Welcome to the hobby.... you'll come up to speed as you work on your boat so to help you get headed in the right direction, here's a bit of information.
Jerry and Rollin are our communities equivalent of wizened elders. They are both renowned builders, authors, historians and former business partners. They both have wonderful shops in Maine where they restore, build and also sell materials and parts. Most of use have a copy or two of their first book The Wood and Canvas Canoe,
http://www.wcha.org/store/wood-canv...tory-construction-restoration-and-maintenance. It's offered for sale on this website and it is a book we would all recommend to anyone getting started with a restoration. It's sort of like the canoe equivalent of John Muir's classic book for VW's but not dumbed down. There are other helpful books also for sale in the WCHA online store. Jerry and Rollin are both listed in this sites builders guide. Rollin pops up here in the forum as a contributor quite often.
You are working on a war vintage canoe. It has been built using all steel hardware so your restoration will involve a decision about what to do with the steel tacks. The shortage of brass during the war lead to a period where steel was used. Steel has a tendency to rust and also break when you try to re-tighten (clinch) the tacks. I've owned war vintage OT's that had good hardware that did not require replacement, but I have seen others that required replacement of most of them. You will soon find out if the shroud of glass you are removing helped to rot away the hardware. If it looks good you may end up simply adding some brass tacks to help hold things tight or you may decide you need to re-tack next to all of the steel tacks...it's a game day call as it were.
So far so good on removing the glass and actually your hull looks pretty good. After you remove the old resin, strip the inside and sand, replace any damaged wood you will be able to restore it to look really nicely. There is a ton of information on this site and lot's of us have been down the same path you are on and willing to help. We all get excited when someone new gets started on their first boat. One caution, often boats were glassed when they would no longer accept a canvas..too many tack holes in the stem or split out/rotten stems are something you may find. Take a look at the stem outside faces and decide what you are dealing with. And if they look really bad, they are repairable.
Steaming is easy and fun...you will be amazed at how you can shape wood.
The notch in your deck...that is not original and you may never learn it's purpose. You might want to fit a plug in there to kelp secure the deck from splitting.
$600.....yeah...maybe more for the first boat. You need tools, a hammer, a clinching iron, a tack puller, clamps, varnish remover, TSP and Teke-nu, wood, tacks, sand paper, screws, Git Rot, G-Flex, Titebond 3, paint, varnish, canvas, filler, bedding compound, stem bands etc. You need to build a steamer box and a steam source. You'll need to make up the bits for stretching the canvas. It can add up...but it's still less costly than paying for a restoration. And, you can savor every bit of work you do and then the final result.
Don't be shy about asking questions and if Rollin happens to chime in with advice...listen up and listen up good.
Mike
