It was one of those gorgeous autumn days, when I set out to pick up this boat. The beautiful scenery lifted my spirits on this long, 3 hour drive. When I arrived and walked into the dimly lit storage shed, the sight was electrifying. What I was staring at was pure elegance. This was history! The hundred year old sailboat turned out to be a "decked sailing canoe", built sometime in the 1890's. These little 'speed demons' were the 'wind surfers' of their day! This was pleasantly not what I had been expecting. The boat was 16 feet long with two masts. The hull was lapstraked. The deck was 1/4 inch thick, solid mahogany. It was made from 4 pieces, all quartered and matched from a single piece of wood. Below deck, there were handmade copper flotation tanks. I couldn't determine the state of the framing as it was covered with thick, milk paint. The planking had split from drying out too much. For over 30 years, the hull had hung from the rafters of a boathouse. At the time, I couldn't even determine the species of wood. I paced around the boat trying to absorb every detail. I marveled at the beautiful, dainty, nickel-plated hardware. I played with the folding oarlocks. Their idea was brilliant. They folded flat on deck so the sheets wouldn't catch them. At that point I remembered the instruction to look for the mast box. I saw a box beside the boat. It had been nailed shut. It was at least 17 feet long. I found a hammer to break the frozen locks and pull the nails. I opened the box expecting to find a set of moldy old sails. Again I was shocked! Inside, still bent to the masts were two sails, hand made from the finest Egyptian Cotton. There color was still brilliant white and almost shiny smooth. The sails had full length battens. (I couldn't help think how many of our recent "innovations" were just borrowed from the past.) The spars were hollow spruce, the varnish still shiny. I am not sure how long I stood there, but when I came to my senses, I realized this was something special. This was a museum piece! Safely home with this prize, I spent several days walking around this boat, and planning my "attack". I was at odds. The customer wanted a functional boat, not necessarily a museum piece. I decided the hardware would be cleaned up, but not re-plated. Where I could, the original wood would be salvaged. The planking with 'minor' checks I repaired by cutting the rivets and with the aid of epoxy and clamps, closed the gap. The planks with the worst checks caused me to pause. Some were a 1/4 inch wide! I could fit a 'dutchman', but the client wanted to varnish the boat bright. The planking was also quite thin. A 'dutchman' would have been unsightly on such a small boat. I decided to see if I could find matching planking. By this time, with the help of a microscope, and "Hoagley's Book of Wood Indentification", it was determined that the planking was white pine. I was embarrassed that it took me so long to figure this out. Ontario was covered in pine! The smell of the old planking was so familiar .... However, this stuff was the colour of coffee with cream. Definitely not the anemic stuff I am used to seeing. It was fine-grained and cut from the heart of the tree. Before removing the planks, I went on a search for salvaged, old growth pine. Here in Grey County, we have quite a network of woodworkers from different diciplines. Once I had my hands on some acceptable material the planking was removed. This boat was a reminder to me, that some of the best boats are the smallest. It was with great pride and pleasure when this boat was delivered. My only hope was that the pristine varnish wouldn't deter the client from using his treasure! (I really wanted to take this boat out for a "test spin", but lacked the nerve!) It was one of the most beautiful objects to leave my shop.
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