$ 80.00
80.00 from great outdoors provision. If I can wait for a shipment of boats there will be no shipping charge. Nice people to deal with.
Is that for one?
or both?
jack L
breakdown gunwhales
Being the first time I am replacing with wood gunwhales I am using Edās canoe and the breakdown system that is easy to ship. So far I am not impressed. Because they breakdown, they came to me in 6 ft pieces and I have to glue and screw them together 3= one or four needed. I am finding as I bend them that I didnāt use enough glue. So I have been re-glueing for a the last day. Now I notice the the outter is not notched to except the thickness of the canoe. If I sandwitch them together I still have a gap. So I will need to get a router and create that gap. I am at the point where I wished I would have taken it to someone to just do it for me.
Lesson learned.
Try and find a local millwork shop
ā Last Updated: May-01-10 11:26 AM EST ā
to rabbet the outwales for you. It's a tricky set-up, but not hard for someone with the right tools and experience. If the scarf joints are properly glued, you shouldn't have to leave those screws in place after curing. You want to end up with 1/8" X 1/8" little strips along the top edges.
As I pondered your predicament on my trip to the dump, I decided that if it were me, I'd cut the rabbets on my table saw with a dado set and some feather boards as hold-downs. I really wouldn't advise trying it with a hand-held router.
I second the motion
on not attempting to rabbet the gunnels freehand. At best the result will be inaccurate. At worst, itās likely to be dangerous.
Generally, the rabbet would be cut either on a table saw or a router/shaper table, before the gunnel is radiused. It will be difficult to hold it square and securely with feather boards with the radius already milled. Itās possible that a guide with a concave radius matching the gunnel radius could be fabricated for the job.
Good luck with the project. Let us know how it comes out and what method you used.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Paddles and Cedar Strip Canoes
ugly day
and a very hot one as well.
Well itās about done, and wow, what a day. Finding a mill not an option. The raw edge of canoe (kevlight) is not smooth, nor straight. I did my best but there was no way the outter and inner were going to meet. I did my best and am and will be filling the gap with wood fill. I tried a sample area. It sanded down well and instead of raw ash with Teak Oil I will be staining a dark walnut to cover wood fill and ā¦ Now these break down gunwhales are a pain in the butt. Just about every joint gave way in some degree as I put the bend to them. I had to screw from the outside on a few places, but at least I was able to do it the same on both left and right. This is not what I thought I was getting into but I will make it good. No way of making the bow and stern ends clean, so I will make my own triangle covers. I will take some photos. Someone will learn from them I am sure.
That is a bummer
and I can feel for you, after your hard work and trying.
I am glad you posted here though so others can learn by your mistake and not use them.
As the owner of a bunch of canoes, Iāll certainly put your experience in my memory bank.
jack L
Yup, live 'n learn.
I like the dark stain look. Itās easy to touch up once a year and helps hide the mildew stains.
I looked at those break-down gunnels from Edās, but decided to drive up there and pick up the one-piece ones instead. I guess Iām glad I did.
Iām curious about the glue-joint failure you experienced. Sounds like maybe the joints were starved at the ends. Edās site says the joints are marked and pre-drilled. How was the initial fit? Did you use the glue supplied in the kit?
Route
ā Last Updated: May-03-10 8:27 AM EST ā
Better to route the inwale, because that stops the seats from deforming it under weight, over time. Also easier to set up a jig.
Second trick is to do a little back angle so the rabbet is wider at the top than at the bottom. This leaves room for fuzzed Kevlar at the top of the hull.
update
I am not convinced the breakdown system is wrong and let me state that doing bizz with Eds canoe has been nothing but good. Prices, shipping time and dealing with have been good. I will use them again.
I am not one of fancy tools. The directions do state use a liberal amount of apoxy. I may not have for fear of getting glue on the outside and it not coming off. I will say the breakdown is cut at the shop and you loose as they say in the directions a 1/16th of wood. Even getting them tight the fit is still not good. It is , what it is, and I am making it work. I have the gap filled in and will sand tomorrow.
More later.
Could put a gunwale cap on.
Old wood and canvas closed gunwale canoe builders used a gunwale or rail cap on top of the inwale and outwale to cover the space between the rails. It was just a thin strip of wood secured to the rails with escutcheon pins. Might make for a neat repair.
Snaps to you for persistence.
If you havenāt stained yet, it may not be advisable after all, as the epoxied areas (filler?) will not take stain. It might be better to leave natural and you might even consider - gasp! - spar varnish as a final finish. If you donāt like the glossy surface, you can rub out fully cured (a week) varnish with #0000 steel wool.
Edās breakdown gunwales no problems!
I just replaced the gunwales on a Wenonah Solo Plus with Edās breakdown gunwales. No problems! When you order them tell them what there for. They put the rabbit cut and modified the outwales( outwale 5/8" inwale 3/4") for me. Will be doing my Flashfire with Edās gunwales in a couple weeks. Good folks to deal with!!
good to hear
Like I said in my post it wasnāt Eds canoeās fault.
Even after using a good amount of glue they still came loose after being bent to fit. Right at the thin area near the edge. This being my first time, I figured going in I would learn from it. I have and may use them again for parts, but I did some hunting and found a mill that will cut me what I need in one piece and will give me the inside edge I need as well. I wished Eds would have asked and or offered to give me the inset I would need to make the inner and outter meet like were meant to.
I will be finished with the project tomorrow and I am please how it turned out.