: The oilcanning is only happening on the left side of the hull.
: About halfway between the bottom of the hull and the seam line.
: So I'm assuming it makes the most sense to put the rib in the
: middle of that ?

Sounds like a good location. Put a rib in which goes across both sides. The right side may not be showing problems yet, but it gets the same pressure as the left side. So bracing it with a rib will prevent future problems.

: . . . This little section of the hull seems to be
: permanently deformed. It is sharply bent in at the center of the
: weak spot. Is this something I should just expect to live with?

No. Get a hair dryer or a heat gun and get the area hot. Sometimes heat will relax a ding in fiberglass and it will just 'pop' out. You don't want it so hot that it melts or burns, but with gentle heating an d a gentle prod you might get the boat bach into the original shape.

Then add a rib to reinforce the area.

: My guess is that I will likely end up with a hole if I try to
: eliminate the deformation entirely.

Actually, that is not a bad tradeoff. A hole would be easy to patch. But this is unlikely.

: Maybe I should take a stab
: at cleaning up the deformation and gelcoat before adding the
: rib.

You'll need to do some filling and sanding when you fix the gelcoat. If you don't get the shape corrected first, and install the rib, then you'll be trying to fill the depression with gelcoat. That won't look right when the new rib pushes it out later.

: Would you be able to take a guess at what a repair like this might
: cost? I'd really like to avoid spending money (read: I have no
: money). Is there anything you can think of that I could do as a
: temporary fix?

Put a drop of 'crazy glue' or 'super glue' (cyanoacrylate) on each crack. Get the original watery stuff not the newer 'gel' or 'gap filling' versions. If you are lucky then capillary action will draw this thin glue into the cracks and keep them from spreading. If it works you'll see the cracks disappear almost instantly. That glue is not extremely water resistant, so wait a day for it to cure well and then seal the area with a light coat of quick setting epoxy. Those twin-tube epoxy packs have more than you need. Mix up a small amount and cover the glued cracks.

: . . . I'm not signed up for any of those online photo sharing sites,
: but if you think photos would help clear up some of my poor
: descriptions I could either email them to you or look into
: signing up for one of those sites.

Does your internet provider give you some personal web space? Most do. Post your pictures there and then include the URL of the picture with your posts.

PGJ