I was gifted a Coleman Explorer 166 a couple of weeks ago. I'd never paddled a canoe before, but after a few short paddles decided I wanted to mod it. I think to be truthful, I actually wanted to mod it the day I saw it, but it took a little time to convince myself I should. See here for my reasoning and other discussion...
http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/for...839#post670839. I'm very grateful for the contributions and cautionary comments, despite me going ahead with it anyway. ;)
It looked like this before... (not my pic, found it on google)
The plastic insert with the ribs and the center seat/coolbox, and the foam beneath, it is what came out. I had to remove the seats and drill out all the rivets from one end and all the way along the gunwales, in order to lift the gunwales off and remove the insert. I replaced some with bolts, and bought a cheap rivet gun for the rest.
I've started to work towards restoring some of the rigidity and buoyancy that I lost by removing it, starting with a flexible approach to attaching "things" in the center of the canoe. The aim is to be able to fit/reposition/remove various items - a center thwart and/or yolk, a kneeling thwart, a center seat (or two, for kids), cargo or additional buoyancy blocks, maybe a sailing mast or a picnic table. ;)
Here's what it looks like just now, with my new T-track inwales that I finished fitting this evening, the result of a few evenings work...
The crossmember clamped in the center was just to pull the gunwales in a cm or so to the correct width, so I could measure the final separation and check how parallel they were. A bit of a closer look...
Detail...
First off, I deeply regret making these out of softwood, given the time they took and the potential for structural weakness and/or short lifespan. I didn't make templates, either. I also didn't really measure intended locations or plan such... overall length was limited by the wood I had and the fact I only had two lengths of T-track, but also by the increasing curvature of the gunwales away from center and I didn't want to use anything deeper than 3x2. I shifted them towards the bow rather than centered them, simply on a hunch. But they ended up parallel to within a mm, so a successful build in that respect. Clear width between them is 776mm.
A quick summary of how I made them...
- picked a couple of lengths of 3x2 CLS from the pile
- measured drop and width across gunwales every six inches, a few feet either side of center
- shortest piece of 3x2 dictated overall length, decided to slightly offset towards bow
- bandsaw to cut 3x2 to match the curves
- decided on 5 bolts to attach to gunwales and used bandsaw/sanding drum to scallop between them
- cut a rebate on the underside to take the T-track, and glued inserts to restore square ends
- routered round-overs where necessary
- test fit the T-track in order to drill bolt holes (the center three are touching)
- sanded to 80 grit, then three coats of Cuprinol Ducksback
- through-screwed the T-track in the rebates, cut and filed screws tips flush
- three more coats over the areas exposed after filing
- filed down the exposed T-track corners
- clamped in place, drilled though gunwales and fit bolts
A few notes:
- The bolts are M5 80mm roofing bolts, heads towards the inside.
- The three bolt heads in the middle contact/clamp both the wood and the T-track, the end two bolt heads only contact wood.
- Because the T-track is underneath, and I'm using softwood, I decided that I'd through-screw the T-track to the wood with slightly oversized screws and then file flush, to increase the overall surface area of screw threads that are biting the wood.
- Any seat or weight-bearing member is probably going to bear down on the keel pole anyway, thereby relieving a little stress on the T-track screws.
- I'll likely keep a structural thwart tight up under the T-track at all times, which should help prevent the inwales from rolling inwards when otherwise loaded.
There is another modification I'd like to do which is to frame up a floored section with buoyancy underneath, braced up to the inwales, but significantly reduced in height compared with the insert I removed. This would replace
some of the buoyancy lost, also support the keel and floor form, and prevent walking directly on the hull in the flat areas. I'm still thinking about this.
But other than cutting the bolts to length, my parallel T-track inwales (if that's what you'd call them) are now done. Once I've made a center thwart, I look forward to finding time to go for a paddle. :D
Any comments, suggestions or criticism gratefully received.
