Here I’m steaming a couple of experimental reinforcement ribs into the pedal drive canoe to strengthen the framework around the adapter box. No idea if this will become a permanent modification or not but here is the process I used:
I started with some very dry bending oak. Normally we prefer it to be very wet for bending, but because I’m going to be epoxying this to the rib beneath it I don’t want that extra moisture in the wood.
I pre-bent the rib outside of the canoe to release most of the tension in the wood, and then placed it in the canoe, clamping as I went. After bending in place and letting it sit for a few hours, I removed the rib and thickened up a small batch of epoxy to about the consistency of mayonnaise, and then I used an irrigation syringe to squirt a medium-thick line down the length of the underlying rib, and then spread that line with a spreader stick to about an eighth of an inch away from the edge of the rib. Next I sandwiched the two ribs back together and clamped them, cleaning up any squeeze out as I went with a paper towel. Tomorrow I will put some oil on the top surface of the stiffening rib.
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