I strongly recommend applying at least one coat of un-thinned epoxy to all of the plywood surfaces inside and outside the canoe. The official advice is that you should pick your time of day carefully as you do not want rising temperatures to cause expanding air to bubble from the wood after you have applied the epoxy. I was very careful about this and ended up with a forest of bubbles despite a careful application and “tipping” out – so there may be more at play here than meets the eye. Not to worry, sanding is good exercise and the epoxy needed some sanding in any case to prepare the surface for the final finish.
When applying the epoxy coat I did take the time to ensure that all of the plank joints were completely filled with epoxy leaving no tiny gaps for dirt or anything else to lodge.
The plan for the interior, decks, inwales and outwales was simple – four coats of yacht varnish. A little care needed to avoid runs but nothing to learn. All anyone needs is a dust free environment, no wind and a dry atmosphere. OK – so lots of potential trauma there but hey nothing new.
The idea for the exterior was to apply a coloured catalytic polyester resin. This would provide a scratch resistant coloured finish – ideal for resisting launch and recovery damage as well as those small collisions that even the most expert paddler comes to expect from time to time – and happen to me all of the time. I am pretty sure that this material will become the finish of choice for canoe builders – if they can figure out how to apply it. Does that sound like I had problems? Well I did. Where it applied properly, the finish is smooth, glossy and looks great. Getting that smooth glossy finish involves getting a thickish layer smoothed out well before the hardener kicks in. “The tin” promised 20 minutes of “pot life” – my first attempt got less than 5 with everything turning to jelly at around the same time.
Experiment and bitter experience has shown the following. The resin will not adhere successfully to plywood that has not previously been treated with a coat of epoxy. If you rub down one layer of the material you can successfully bond a second layer to the first. Applying too thin a layer may mean that the material will not harden successfully. While it takes some rubbing down, a smooth final finish can be produced from even the most inauspicious start.
So that is why my final exterior finish is “Topcoat” applied to the number one plank and polyurethane paint in a matching colour applied to the rest.
Quick final round-up:
Sorry for the lack of pictures from the final stages. Things were done in fairly short order on flying visits home to France. Also this year saw the worst drought in SW France that anyone can remember and most river craft have had to be fitted with wheels. As you will not want to see my pride and joy floating on my neighbours very small swimming pool, I will post some pics of my canoe being paddled after I next get afloat on one of the great French rivers.
You can buy great seat fitting kits that come with wooden dowels that can be cut to length to cover the bolts once you have run a couple of trials to get the seat height right for you and your canoe. Using one of these kits will save a lot of time and trouble.
I did start reading a text on paddle making but when I realised it started with selecting a suitable tree, felling it, ripping out some planks and leaving them to mature for several years I reached for a canoe suppliers catalogue and found a good range of attractive wooden paddles at remarkably low prices.
As I am now living back in the UK and I have a large garage space (well more a potential space than an actual space you will understand – subject to family negotiation and prioritisation) then new projects beckon. Building paddled water craft may well be addictive as well as contagious, just as Paul said when I started this venture.
When applying the epoxy coat I did take the time to ensure that all of the plank joints were completely filled with epoxy leaving no tiny gaps for dirt or anything else to lodge.
The plan for the interior, decks, inwales and outwales was simple – four coats of yacht varnish. A little care needed to avoid runs but nothing to learn. All anyone needs is a dust free environment, no wind and a dry atmosphere. OK – so lots of potential trauma there but hey nothing new.
The idea for the exterior was to apply a coloured catalytic polyester resin. This would provide a scratch resistant coloured finish – ideal for resisting launch and recovery damage as well as those small collisions that even the most expert paddler comes to expect from time to time – and happen to me all of the time. I am pretty sure that this material will become the finish of choice for canoe builders – if they can figure out how to apply it. Does that sound like I had problems? Well I did. Where it applied properly, the finish is smooth, glossy and looks great. Getting that smooth glossy finish involves getting a thickish layer smoothed out well before the hardener kicks in. “The tin” promised 20 minutes of “pot life” – my first attempt got less than 5 with everything turning to jelly at around the same time.
Experiment and bitter experience has shown the following. The resin will not adhere successfully to plywood that has not previously been treated with a coat of epoxy. If you rub down one layer of the material you can successfully bond a second layer to the first. Applying too thin a layer may mean that the material will not harden successfully. While it takes some rubbing down, a smooth final finish can be produced from even the most inauspicious start.
So that is why my final exterior finish is “Topcoat” applied to the number one plank and polyurethane paint in a matching colour applied to the rest.
Quick final round-up:
Sorry for the lack of pictures from the final stages. Things were done in fairly short order on flying visits home to France. Also this year saw the worst drought in SW France that anyone can remember and most river craft have had to be fitted with wheels. As you will not want to see my pride and joy floating on my neighbours very small swimming pool, I will post some pics of my canoe being paddled after I next get afloat on one of the great French rivers.
You can buy great seat fitting kits that come with wooden dowels that can be cut to length to cover the bolts once you have run a couple of trials to get the seat height right for you and your canoe. Using one of these kits will save a lot of time and trouble.
I did start reading a text on paddle making but when I realised it started with selecting a suitable tree, felling it, ripping out some planks and leaving them to mature for several years I reached for a canoe suppliers catalogue and found a good range of attractive wooden paddles at remarkably low prices.
As I am now living back in the UK and I have a large garage space (well more a potential space than an actual space you will understand – subject to family negotiation and prioritisation) then new projects beckon. Building paddled water craft may well be addictive as well as contagious, just as Paul said when I started this venture.
