Over 20 years ago at a WCHA assembly ( yep, I attended once upon a time) I eavesdropped on a conversation between Harold Gates and somebody else ( I don't remember who it was,) about canvassing canoes. Harold (who has gone on to his reward) emphatically said that he never, ever canvassed a canoe with any clamps, come-alongs or whatever . He only canvassed it by pulling it by hand. He would place the canvas close to the furnace overnight and apply it the next day. That always rather intrigued me. Some time ago, the late WCHA president, Chris Merigold, and Ric Puls held an event in Roscommon, MI for the Michigan WCHA' ers and demonstrated gang canvassing. After watching the gang canvassing demo, I was certain that a canoe could be canvassed easily by hand. The first hand demo that I did was in Imlay City, MI with the help of Ralph Kohn and Bud Luce . Since then I've canvassed a lot (350 or so) of canoes. Demonstrations have been by hand, and in the shop, with a sling, come-along, etc. As with most things, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Using a sling is a lot easier, physically. Canvassing by hand does not overstretch the canvas. If you are canvassing an Old Town yankee or a Chestnut prospector canoe by hand one is less likely to have the canvas stand proud of the hull immediately aft of the stems. The disadvantage to hand canvassing is that it is difficult to pull the canvas on the bias in the quarters of the canoe to get the canvas to conform to the appropriate hull shape change. Of course, #12 canvas works best, #10 isn't bad, but the #8 for Russ's boat Saturday at the end of the day after 3 canoes was quite a challenge. Once on the canoe, I have never had a problem with the canvassing job no matter which method I've used. When I use clamps and a sling, I constantly remind myself that the purpose is to remove the wrinkles. I know that some manufacturers bragged that their canvas was installed with 2 tons of force, and most people don't agree with my techniques, but it has worked for me. Gil
