![]() As you pull bone-dry plastic cane across the intricate weaves of those spans, you cut every strand it touches. Worse, each strand of cane spans the length of the seat's opening. ![]() But the charm of caned seats is that, much like chain, they're only as strong as their weakest link. That would be no big deal if it meant tearing out a row or two of damaged cane. Sure enough, tiny cuts marked the strands where my caning ended and hers began. I had furtively watched from a few yards away when she tied in a new strand of cane, and noticed she hadn't applied the mandatory Vaseline. If you don't keep it lubed, plastic cane cuts into previous sections, weakening each strand with slices resembling papercuts.Ībout a half-hour after my wife's cousin and I agreed on caning's therapeutic properties, I stopped to inspect a loved one's work on the boat's front seat. All those tight fits cause friction as you pull the cane through and snug up each pass. But plastic cane has sharp edges, and you weave it through narrow gaps in previous sections of cane. See, I use plastic cane for the boat seats because I heard and read that it lasts longer outdoors than natural cane. She crossed it when ignoring my instructions to lube each new strip of cane after tying it to the previous strip already woven into place. Why? There's a fine line between soothing and complacency. I won't mention names, but I taught caning to a certain loved one the first time around, and had to fire her. Nor would I ever again share or farm out the task. Money tends to end the soothing and start the slaving. By the time I finished the seats, I knew I'd never do it for pay. When caning my boat seats the first time back in Winter 2006, my wife's cousin watched awhile and said, "It beats therapy, doesn't it?" Besides, caning is soothing and satisfying artwork. Eventually, you create a strong, pretty webbing that's sturdy enough to seat any adult posterior.Ĭaned seats perfectly complement cedar boats, so I never considered covering my seats with cushions when the original caning wore out. In case you don't know about caning seats, we're not talking about corporal punishment, like 50 lashes or weird stuff, like "Fifty Shades of Grey."Ĭaning a seat requires endlessly weaving a series of long, slender strips of cane back and forth across an opening, much like that of an old wooden chair. This past month, though, I completed the boat's first major repair: re-caning its seats after they wore out from nine seasons of excessive rain, sunlight and misplaced knees. That's much less complicated than diagnosing and solving engine problems, two skills beyond my training and instincts. Most repairs simply require fine-grit sandpaper and fresh varnish. Plus, when it needs fixing, I can do everything myself. Maybe that's why I've used the cedar boat far more than "the big boat" these past 10 years. What about my other, more modern boat? I'm forever fixing its live-well, upgrading its battery, replacing its bilge pump, and hauling it to marinas for engine repairs. As long as you're fit enough to row or paddle, you'll get where you're going. Then again, perhaps the greatest charm of a light-riding cedar craft is its reliability. ![]() Some wooden-boat purists aren't impressed, I realize, but neither am I charmed by water seeping through seams not yet swollen by the new season. And it owes much of its enduring gleam to multiple coats of varnish applied before its launch. Granted, it owes much of its strength and durability to fiberglass cloth and epoxy resins protecting its hull, inside and out. Well, my boat is now entering its 10th summer, and it has shaken off enough hard knocks, roiling waves and inept rowing to convince me it's as seaworthy as any boat afloat, and more so than one I abandoned long ago. Then again, maybe I thought the same thing in 2006, when I launched my homemade rowboat after 2 1/ 2 years of on-again, off-again construction. ![]() If you want to insult someone who has built a cedar-strip canoe, kayak or rowboat, say it's too delicate for fishing and hunting.įolks often assume something so gorgeous can't handle rough stuff. ![]()
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