Repairing old canoe

Advice
#1

A friend lent me an old canoe to use and I have had the thrwart rip out part of the inner gunwale. It is an OLD Mad River Canoe, but I cannot find a serical number to save my life. It appears to be royalex.

Did they not put serial numbers on these a long time ago?

#2

cboats.com
Go there,

ask and

ye shall find

#3

I take it the gunwales are wood?
You may be able to find a local woodworker who can splice in a piece of ash where the thwart tore out. I had to do that long ago when a thwart tore a piece out of the inner gunwale.



You really don’t have to know the model. You need a willing woodworker and a source of ash and epoxy.

#4

splicing gunwwales
These gunwales appear to have been repaired about 10 times. One side is in four sections and the one I broke is in three. I think it best to just replace the whole thing though I am not sure how easy it wil be to find 1x4 ash in 16 foot lengths.

#5

from mad river
You can order them from Mad River and they are already nice and milled for you.



You can also look here for a kit that’s sold in sections so shipping is cheaper.



http://www.shop.northwestcanoe.com/product.sc?categoryId=19&productId=131



Other than that you need a table saw, a steady hand and a router table.



-James

http://www.adventurecanoe.com

#6

Ipe wood for Gunwales?

– Last Updated: Jul-13-09 8:47 PM EST –

Anyone used Ipe wood on a canoe beforefor gunwales? I can get some but was told it is very hard and may not work for gunwales. Said we needed to get a special blade for the table saw, but that the wood won't rot.

Anyone know if this is good and capable of being milled into a gunwale?

#7

MRC gunwales
They want $180 for a complete set and $115 to ship.

I am trying to do this cheaply since this is an OLD beaten up canoe.

#8

Table Saw
You should be able to find a suitable piece of ash at a woodworking store or maybe Home Depot.



Rip this to the desired width on a table saw then bevel the edges at 45 degrees. You can shape the rest with a block plane followed by heavy sand paper. Then go down to a lighter grit paper. Drill and tap all the holes so you don’t split it.



If you or a buddy lack a table saw try the local community college or a local wood shop that offers classes.



-James

http://www.adventurecanoe.com

#9

Try Ed’s Canoe
They have all kinds of goodies, including gunwales

http://www.edscanoe.com/14kndogusy.html