Feathers
LOVES Wooden Canoes


My wife and I are enjoying working on our first restoration- a 1934 16' Old Town HW. We recently sat down with a direction sheet and a youtube video and managed to get both the seats caned. I put about five coats of varnish on the seats before we caned them, but I'm wondering if I should now add another coat over the top of the cane. I've read about leaving the bottom free of varnish so it can dry but to put a coat or two over the top of the cane. Yes or no?
Question two is regarding the paddle in the photo that came with the canoe. It is glued and nailed and will not really be useful as a paddle anymore. But I'm wondering if the shape fits a paddle that may be of the same era as the canoe? Or is it impossible to tell anything from the shape? I'll probably clean it up a little and display it somehow because I like it. But it would be interesting to know if it could be as old as the canoe.
Thanks for any help!