Lakefield Hiawatha restoration

[BobbyK]

I have acquired a beautiful Lakefield Hiawatha cedar strip on rib canoe. (Rilco industries) As far as I can tell it is a 100% original canoe, with zero previous work of any kind done to it. A "barn find" from up in the Peterborough/ Lakefield area of Ontario. The rawhide seats are original as well as the varnish. There is no indication of any re-varnish or stripping. It is had seen very very little use in the last 20 years or so and hung in barn under cover. The first owner apparently used it very little as well. It is apparently from the 1962 -1967 era. The original decal (misspelled Lakfield) is there, confirming originality and age.
I am asking advice on how best to restore it to original. I would very much like it to be as close to original as possible. 85% of the varnish is darn near perfect inside, and out, and impressive, and pretty. The only area that seems to need any work is the prow area, and the gunnels. The prow section was facing the open area of the barn and saw some weather, (see pictures). Otherwise the rest of the canoe is great.
Do I need to strip this whole canoe to refinish? Is sanding the areas of need sufficient? The patina and color etc. is great. Is there a preferred varnish that was used back in the day. Any recommendation of material or process would be appreciated. Other than good coats of quality varnish is there anything else I should be looking at. Is there any reason to address the interior? It looks like it came from shop floor, other than the very hard rawhide seat, which I am not inclined to replace.
(PS. -that sailing rig in one picture of the canoe's interior belonged to a Lakefield Shawnee sailing dingy not the canoe)

 

[Maxtoon]

Absolutely beautiful!!

 

[MGC]

It's unfortunate that varnish was allowed to fail. It's going to be hard to feather in the color without getting down to the tack heads.
I'm of the opinion that you need to sand and do the entire hull. With the discoloration and gatoring I'd be tempted to strip it.
My Rilco has been varnished once over the original varnish and it looks pretty good, and some of the tack heads are shined up a bit.

 

[BobbyK]

thanks. appreciated.
I will definitely be sanding the gunnels and I will see how the color turns out. 90% of the hull is solid, and in perfect shape, and I am hesitant to disrupt any of that. not sure if I can improve on it.
I was wondering when you mentioned stripping it. sanding? Chemical? heat? any experience or recommendation to share. I have been watching stuff on YouTube, that would be my plan B. The thing is so original untouched, I will do my best to keep it close as possible to one that has minimal disruption to the day it was made.

 

[MGC]

Chemical stripper.....The discolored wood will then need to be bleached to even out the color of the hull. Sanding to remove the discoloration would require too much wood removal and still leave grey in the grain. Varnish would pull that up when you re-coat it.
I would strip it, TSP it, carefully Teak-Nu it, lightly sand it and then varnish it with top notch varnish. I like to use Epifanes marine spar.
Others may offer other recommendations......
Mine is a newer Richardson Aquacraft.

 

[Dave Osborn]

Just to add some tooth to MGC’s post on his process for his Richardson…. I once restored a Walter Walker/Peel Marine canoe and used the exact same process. That canoe had many area where the varnish was gone and the exposed wood was oxidized and grey. There’s no way to sand enough without compromising the tack heads. After stripping I used a product called Snappy Teak Nu, which is a two part process of acid followed by neutralizer. The acid application will scare you at first by turning the wood dark brown, but when the neutralizer is applied, magic happens! Clean as a whistle!!

 

[Worth Gretter]

I have used CitriStrip with good results. It is relatively non-hazardous, but of course there is a price: it may take several applications. Removal is with water and a Scotchbrite pad or some other scrubber.
Since your boat is in such good shape, any use of stripper on the interior would probably mean upside down on sawhorses and sprayed with a hose to remove. Fun!

 

[Gary]

Hi Bobby, I would agree with the advice given you already and add that the king plate that is cracked should be unscrewed at that end and glued (I use Titebond 3). This will prevent water getting in there and encouraging rot down the road.
You've a beautiful old canoe and could be used as is but I'd be inclined to do this work now, to prevent further damage down the road.
Enjoy the canoe and bringing it back to its original condition, Gary