I've know a few people over the years who did this, and after a while wished they hadn't. Some of the examples I've seen didn't look that good, and the varnished wood tended to absorb some water anyway, and pull away from the glass, and so forth. I would vote for re-canvassing the hull.

Roger

: A neighbour is restoring his father's old cedarstrip/canvas canoe. He has
: removed the damaged canvas leaving flat ribs covered by thin (1/8" or
: less) 2.5" wide cedar strips. The strips are not tight to each other,
: but have approximately 1/16" gaps between them. Several of these
: strips are missing and will need to be replaced.

: He wants to eliminate the canvas and leave the outside as natural looking
: wood with the brass nail heads (attaching the cedar to the ribs) showing.
: His idea is to replace the missing cedar strips, leave the gaps and just
: fill them with epoxy/sawdust mixture, then glass the outside with one or
: two layers of 6 oz. fibreglass. There is not much strength with the very
: thin cedar, but he is hoping that by glassing the outside and using the
: ribs for strength, he can get away with just varnishing the inside, where
: the ribs prevent him from glassing. Any advice before he gets much
: further?

: John