On May 29, 9:59 am, wrote:
Love to see a picture when the work is finished.

You are very kind. Rainy weather has prevented my from working on
it. The sun will come out eventually and when it does this canoe is
my #1 priority. I will post the pic since you asked even though I
don't think this Watco Marine Finish will come across in a pic. It's
a very understated finish, to say the least. But super durable and
easy to maintain from what I am told. I love this solo canoe and
can't wait to get it on the water.

I managed to get the trim into a dry place thinking that getting
rained on might not be the best. I ordered new screws from Mcfeely's
and feel good about it. Silicon bronze is probably what was
originally used since it is almost exclusively used on boats. Price
was less than the bronze at Ace even with shipping. So, the new
fasteners will be square drive silicon bronze. I got my money back at
Ace. Thanks again for the suggestion.

Oddly, one screw on each of the interior gunnels was bunged up. At
first I though it was damaged accidentally during the install. But
then when I found the other one in the exact same place on the other
gunnel it makes it look like the installer did it on purpose.

I imagine some disgruntled canoe assembler, bunging up those two brass
screws. They would know that it would never be noticed until 10 years
later when some shmuck like me tries to take it apart. Lucky I'm
handy cause I had my handy dremel tool handy and cut slots in the
damaged srews to remove with a flat blade. Otherwise that disgrutled
worker would have gotten me good, hehe.

The screw holes are in good shape but after I soak this wood with oil
and resin I'm guessin that the screws should fit nice and snug. My
ultimate goal fo this canoe is to have fabric cover constructed,
essentially making it a covered boat capable of taking on big water.
Here is an obscure link for those who might have interest in canoe
covers and custom camping/canoeing gear:

http://www.cookecustomsewing.com/solocovers.shtml