C-Forum

I recently bought a Probe 11 and after putting in my pond time and doing some really basic class I runs to get my mojo back, I felt like the boat pulled to the left. So I measured the outfitting (a Perception pedestal set-up) and it's a mess. The saddle is off center by about an inch.

Fixing this seems pretty simple. The new hole I'll need to drill in the front metal thwart is far enough from the existing hole to eliminate any concerns about weakness by proximity.

However, I think I will need to replace the rear thwart, because it's wood and the new holes that need to be drilled to properly align the saddle will overlap the old holes.

Is there a certain type of wood I need to use? Can I just go to Lowe's and get a 1x2 and sand off the edges?

I also want to raise the saddle height by about a half inch, but it seems like it's maxed out as far as raising the whole pedestal. Would glueing a strip of foam to the top of the pedestal have any dire effects?

Also, although the pedestal has space for adjustable foot pegs(?) there are none. Should I look to getting replacements, make some ankle braces with foam, or let it be?

Thanks in advance!

For the wood, white ash is great... ut a good old hockey stick would do just fine... An old paddle shaft, etc... I said ash cause it is a strong yet flexible wood that resist to moisture prety good... That is also the most common wood for twarts and gunwale on canoes!

so you're saying I need to get a piece of ash?

...

or you can just fill the old hole with a plug

....would flipping it around help?

or

maybe swapping the two thwarts (front-2-back)?

I have a pair of foot pegs that I was saving for an occasion when I needed to do some outfitting, but I'm pretty well set on boats right now, if you google perception foot pegs they are the ones you'll see pictures of, if you think they'll fit I can let them go for the price of good river karma They're also only 4.99 tho

I'll give another aye for ash or a hockey stick. The latter has worked well on my Prelude.

I have purchased from Lowe's Poplar in a size that suited me and used for thwarts. I have so far experienced no problems.

Gluing foam on the saddle should make it more comfortable.

Poplar is a soft wood, while Ash is a hardwood... I would only consider it for use in a kept inside lake boat (sorry) and not in whitewater canoe.... where it's use might be considered to save the boater, much like a roll cage.

To further complicate the issue, here (S.Eastern. US) there are two main types of Eastern Ash. The more common Southern and less readily available Northern... most of the Southern is really too wide of a grain (grow's too fast). Like previously stated - I have had good luck using White Oak. It holds up well in marine use, is closed grain, and a relatively light hardwood. Stay away from Red Oak varieties, which are open grained. They will soak up water becoming heavy, and thus tend to rot. Have had some luck with Cypress, although it's hard to find in other parts (do not use for gunwales).

Unfortunately it's been my experience, to only find adequately priced woods at a lumber yard. It would really help to mention your area of the country (or world)....

philcanoe wrote:Poplar is a soft wood, while Ash is a hardwood...

Technically both are hardwoods, but poplar is one of the softer and lighter hardwoods.

For a thwart you could really use anything you want, some woods are just better suited than others. Ash, walnut, hickory, hard maple would all be fine whitewater thwart material.

I've made thwarts from sitka spruce given to me by a biplane builder. Knowing that it could rot, I coated it with West epoxy and UV spar varnish. More work than most would want to take, but spruce thwarts are plenty strong, and half the weight of ash. Close grain sitka spruce seems to be the only wood accepted by the FAA for spars in home aircraft construction.

Agreed, been wanting to try sitka out for all the trim on a race boat.

It may not be quite enough for a plastic creek boat, but I think it would be fine for a composite slalom boat.

Spruces have a higher strength to weight ratio than any other softwoods. White spruce is used for masts, flagpoles and such.

Another hardwood not mentioned but common in thwarts and seats is cherry. It also has moderate rot resistance though not as much as walnut. It's one of my favorite woods to work with, though the dust is a bit hazardous.

A couple of good sources for a piece or two of most of the woods mentioned for thwarts are hardwood flooring dealers (ya there are grooves milled into the back but so what) and custom cabinet shops.

Oddly, though white ash is the most common wood used for thwarts and gunnels it is an open grained wood and is therefore subject to water penetration and rot and must be sealed. It is so popular because of its availability, its superior strength to weight ratio, and its long straight grain which lends it to milling and bending. It's also obviously quite pretty.

The heartwood of poplar is much more rot resistant than some would think. I've encountered many a sill log in old cabins made from poplar that were solid as a rock. It makes a great wood for paddles. Poplar trees these days don't get that big and have a lot of sapwood (sapwood of just about any species is prone to rot) so it pretty much has to come from salvage to get the good stuff.

Oops, rambling again. We'll save red oak for another chapter.