Almost ready for varnish and covering

I spent most of the day sanding the planking. There are still a few spots where bits of the old paint is stuck between the planks and under the ribs. I've been scraping these out with a pallet knife, scrapers or using stripper to soften them. I stained the gunwales so they weren't so white. 

I know there is no turning back once I have varnish on, so I'm trying to fix all the little things before I seal them under the finish. This canoe is almost 100 years old so I'm not trying to make it look new. I have to accept some of the marks and not sand out every scratch. 

I did a dry run of the canvas stretching to see if everything is going to work. 

These two trees next to the garage are just the right distance apart. 

The canoe fits in, but it's a bit of a struggle. When I tightened up the canvas it slipped out of the gripper on one end, so I'll have to use more clamps. 

I plan on doing at least one coat of varnish before I cover. I'm shooting for having it floatable by the fall WCHA NW camp out in mid September. The canvas filler needs to cure for for 4 weeks before painting, so I'm on a tight schedule.