Soaking Ribs

I'm back up North for another brief break during the height of the "off" season. Too cold for spring/summer activities but with insufficient snow for winter sports. I'm planning on keeping busy however with plenty of stuff still to get done with the bark canoe.

The forecast calls for the the weather to warm up in 2-3 days, sufficiently enough I'm hoping, to get the rib bending process started. Before this however, the ribs need a thorough soaking. When I carved the ribs over the Christmas break, I made sure to make plenty of extras in case the rib bending didn't proceed well. Here's a shot of the 3 bundles.


Rib bundles ready for soaking
By the shoreline, I found the same old cement anchor used last summer to secure the bark rolls in the lake and tied off the bundles to its rusted metal ring. Another large piece of lumber also drifted ashore (probably from the new cottage construction across the bay) and along with some very large rocks, was used to submerge the delicate cedar below the waterline.

Even though the perimeter of our cottage lake is already open, the majority of the lake still has sheet ice and the water was obviously frigid. But with neoprene boots and paddling gloves used on my '07 Artic trip, the temperatures were certainly manageable.


Submerging the bundles
Cedar is amazingly bouyant. It took the combined weight of the heavy cement anchor and two huge rocks to weigh down the ribs all the while standing on the lumber to keep the bundles from rising to the surface. But for now, they're fully submerged and should stay put ok under the murky, spring lakewater.