Wooden trim parts

The details of the wooden trim parts are up to you; I haven't done any two of them the same myself. Here are some general guidelines and dimensions that should get you started. Look at other canoes and at pictures in books and magazines to see how others have done their trim pieces;
The rubrails are the first to go on and will be cut and shaped from 2 pieces of lumber about 3/4"x3/8"x14'. Mahogany is a traditional choice if the rubrails will be varnished, but ash, oak, or spruce are easier to find and will work just fine. Round the outside edges of the rubrails but leave them long for final trimming later. If you taper the height of the rubrails a little at the ends it will make the ends of your canoe seem lighter.
Temporarily clamp the rubrails in place and mark the side with a pencil along their bottom edge. Remove them and coat the surfaces where the rubrails will be applied with unthickened epoxy, then apply a slightly thickened coat just prior to gluing it on. Start by clamping the rubrails to the sheer at the middle of the hull. Keep working toward both ends alternating bow and stern until you reach the ends. Clamp one of the rubrails at the bow and rough trim it to length so that the other rubrail can be clamped as well. Clean up any sqeeze-out before it cures. After the epoxy has cured, trim the rubrail to length and round the ends.

The breasthooks are the next parts to install. I generally glue these up from two pieces sawed diagonally from one piece of wood and matched along the center line. I also like to leave a hole at the bow end to allow water to drain when the canoe is stored upside down. Lay the blanks in position on top of the hull and trace the edges from underneath with a pencil. Cut them out along the pencil lines and bevel their edges where they will attach to the hull. Coat their undersides with three coats of epoxy, and when it cures glue them in place with thickened epoxy. Clamp them in place and scrape off any excess resin before it hardens.
After the epoxy is cured it's time to cut and install the inwales. They should be about the same height and thickness as the rubrails. Take your time fitting them to the breasthooks; cut them long at first and sneak up on the final fit, trimming a little at a time. Clamp and glue them the same way as the rubrails, and clean up any squeeze-out. When everything has cured plane down any irregularities in the top edges of the side panels so that everything is flush with the top of the rubrails and inwales.
I use the thwart as a backrest support, and my experience has been that the thwart should be 10"-12" aft of the center of the boat, but this is kind of a matter of personal preference. If you can, temporarily fasten the thwart with a few clamps and take your boat for a paddle. When you get it just right, securely fasten it with a couple of screws or bolts; no glue here! Put your final coats of paint and varnish on the hull and trim and you're done.

The most important thing to remember is to use your boat and enjoy it! If you pass an interesting looking creek or a little piece of marsh on your way to work, load up your boat one day and explore it. And if you end up taking some pictures, send me a copy.
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