A New Skin

A new skin for a 16 foot Chestnut Prospector "Fort"

It's one of the best days of restoration. When a canoe gets its new canvas.

There are two ways to stretch canvas onto a canoe. The traditional way is upright, so it nests in the canvas like the filling in a taco. The canvas is anchored to the walls, then the canoe is placed in the canvas and pushed into the fold by bracing from the ceiling.

The other way is with the canoe upside down and the canvas stretched over it.

Both ways work equally well and which one you choose depends on the setup in your shop. In this shop I must stretch it upside down, because the only place for the anchors is in the cement floor.

The Chestnut Fort ready for filler.

Once the canvas is stretched tight, it is singed to remove any fuzz or stray strands. Then it is washed down with boiling water to shrink it slightly so it will be as tight as possible. Next comes 3 coats of filler and 3 or more coats of paint.