Trad Gang

I picked up an old fiberglass canoe and it needs some TLC and a good cleaning up. It is now a puke yellow color and I may paint it. Anyone ever painted a glass canoe (I know it will scuff off the bottom but that's OK) and anyone done one with an archery theme ? Color scheme, theme, camo ?

It would be pretty cool to paint it up like a Indian canoe.Maybe a birch bark pattern.Or trase your hand on the side near the front.Or stick archers shooting at stick deer.

Fiberglass takes paint pretty well.  If you're going to use it for hunting, duck boat drab olive or marsh brown are two good colors.  When I think traditional canoe, though, I think wood and canvas canoe.  :bigsmyl:

ruff er up with a bit of steel wool, prime and paint. Nice thing about a glass canoe is that the patches are the strongest places on em.

Funny though, when I think trad canoe, I think "19 foot grumman freighter" with a lift to motor up through skinny water ;*)

Canoes got style.

Scotty

Tim, birchbark would be hard to do--even for you. How about some caveman drawings of animals and archers? Maybe an Ishi theme? I look forward to seeing it(and maybe riding in it) Very cool project.

The "Puke yellow" might draw into Osage?

Trad canoe would be my Seliga.  It would be a shame to paint it up. for a fiberglass that can be hunted out of, I would match the vegetation.  I used to have an old town that was river colored for sneaking up on ducks.  I got a deer once while duck hunting with it.You probably already have thought of this, but watch that lower limb when shooting at ducks and deer from a canoe.  It makes a terrible noise when you hit the gunnel with the bow, and it leaves you with a takedown recurve all over the place.

Sounds great ! I'm gonna' try my hand with a dugout before long. That will be my ultimate Trad canoe. Good luck and send us some pics.

How about gluing bark to it?Birch bark would be great. You could then finish it with some varnish.

Definitely pics!

Definitely pics!

sounds like yall having to much fun  :biglaugh:  ya got to post pics for sure.

Tim -- I love your Ronnie quote; perhaps the most honest thing he or any politician ever said! Re the canoe, I don't know about repainting but insofar as all canoes are muscle-powered, all are traditional. That's the raw bone for "traditional" ... do we do it ourselves, or do we buy it? My fiberglass canoe was bought used 23 years ago, and still keeps me dry. More power to material modesty! dave

Real Birch Bark is a blast. This picture was taken right after I got my Bark canoe.

  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Birch_Bark_hunters.jpg)

John Nail, if you can do a "J" stroke, you got the stern, otherwise it's the bow for you.
 This old canoe was given to my nephew by a neighbor. The kid ain't all that bright and could stand the $50 I'm giving him( I would have felt I took him at $40   :bigsmyl:   ).I got it cheap enough to play with. I lost my 18 footer some time back in the war and have missed it a lot.
 I can already visualize a float trip down the White River with bows in tow.
BTW, what's that little stick figure goomers name that Mojam uses on it's logo and Tshirts ? He might be included.

Looks like ya mite do the cleanup and just use some black spray paint to imitate Ron's Birchy...maybe some brown for darkening bigger patches??

I wonder..will the new Indy mayor, allow us to bow hunt that stretch of the White River ,now?? Lotsa geese,ducks,carp,deer in that stretch.

Be kinda cool just to float thru with a bow/canoe flotilla...

Tim My first canoe was a yellow fiberglass canoe that I had my body shop buddy paint a dark green.You are right it won't last on the keel but will be O.K. for a good while.The memories that boat is bringing back right now some solo trips and hunting out of it with a buddy and camping away from everybody.I now have an Old Town Camper royellex but doesn't do much more than my old yellow/green canoe did.Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.Kip

Billy, I would feel woefully "undergunned" with a bow in downtown Indy.
My brother in law has a Mad River Kevlar hanging in his garage. He's too sick to use it but even when he was well he used it little. I think the high cost of it and fear of hurting it was the reason. Guns and bows are for shootin' and canoes are for floating.

Some canoe pictures

  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Armstrong%20Creek%20Buck.jpg)
  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Canoe_Buck.jpg)
  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Buck-in-canoe.jpg)

(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Moose%20float2.bmp)
 
    (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Moose%20float1.bmp)
  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Yew_canoe.jpg)

Great pics! Thanks

Always enjoy your "frontier" pics so much, Ron, as we've discussed before.

Tim, I've rarely been without a canoe for almost 45 years. It's the stern for me.

I have paddled many miles with a 21 foot 'michicraft' canoe. It had a flat bottom; and about a 3 foot beam on it. I could stand up in it and shoot carp. My brother and I could slip right over 2 inches of water with it. I love the right canoe!!!

Laddy: gotta know; when you were duck hunting and shot a deer...it wasn't December 25th was it???  :saywhat:

That's me in my little 12' canvas canoe next to a friends 27' North Canoe.

  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Lake_trip15.jpg)

It was back in the 80s, I noticed how the duck flights moved to the rivers.  I think because of hunting pressure.  The ducks mostly teal were holding in the back eddies.  We would lay low and drift by them and shot most while on the water.  One morning a small buck joined the ducks we spotted, shot him at about 18 yards, double lung pass through and a short blood trail.

(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Lake_trip7.jpg)

Checking the map on a 100 mile trip along the North shore of Lake Superior.
  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Lake_trip4.jpg)

I was the bow man in the 5 man crew.
  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Lake_trip3.jpg)

Ron -- Up with little canoes! You da man! Dave

Laddy:  I've done a fair amount of floating small streams for ducks.  Good way to hunt.  During that time, I've also floated up to and/or past by some good bucks in the water or bedded on the banks.  This was almost always during bow season.  Just never thought about taking my bow along.  I have a 12 1/2 wood and canvas canoe I build for the purpose.  Maybe in the future, I'll stow my bow as well.

Well, I got it home today. It's a 15 footer and all I can find on it is a small plate that say "Explorer Industries-Pleasant Lake Indiana " That's it. Just some no name generic canoe, but we'll have some fun with it.
The stern it is John. I like the bow best anyway. You get first look at what you are about to flip over on.  :pray:

When I think traditional canoe I think wood like this one (My Indian Girl)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b278/cvarcher/indiangirlhome.jpg)

CV archer.  Nice boat.  That's another model I build.  Rushton Indian Girl, 16 foot.  A joy to paddle.

I am supposed  to go to the Coon Rapids shoot the middle of June and we are taking my grandson on his second canoe trip to Canada for his second birthday in July, his mom was eight months along when he was on his first trip.  All this canoe stuff makes me just want to go canoeing and skip the shoot.

Ron - are those pictures from tintypes?

 :bigsmyl:    :campfire:

I once had a 16' Penn Yann boat. My brother in law bought it at a sale not knowing what it was. The canvas cover scared him away. He gave it to me knowing I worked in canvas anyway. Cane seats, brass oarlocks, brass everything. I stuck it in the corner of an old barn we had on the place, meaning to get to it someday. Years later I wanted rid of the old barn and with Fire Dept help burned it down.Forgot the old canvas boat was in there.Another lost moment.  :knothead:  

16' boat and a guy could pick it up and run with it.  

Ron,

Great photos! You've done the kinds of hunts that a lot of us have only dreamed about. Thanks for the inspiration.

Ron, you have the best pictures and some of the best experiences that most can only hope to have. I am one of those that can only hope