Whats involved with replacing my wood gunwales?
All in all, it’s not too bad a process. In simple terms, you remove the existing gunwales (save the hardware), clamp new rails in place, trim to fit, and drill and screw them to attach them to the hull. There’s no steaming or prebending necessary. The most important part is making sure you’ve got the right gunwales and parts to start with. When ordering or buying gunwales, you need to buy gunwales that are longer than your canoe to compensate for the fact that the gunwales take a curved route from end to end rather than straight down the middle. Be aware that each gunwale actually consists of two rails, the inside (inwale) and outside (outwale). Thus, you will need 4 pieces to perform a complete gunwale replacement. Make sure you also know what material your boat hull is made of to be sure you get the appropriate gunwale and gunwale screws. If you have a fitted deck, you’ll most likely need to obtain replacement decks as well. If your boat has a “capped” deck you’re probably spared tha
