 15 minutes or so then wipe it off. Let the rag dry before putting it in the garbage so it doesn't combust. Best of luck.

jhb8426: "

justpaddlin: "I like an oil finish and avoid Watco since it's so poisonous."

So what kind of oil do you use? I've never found Watco to be any more harsh than other marine oils."

I use Badger paddle oil (pure hempseed oil). I've used a lot of Watco too and I think it's the most durable oil finish (I think it contains a little varnish) but it can take a long time to fully dry and I still prefer the Badger oil look and feel. Just personal preference. I think some manufacturers use Watco on new boats for good reason.

Hi, Thanks for all of the great input.
uqme2, yes, it did fall off the truck. Truly, with a fall like that I was surprised it wasn't worse. I learned to make sure the truck was level side to side before loading alone.
The gunwale was damaged by using a boat loader (bar that comes out from the side of the truck) you leave the back end on the ground while putting the front up first. I try to do it on the grass now or put a towel down but I don't know of another way for an old lady to load it. I am thinking of trying to make some type of a rubber bumper for it that can be removed. Ideas for this would be greatly appreciated.
Watco - would be interested in knowing why it is more toxic than other oil finishes. This is what Northwind recommended. It is what I'm leaning towards.
I got most of the finish off but bits of it still remain hoping it won't be too splotchy.
After all of the great advice I got here and elsewhere, I am going to remove the first screws, cut back past the first screw, removing anything that is rotted and giving a straight edge, run the screws through the new pieces and then use the G/flex to add strength and in the seams.
Please let me know if you see problems with my plan.
I will report back with how it turned out but don't hold your breath, lol.
Catrina

Oh, I almost forgot, thanks for the washer tip. I noticed some of the screws had washers and some did not.
C

Looking again at the gunwales, I'd leave the deck alone. Remove the gunwale screws a couple past the deck plate to let the outwales spring out. Cut the inwales off at about the first or second scupper in the deck plate and splice in a new piece of inwale out to the tip of the outwales. Fill in with epoxy like the original build as seen in the stern.