How to Refinish a Cedar Canvas Canoe

Cedar and canvas canoes are beautiful, generally offer excellent performance and are surprisingly durable. Over time both the canvas and the wood can deteriorate and require refinishing. Refinishing a cedar strip canoe is a time-consuming and detailed project that can actual increase the strength and durability of the canoe.

Things You'll Need

  • Pliers
  • Staple gun and staples (3/8 or 1/2 inch - preferably monel or stainless)
  • New fabric to cover the canoe
  • Scissors
  • Razor knife
  • Exterior finish
  • Foam paint brushes (2 and 3 inch)
  • Sander and sand paper (fine grit–150 or 220)
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Instructions

  1. Stripping the canoe

    • 1

      Remove rub rails, seats–if possible, and any other pieces that can be unscrewed from the boat.

    • 2

      Pull the old canvas from the canoe. You may need to use pliers to get a grip on the canvas and pull it off. If the canvas has begun to rot, it will probably come off in little pieces. Carefully remove all canvas, and all staples or tacks that were holding the canvas on.

    • 3

      Inspect the canoe for any rot. Cut out any rotten wood sections.

    Refinishing the Wood

    • 4

      Replace any rotten wood you removed. Glue with a quality two-part waterproof epoxy. Sand all wood to get to bare clean wood, including seats and rub strips.

    • 5

      Seal all wood with an epoxy wood sealer. This step is optional, but it will greatly increase the strength of the wood, and protects against rot. Allow the epoxy to cure.

    • 6

      Lightly sand the epoxy with a fine 220 grit paper. Varnish the wood with a water or oil based exterior urethane or spar varnish. This protects the wood and epoxy from UV and water damage.

    Recovering the Canoe

    • 7

      Lay the canoe upside down on saw horses. Drape the fabric over the canoe. Traditionally a 10- or 12-ounce duck cotton was used. You may want to check out some of the new nylon and polyester fabrics available. A great source for information and materials is Dyson, Baidarka & Company, 435 West Holly St., Bellingham, WA. 98225, (360) 734-9226. (They do not have a web site.)

    • 8

      Pull the fabric tight and staple to the gunwales. It is extremely helpful to have a helper for this part of the project. When you have the fabric stretched and stapled as tight as possible, trim the edge of the fabric at the edge of the gunwale.

    • 9

      Soak the canvas and allow to dry. This will shrink the fabric tight on the canoe frame. If you use nylon the shrinking process is the same. If you use polyester, shrinking is accomplished with dry heat–run a dry household iron over the fabric to shrink it.

    • 10

      Coat the canvas with an oil-based urethane for a natural color, or use a quality oil based paint. Water-based urethanes and paints do not bond well with canvas, but are effective with nylon and polyester, and they offer much less toxic fumes, and are much easier clean up. Allow the finish to cure.

    • 11

      Re-install the rub rails, seats, and any other pieces you initially removed, and head for the water.