Your boat is built in the cedar-canvas style just as many canoes are, and it is perfectly appropriate to post here about your work on it. Boats (including canoes) with age like this may need more than just a refinishing of the inside. By this point the canvas may need to be replaced as well. Photos will help people here assess the canvas' condition (as well as can be done by photos), but for now, if the paint and filler are checked or flaking off, or if the canvas is coming loose at the gunwales, it is probably time to replace it. Even if it doesn't have obvious problems it still might be time to replace it. Canvas doesn't last forever.
You might be very happy with the final result of a full restoration, and if you decide to go that route (or even just refinish) consider one of the good books out there. Jerry Stelmok and Rollin Thurlow authored what is often called "the Bible" of canoe restoration,
The Wood and Canvas Canoe, A Complete Guide to Its History, Construction Restoration, and Maintenance:
Author: Jerry StelmokRollin ThurlowNote: Hot off the Presses! Jerry and Rollin just had this must-have book reprinted with the assistance of the WCHA!! From the final decade of the 19th century until the mid 1950’s, the predominant small water craft for recreationists, summer camps, and...
www.woodencanoe.org
Mike Elliott has also authored a book on canoe restoration,
This Old Canoe: How to Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe:
Author: Mike ElliottWhen restoring a wood-canvas canoe, you don't work on it, you work with it. In This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe, Mike Elliott guides you through the process of bringing your classic heirloom back to life. He takes you step-by-step through all aspects of a...
www.woodencanoe.org
Either or both will give you lots of great information.
A book specifically on finishing? I have loved
Brightwork: The Art of Finishing Wood ever since it was first published back in 1990 (the title doesn't say so but it Is about wooden boat finishing):
As for simply dealing with the interior, doing a great job involves far more detail than at least some people (like me) are willing to write here, but in a nutshell you could (1) sand well enough to remove loose buts and roughen the surface, or (2) strip all the way down to the wood, "clean and bleach" the wood (for details use the search button above). Then build up a good thickness of fresh varnish using a quality marine varnish from makers like Epifanes, Pettit, Interlux or others. Some people use "off the shelf" varnishes from home centers and hardware stores to save money but in my experience you get what you pay for - better vanrishes can be expensive but they give great results. My personal preference is for products by Epifanes but other people like others.
That said, this doesn't look like a simple varnish job if you really want the boat to be its best. There are areas that appear to be thickly coated with some kind of resin, likely epoxy. Something is not right with the outwales. My guess is that this was an open gunwale boat that has been modified.
Hope this helps.
