Where to begin?

Recently acquired an old Stowe Mansfield canoe in need to lots of TLC. From what I've gathered online, it is a fiberglass boat and the ribs are more decorative than anything. Have never taken on a project like this and i'm not really sure where to start.

I know the gunwales and keel will need to be replaced completely as they are rotted but not sure what else to do besides that. The hull actually appears to be in pretty decent shape. Pictures are attached for you guys to see. Any advice appreciated!!!

Note: I'm new to this site so hopefully the pictures uploaded correctly.

 

Hello Stowe:

These canoes are moderately restorable. I did one that looks similar to yours. They weren't really built to come apart though. The inwales/outwales are secured with ring nails, so I used a plug cutting bit to unearth the heads of the ring nails, pulled the outwales off and then clipped the heads off the nails to remove the inwales. The keel is also a problem, since they glassed over the heads of the screws during manufacturing. I used a forstner bit to unearth the heads, removed and replaced the keel and then filled the screw heads again with epoxy. I replaced the decks, inwales, outwales, keel, and revarnished the interior and painted the exterior and the canoe looked good when all was said and done. I have some photos somewhere. I will post them if I can find them.

Fitz

 

Photos

 

wow the that looks great! How did you get the inside of the boat to have such a nice, smooth appearance? Did you just sand down everything inside?