Hi Again
It's now March 2010. After all the snow and ice and bitterly cold weather it's time to get on and finish the canoe. The gunwales were sanded and given a coat of epoxy to seal the timber. The edges of the tapes were faired off to blend in and avoid hard edges. I fitted two support rails for the seat (being made separately) these were glued with epoxy and epoxy fillets applied to the edges. The whole of the inside was then given a coat of epoxy to seal the ply before varnishing. This was allowed to dry for a few days before sanding back and then the inside of the canoe and gunwales were given a coat of varnish. The outside was sanded again before applying the first coat of paint.
I then made the seat from an old mahogany window sill. This then slots in between the support rails. I fitted two supports to the top chine beneath the gunwales, made from plywood, to support the backrest. The backrest was made from pine and is allowed to swivel for comfort.
It's time for a maiden voyage to see if any modifications are needed before applying several coats of varnish to the inside and another two caots of paint on the outside.