The canoe is sitting in its canvas envelope but the ends of the canvas must be closed and sealed to prevent water getting in.
You may have also noticed that I have been using my own home made stretching tool to stretch the canvas. This is copied from one I saw in Jerry Stelmok's book on Joe Seliga and consists of a piece of wood with a handle at one end and spikes protruding from the other at right angles.
What I found when using this is that it works very well up to the point when you over tension the canvas and then the spikes slip through the weave of the cloth producing tears and losing tension. The trick is to pull it just tight enough so it is as tight as you can get it before the tears start and it doesn’t take much practice to get the hang of this. I know that others use hide strainers and some make their own from mole grips but I was happy with my home made creation and if its good enough for Joe Seliga its good enough for me!
With the canoe upside down the ends are first trimmed about 2 inches past the stems.
Then the first side can be pulled tight and stapled or tacked to the stem. I ran a bead of sealant under it first and between the two layers of canvas just to be sure.
The canvas is also stapled tight along the gunwale.
The second side is folded on top to close the join and is stapled or tacked in the same manner.
I repeated the process on the opposite end and wrote under the canvas in marker pen “Alex Comb Designed Prospector ½ made by Alick Burt.” After all I didn’t entirely make this boat as I bought it on the form with the ribs already bent. When I make another one I will experience the delights of bending the ribs too!
and here is what a completed end looks like.
Next time we will be on the filling stage...
Alick