The International Canoe

My seat need rubbing down and re-varnishing before winter - what should I put onto the areas where the seat runs along the carrage - clearly it has had something on before but it is quite worn and should be replaced whilst i am doing the rest of the work - the boat is longBow 262 if that helps. Any suggestions along with ideas of where i can source the materials would be gratefully recieved - Cheers John

Hi John , I use 1/8" tufnol top and bottom on the running / bearing surfaces. You will need to check the thickness of either the previous material or measure the gap. I have seen 1/16" tufnol used and fix in place with glue. Try to avoid most other plastics as the friction between the surfaces is reduced and in windy weather the slide moves very easily on its own !

Colin, thanks for that - any suggestions where I can get hold of suitably sizes "tufnol" - a quick interent search brings up lots of companies who sell industrial sized sheets but not long strips.

John

I purchase all my 'whale tufnol' from Bay Plastics on 0191 258 0777, it comes in 4 foot widths so there is a little wastage and you need to join the strips. When ordering check to see if they will cut into 1/2" strips, its difficult to cut yourself. Allow 1/4" wastage for each saw cut. If you run into difficulties, give me a ring. Using these protective strips is worth the extra effort.