Bartering a canoe for art

Not just any old art, but a custom piece of a photo taken in Temagami when the first pre fire cruiser replica was put in the water. Julia Veenstra is an artist with a studio in Hamilton, who's work we've long admired.

 https://juliaveenstra.com/

 A casual mention of canoes while discussing a piece, and minutes later we've entered into a barter arrangement for a boat for her husbands birthday. Living on the lake, everyone needs a wood and canvas canoe to get out on the water. The colour is a stock Epifanes colour i've never used, and it showed off the patina of the cedar nicely, and made the cherry really pop.

Boat was delivered, recipient was happy and the painting is incredible. 

Ready for solo paddling with infant Grandkids, with carpet and curly maple and white oak seat

Preview of painting in process, looking great

Doug's new boat

Julia handing it over. So talented...

Original photo

Finished painting - need a better shot with better light but rushed to hang it.

Peterborough Minetta solo progress

Rails are on under old rails, bringing boat depth back to where it should be. Another benefit is all the rib tips are solid and sanded down to new wood. Boat needs no new ribs, and a minimum of planking. Set for solo work with 2 thwarts and two carry thwarts, a solo seat will be built for using a double blade paddle. If the owner decides they want to use a single blade, a traditional caned seat can be hung from the rails at any time.

 Stem joint

 Rather than cut it the rail tips and redo the notch on the top of the stem as is more traditional, we opted for another style where the gunwale tips are joined and fastened down into the stem top.

Wide cant ribs to be fastened

 Nice old stock Cherry, decks and thwarts from the same board

 Cutting deck sides using a bevel gauge to transfer the corresponding gunwale angle.

 Chestnut heart lobes, typically Chestnut but also common to many earlier Peterboroughs

 Decks left proud of rail top to allow for crown

 Nice fit

 Grey , weathered wood

 Weathered wood gone, revealing very nice Cherry colour

 Nice big pile of Cherry chips

 Lined up to ensure stems line up and boat stays true

 Thwart layout

 Carving crown in deck

 Crowned deck installed

 Similar seat to whats up next, to be made of white oak and cherry slats

 Epifanes version of turquoise

 New layout of 15'er

 Small amount of planking to be repaired

 Solo seat location will be best just aft of centre

 Decks installed

 Next is interior strip

 Next is build the seat, repair plaking and strip the interior, varnish and canvas

 Dressed up with a rug and an all wood paddle, will look classic as well as be more stable, safer and have room in front of the paddler for the occasional grand child

Pack canoe done - photos of the process

An earlier post shows the boat as we got it, here's the process it took to get it to the finished process

Taking off the aluminum rails, drilling out rivets

Old rails, kinked in the middle from too wide a thwart

Boat stripped out

What gave the boat its not-so-nice shape

Ready for a change of shape, by altering the sheer. Boat will be paddled from the bottom on a kayak seat, so the middle needs to be dropped. 

Cherry parts being milled

Thwarts dry fitted

Inner and outer wales being fastened

Decks and thwarts fitted

Felt skid plates going on both ends

Final sanding

First coat of varnish

New sheer, nicer shape

Inside with new paint

Finished ready for paint

Cherry seat base bonded to bottom

Swift Canoes seat, super comfortable

Seat folds and secures for road travel or storage

Fall paddle on the Muskoka River

Stable enough, without having to conform to kayak decks

Colour will be changed to white, with 2 part polyurethane paint. All done for a fraction of the cost of a new or gently used packboat. Perfect for those that prefer a double paddle over a single.