Where to start?

[Brews]

Okay, so the skin is off and all the rot is exposed.
Do you start at the gunals and work your way in or start at the center line and work your way our?

 

[Robin]

I would strip the inside of varnish first so you get a good look at all the ribs and planking. This is a nasty tedious job but you will be happy when you see the results.
There’s a book by Mike Elliot, “This Old Canoe” that describes restoring a wood canvas canoe from start to finish, its well worth the price.

 

[Brews]

Thanks. The book’s on order. I see he has a blog too that i haven't quite figured out how to access yet.
All i’ve found on it was how to built stands.
My fear is it will become a “Ship of Theseus,” but i see lots of opportunity for learning.

 

[dogbrain]

I agree with Robin on stripping the inside varnish. After removing varnish you can tear into the stems and do inwales if they need them. Those are the first two things on the form when they're built new.

Mark

 

[Brews]

Okay, that makes sense. I had a feeling that there may be some type of intrinsic form that would be sacrificed if i just i started removing pieces willy nilly. I worried about after i pulled off the skin but it was so moist underneath i felt i had to get it Ofc to start the drying process.