Canoe Restoration Series

Help us bring this well used Rehbein Canoe back to its full paddling strength!

Folks are welcome to drop-in and take part in the restoration of this classic 1964 Rehbein Canoe, made of wood and fiberglass. These sessions are FREE and open to ages 13 and up. Join the Duluth Folk School in restoring this classic canoe, and become part of our growing community!

Learn new skills or contribute the skills you have in resurrecting this boat.  Or just come to chat about old canoes.  We’ll start by removing elements that need to be replaced, sand the remaining wood, re-create the removed wood parts, then put it all together with a new finish of varnish and paint.  Skills you’ll learn/use during this project might include:

• Sanding
• Wooden canoe construction
• Wood refurbishing
• Use of basic woodworking tools, including hand planes, screwdrivers, drill, and saws
• Installing gunwales
• Restoring thwarts
• Varnishing and painting

A little bit about the canoe maker:

Lloyd E. Rehbein lived and worked in Duluth MN, off Rehbein Road from June 4, 1898 to November 1970. He built his 1st canoe in 1931 and built/sold canoes and boats for 33 years, starting in 1934 and retired in the fall of 1967. He built a number of canoe models, including 16, 17 and 18 ft double-enders, and several cartop boats/squarebacks. He built about 600 canoes, and his canoes were highly sought after, especially in the Duluth area.

He built part-time, after work, from 1934 to 1942, when he retired and started building full time. Most of the time he worked alone, but once in the 40s he had a hired hand helping him. After 1942, he only made canoes. From the 30s through the 50s, he made about 25 canoes per year, and decreased to about 10 per year in the 60s. In the 30s and 40s he used filled canvas, and then moved to fiberglass/resin in the 50s and 60s.”  (Information provided by Dan Lindberg.)

“There is nothing that is so aesthetically pleasing and yet so functional and versatile as the canoe.”

-Bill Mason

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