Gunnels/ gunwales Advice

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ful9806
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Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:03 pm

Gunnels/ gunwales Advice

Post by ful9806 »

I have just completed cutting and tapering my ash inner gunwales for my White Guide 18.5 boat I have been building over the winter. I was wondering what the protocol is for installation. Should I epoxy the whole gunnel before installation? should i just epoxy inside the scuppers beens how they are easier to get to before installation? Is varnish sufficient for the rest of the gunnel or would it be better to epoxy all sides (except the side im going to glue to the inside of the hull of course)? Anyways I could use a little advice here.
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Patricks Dad
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Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: Gunnels/ gunwales Advice

Post by Patricks Dad »

I'd coat all surfaces with a few coats of epoxy (including the scuppers and the surface that will be glued to the hull). They will of course need to be varnished once installed (so a light sanding before installing will make that easier (as well as roughen the inside surface to be glued).
Randy Pfeifer
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Snowman
Posts: 233
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:21 pm
Location: Gatineau, QC

Re: Gunnels/ gunwales Advice

Post by Snowman »

I have limited experience with canoe gunwales (only one canoe build)...

I coated the inside of my scuppers and the surface that mates to the hull. This was partially because I was not 100% sure how I wanted to make my decks and thought that I would be doing some reshaping (which I did). If you are sure about your deck layout, probably doing like Randy suggests is the easiest.
Snowman back East
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