The Backstory:

Duluth Canoe assisted in the restoration of this boat in partnership with Randy Julian of Julian Boatworks. It was to be presented as a wedding gift to the groom by his father. Our part in the project was to repair/replace woodwork as needed (including the removable duckboards), stretch and fill a new canvas skin, and to clean and scuff the interior. We were to use a light touch to preserve as much of the boat’s patina and original woodwork as possible. RJ would handle varnishing and painting.

The Work:

A lot of sheer planking had gone bad along with many rib tops, but most of the field was in good shape. The eighty-year-old cedar soaked up three applications of boiled linseed oil.

Many people store their canoes over the summer use season by turning them upside down atop a couple of logs or beams. Make sure the ends of the canoe are not in contact with the ground. That didn’t happen here.

Both ends suffered rot as a result of ground contact. The stems were cut back to good wood and birds’-mouthed, and deck tips were scarfed.

Color matching new wood to existing is tricky business. Five full ribs were replaced; they appear in the photo above as those without the light-colored, lengthwise checking caused by eighty-years of coverage by the duckboards. In addition to repairing more than a dozen rib tops, two lightly damaged ribs were repaired with the controversial back patch method. Some say if a rib merits repair, it merits a full rib.

The caning in both seats had gone bad so the Duluth Folk School helped us locate an artist able to match Old Town’s weave. Original seat frames were cleaned, sanded and varnished, along with thwarts and yoke.