Materials

The following information is intended to provide an overview of the materials we use and why we choose them.

Timber

Wood is beautiful, flexible, resilient, restorable, natural, renewable and warm. All materials deteriorate over time but wood can be maintained through the use of oils and preservatives to retain its durability. Timbers used in our boats include Western Red Cedar for ribs and planking. Gunnels, decks and seats are usually American White Ash or Mahogany. Decks and carry handles can be a range of other hardwoods depending on availability and customer choice. In general we use ‘Woodskin’ saturator as a deep preservative and/ or numerous coats of teak oil to maintain the timber’s natural properties.

Hull canvas and filler

Cedar and Canvas canoes have their outer hulls covered in a #10 cotton canvas and filled with an water-based filler. This is in place of traditional oil-based filler which contains a number of less eco friendly ingredients. The combination of timber planking and filled canvas provides a tough but flexible hull. This allows the hull to retain its integrity in normal usage but to flex on impact, thereby avoiding damage where a more rigid material may fracture. After many years of use the canvas may require replacing, a relatively simple procedure involving only the removal of the outer gunnel and stem bands.

Polyurethane coated Nylon skin

A two part Polyurethane is used to seal and strengthen the skins of all of our skin on frame boats, which is a high quality flexible and durable material. These retain a flexible finish allowing the nylon skin to flex under pressure and impact and with changes in temperature. These materials provide a strong and durable hull. However, they are prone to damage trough abrasion. Care should be taken to lift and carry not drag any skin boat. Luckily, by their vey nature, they are light in weight so this is no hardship.

Fastening and fittings

Deterioration of fittings and fastenings is a common problem with many boats. To avoid this, all of the screws we use are stainless steel, and our other fastenings are either copper, brass or bronze.

Paintwork

All paintwork on Valkyrie canoes is high quality marine gloss because of its general durability and water resistance. The brands we use are TEMAC and International, both of which have strong international reputations. Paint is, of course, subject to damage with use and will need sanding back and repainting over time.