: I just got a wood strip Jensen cruiser. There are a number of dings and
: scratches on this boat and some indication that the glass is not water
: tight. there are a couple of places that show signs of delamination (glass
: from wood) but no signs of water penitration. The strips have split of the
: stem when some body forgot to stop BEFORE the dock.

: The stem repair is easy. What is the best way to deal with old glass? Strip
: it all the way back to the wood or spot repair the dings, sand the boat
: and apply a layer of 4 oz.. I do want to paddle this this summer but not
: at the risk of destroying it. Any advise would be appreciated.

If you plan to recover the entire boat with a layer of glass, you might as well strip off all the old galss, and go right down to the wood. A belt sander with a vaccuum pickup for the dust does the job rather quickly, but don't breathe the dust. The little bits of glass are as bad for your lungs as asbestos, and there is a lot of that stuff flying around. Don't get a cheap disposable dust mask, get a high quality respirator.

You could try wet sanding to keep the dust down. Personally I've never done it, so I don't know if it is as fast, but I believe someone reported that it kept the sandpaper from clogging as easily, so that would be a good thing. Whether the water would weaken the sanding belts is another thing I have no knowledge of. The posts on wet sanding all seeem to be geared to using rotary, orbital or random-orbit sanders which can use a watrerproof sanding disk.

If there are just a few dings, and/or suspected leaks, just sand out those areas (down to the wood) and patch with new glass cloth. After feathering the edge of the patch, you just have to lightly sand the rest of the hull and varnish. The patches will be almost invisible.

If there are discolored areas that look like possible leaks, but you can't find any corresponding ding to leak there, consider two additional possibilities: Look on the inside of the canoe, and look for a distance of several inches from the discoloration. Water, ponding on the inside, could have done the damage. This can happen rather high up on the side of the hull if the canoe is stored on its side and left outside. (typically leaned up against the sidewall of a garage.) If the construction of the canoe is such that the texture of the weave of the glass fiber is visible on the inside of the boat then a tiny airbubble trapped in the weave of the glass cloth may be the culprit. A fresh coat of varnish each year will seal things for a long time.

Any areas where the glass has definately delaminated from the wood should be sanded away. Go down to the bare wood and patch.

The second thing to consider is that the original cause of the discoloration is from an old leak that was already repaired. A good repair job may be very hard to find. If you can't see a leak, check the area carefully after paddling it (do this a few times). If it is not getting wet again, ignore it.

The old boat may have been built with polyester resin, or epoxy resin. You want to use only epoxy resin for your repairs.

hope this helps

Paul G. Jacobson