Clik here to view.
How to Repair Loose Stem-Bands in a Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca Wood-canvas canoes are works of art. However, in Canada, they are also working boats. They help their owners navigate large, rapid...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Install a Keel on a Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca Speaking strictly in terms of form and function, canoes and keels don’t belong together. Canoes are designed to sideslip easily in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Paint a Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca Once the canoe has been canvassed, the filler has been applied and the keel and stem bands have been installed, it is ready for paint....
View ArticleClik here to view.
How To Make Highly Curved Stems for a Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca During the restoration of a wood-canvas canoe, it is rare to have to replace the entire stem in the canoe. However, when faced with the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Remove Fiberglass from a Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca For those of you new to this blog and have not heard me on this topic before, let me be as clear as I can be: To anyone thinking about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Restorers’ Guide to a Chestnut Bobs Special Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca The blogs I do on the specifications of canoe components for various types of canvas-covered canoes seem to be quite popular....
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Book Available! This Fancy Old Canoe: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring...
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca This Fancy Old Canoe: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring Antique Canoes picks up where This Old Canoe: How to Restore Your Wood-Canvas...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Repair a Long-Framed Veneer Deck in an Antique Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoesemail: artisan@canoeshop.ca Note: If you happen to be a master cabinet-maker who repairs Chippendale furniture for fun, this project will be pretty straightforward....
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Make and Install Half-Ribs in a Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca photo from “Tales from Misery Ridge: One Man’s Adventures in the Great Outdoors” by Paul J. Fournier. (Island Port Press, 2011) About...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Make Wide Outwales for an Antique Wooden Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca The outwales found in early versions of production canoes (both all-wood and canvas-covered canoes) built in the late 1800s and early...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Restorers’ Guide to a Thompson Brothers Ranger Wood-Canvas Canoe
Peter and Christ Thompson built wood-canvas canoes in Peshtigo, Wisconsin (about 50 miles north of Green Bay) as the Thompson Brothers Boat Manufacturing Company. The company built canoes from 1904...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Evolution of Factory-Built Wooden Canoes (1859-1906)
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca (Photo by Nick Dennis.) Fundamental to any canoe restoration is understanding what you are dealing with. The scope of this blog is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Get Information About Your Old Wooden Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca Fundamental to any canoe restoration is understanding what you are dealing with. This blog examines a number of ways to answer some...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Rebuild Solid-Wood Long Decks in Fancy Antique Canoes
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca Many “fancy” antique wooden canoes have beautiful up-swept sheer lines at the ends. The curved end profile in many canoes built by canoe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How To Repair Highly Curved Ends on a Wood and Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca Many fancy canoes have “pretty” end profiles. Canoes such as the Old Town HW, Yankee, Charles River and Otca models are familiar...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How To Weave a Standard 6-Stage Pattern for Caned Canoe Seats (Old Town,...
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca In my book, This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe, I describe how to weave natural cane (rattan) in Chestnut canoe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How To Weave the Stern Seat in a Rushton Indian Girl Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca While restoring a 1905 J.H. Rushton Indian Girl canoe, I made new seat frames and wove natural cane (rattan) in a standard 6-stage...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Repair Cracked Ribs in a Wood-Canvas Canoe
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca Sometimes, in the course of your restoration, you may discover a cracked rib in your canoe. The damage may not warrant replacement of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Rebuild the Ends of an Old Town Otca Wood-Canvas Canoe — Part 1
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca Water tends to collect in the ends of wood-canvas canoes when they are used on a regular basis. This moist environment creates perfect...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Rebuild the Ends of an Old Town Otca Wood-Canvas Canoe ̶ Part 2
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes email: artisan@canoeshop.ca I started describing the process involved in rebuilding the end of a 1967 18′ Old Town Otca canoe in part 1 of this blog. In it, I...
View Article