Welcome back canoe fans.  While not much posting has been going on, I have been busy.  Sanding and sanding and sanding.  Finally, all the insides have been sanded, and the outside of the planking has also.  Obviously, this took a while, and almost surely not worth the effort, as this is a canoe after all.  But, once I got going I couldn't stop.  Here are a few pics after sanding (and trimming the new ribs).

The new ribs are quite obvious, and did not seem less so as I looked at it more.  So, I decided to go the stain route.  I chose Minwax Early American stain that seemed pretty close.  I stained the ribs (white cedar) but chose to keep the new planking (western red cedar) natural - there does not seem to be as much color variation there, and I think the red cedar will darken more and blend reasonably when varnished.

Below is the (unvarnished) finished product.  As you can see, the stained ribs are a bit browner and do not have the yellow tinge of the old ribs.  But, overall, I think it is a pretty good match.  We'll see how it looks varnished!

 And on to the varnish.  I am using Epifanes clear gloss varnish - the same as I used on the Pocock single.  I like it and it seems to have good reviews...

The first coat will be thinned 50% - mainly to seal the wood.  I plan to do this inside and out.  (this will be the only sealing for the planking - instead of linseed oil or other treatments discussed on the canoe heritage web site.)  Below is a pic of the first bit I have done.  I am planning to work rib by rib to try and avoid seams and overlapping coats.  I could not get the brush into the very front - hopefully the old treatment is sufficient to keep the bow and stern from rotting...  I am not planning to varnish the gunnels at this point - I will do them all at once when the outer gunnel is installed.  This will be after the canvas is on so will be a while.

That's about it for now.  Hopefully varnishing will not take too long and next post will not be too far in the future.  I may need to use the blog to collect my thoughts for figuring out how to get the canvasing done.

Oh yes, a few more prices:
medium (100) sandpaper - lots but out of my stash...
stain - about $6.00   (I really do not recall)
varnish - $45.00.
brushes, etc - so far only from stores...