Fiberglass Canoe Repair & Rebuild From a Single Tree

When we first laid eyes on our beloved canoe it was submerged in water, full of algae, and the wood was all decayed and rotten. Once we confirmed there were no dead bodies inside we got so excited. Could we take it home? We were pretty deep in crown land and hadn't seen any sign of people. It must have been washed down the river. We bailed it out and dragged it back to shore where we left it for a week. When we came back and saw it still there we decided we would give it a new home.
We fixed the holes and refinished the wood. That was in 2013 and it has taken us on many great adventures since. Starting to feel a little too confident this spring I decided to take it into some fast moving water and hit a sweeper and broke the gunwale on both sides and cracked the fiberglass in multiple spots. Not my proudest moment and an important lesson learned.
I was determined to fix it for sentimental reasons and also a personal punishment for breaking it in the first place. I couldn't let this massive piece of fiberglass go into the landfill. 🛶

[@YouCanMakeThisToo]

Another great project and video! Love watching your stuff. It's great to see you bring that old beat up canoe back to life. -Caleb Harris

[@markkromer1238]

I just bought an old Grumman fiberglass 16' I'm going to fix up. Thank you for the beautiful video.

[@GeekBuildersNet]

Nice work on the repair. The video was so well shot, that I didn't realize that 7 min had passed.

[@TrustinTimber]

Thanks. I do my best to keep it moving.

[@davestrain1762]

First this a a great Reclaim! Awesome, and then you guys fix up what someone else might throw away or worse just abandon in the river... extra cool points. And lastly cool video! I love the final drone shot on the outro!!! Well done Trustin and Caitlin!

[@TrustinTimber]

Yeah, I couldn't let it become garbage. Just didn't feel right. :)

[@craftedworkshop]

Another great video, Trustin. Turned out awesome!

[@TrustinTimber]

thanks man

[@reforzar]

Wow. What a transformation.

[@samaker4]

"Damn son! that is some fine work right there!" Loved watching it on your Instagram Stories.

[@VS-TheWorld]

Another AWESOME video!!!

[@janeyaustinor4718]

The whole package ! Interesting subject, awesome know how, start to finish excellence .

[@phredrocks]

Nicely done. enjoy safely.

[@ManCrafting]

Awesome job. Turned fantastic and functional.

[@JustinDepew]

Wow great restoration!

[@ellboy667]

Worth the wait. Love the builds & video style too. Hope you both havin a great summer:)

[@numenor7676]

you guys doing pretty well

[@skippyjones2077]

Well looks like she goes through the water well great job.... Thank you 🙏

[@maxhallmark9]

Your channel never disappoints, thanks for another enjoyable video.

[@TrustinTimber]

Max Hallmark I hope not. If I ever do be sure to tell me:)

[@kravist518]

My neighbor should have watched this video before “attempting” to rebuild his canoe 😳🤯

[@BruceAUlrich]

When you're using that draw knife, it looks like it is so satisfying. I want to get one of those and try it out. Great video!

[@TrustinTimber]

it's the best. So much fun.

[@WhoNoes]

Great video, I really like how it turned out.

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

I almost always turn down requests to replace gunnels on fibreglass canoes. They are just a misery to fit your woodwork to nicely. I like your lashing approach though. I would suggest you add a chafing cap to them as in birchbark canoes. They did that for a good reason which I bet you figured out by now.

[@TrustinTimber]

haha yep. Broke two fingernails already. lol. I think I'll leave it though. Reminds me to keep my paddle off the canoe and stay silent. Luckily Caitlin never had the same problem or I'd be changing it.

[@JackbenchWoodworking]

Awesome video and a fantastic job on the canoe!

[@EvanAndKatelyn]

What an awesome project and story! The last drone shot at 6:49 was so satisfying :D which one do you have? We just got a spark and are so excited to use it in some upcoming videos

[@TrustinTimber]

EvanAndKatelyn phantom 4 pro

[@prettyoutside7464]

What a great vid, sir! Thank you so much for sharing and keep the great work up! - Davi

[@TrustinTimber]

My Pleasure Davi. Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed.

[@jaapjanbaak228]

This is so good! 🖒🖒🖒

[@TrustinTimber]

thanks

[@stevesoutsideadventures]

Nice Job on the Canoe it looks great , Good as new , Nice color choice , better than the yellow for sure ......... The video is great also , I really enjoy how you put it all together , Nice work

[@tjtran1987]

great job. I just finished up my nova craft. lots of work but turned out great

[@PaulMeyette]

Awesome work T! The scene before the drone scene, it just glides through the water..... Like buttah! Lol

[@TrustinTimber]

Thanks, Paul. Always appreciate your support.

[@RiverbendlongbowsOutdoors]

Well that was sweet!

[@TrustinTimber]

Thanks :)

[@Cactusworkshopchannel]

super awesome! oh the drone!!

[@TrustinTimber]

Thanks man.

[@JMTosses]

You guys are the real deal. Great work again, both video and repair job came out excellent. By the way, if you found a way to make a video about the tools you made to help with you work, that would be splendid. Of course that's quite a challenge but if someone can pull it off, then that'd probably be you guys! Cheers and thanks like always! JM

[@kevinbungles]

Music is ace

[@stianhammervold]

Awesome as always! Makes me wanna start looking for a mest up canoe to fix up!

[@TrustinTimber]

do it:) lol

[@minutemark]

Nice work! Until I saw the "house" logo on your canoe, I hadn't realized your logo is made of two "tee"s. Of course it makes sense now!

[@TrustinTimber]

Mark Langenkamp haha, also stands for "The Timbers" and could be two people. Caitlin and I.

[@minutemark]

Yeah, two people giving "high-fives." I like it!

[@GetSquarewTomJolley]

Nice job, good video and edit too. A nice little pin stripe at the color transition would be really nice.

[@TrustinTimber]

Get Square w/ Tom Jolley yeah I know, I was thinking that but first I'll test and see how it holds up. Maybe in its next life.

[@curtn7076]

Well at least you have kindlin' for a good spell.

[@hectorlara4023]

Hi! I would like to know what kind of thread, yarn you used to attach those gunwales? Thank you

[@dustinfrost5214]

That wood looks about as strong as a carrot 😅

[@philhewett1601]

Paint job great. Gun'ale replacement great. Exposed seine line lashing for gun'ales...really? Not my canoe but, that idea seems questionable in the least. 'Cept for that really nice job. Tell us about the curious lashing of the gunwales.

[@TrustinTimber]

I'll tell you what it was. It was a lesson learnt. :) I cut them off around the back seat where I paddled. They didn't seem to bother Caitlin up front. I guess I just didn't trust they would be strong enough or stay attached. Turnes out it didn't need that step. Just need more clamps if I ever do something like that again.

[@philhewett1601]

@@TrustinTimber Thanx an' a hat tip for your response and condor. Nice job, again.

[@PlayMyMusicPlaylist]

Whats the weight?

[@TrustinTimber]

Never weighed it but it’s pretty heavy compared to a new Kevlar, but I manage just fine. A little extra leg work outs in the spring to get prepped for the season but we’ve taken it on some 500m portages.