I’ve been interested in acquiring a used fiberglass canoe to use as a restoration project. I’ve been wanting to learn to work with fiberglass for a while and I need a distraction from writing my graduate thesis, so the “heavily” used nature of this canoe is welcomed.

As far as I can tell it is a 16’ American model manufactured by Indian River. I have already removed the wooden seats, which I intend to replace since it will be quick and easy. I plan to fill the scratches on the hull with fiberglass filler and repaint the hull and interior with a topside paint.

I’m having trouble deciding to tackle the bow and stern repairs, however. The hole on the bow is fairly large (~2") and is blocked on the inside by an enclosed compartment. I want to make a proper repair, so I am thinking that cutting into the compartment in order to re-glass the inside of the bow is critical. After that I plan to re-glass the outside, then cover the bow with a Kevlar skidplate. The oyster bars and hidden branches in mangrove tunnels around here are pretty unforgiving, so a solid bow repair is important.

Is anyone on here experience with fiberglass repairs? If so, how would you tackle this? Does anyone know of any good online resources?

Bow hole:


Compartment blocking interior repair: