restore or fix?

[Tellico]

I am asking for advice from anyone with experience on this subject. We have a 15' Old Town made in 1949/50. It has always been kept inside but was certainly used often until the late 70's. Until this summer it had last been in the water in the early 1980's. It floats but after an hour or more, there is a half inch of water sloshing about in the stern. The hull does not have any big gashes or severe damage on the outside, but repairs had been made. There are about 50 spots with additional paint applied with a brush and some polyester resin here and there. On the inside, there are several "patches" made with fiberglass and resin. I am not sure if that was an attempt to stop leaks or reinforce damage to ribs or planks.
There is one area that feels soft if the hull is pressed form the outside. So I think there must be some compromised wood, but it is an isolated area.
I have no doubt that a full restoration, new canvas and wood repaired would be wonderful, but with limited time to work on the boat, I wonder if there is any point in considering sanding the entire hull and repainting it with two or three coats to reseal the canvas? That is not a huge task but if it fails it is a wasted effort. What do you think?

 

[pklonowski]

Pictures, especially of "problem" areas, will help people assess the boat's condition.

 

[Larry Meyer]

It’s not out of the question that the problem may be simply a leaky stern stem band. Water will pool back there because 1) the leak is elsewhere but pools in the stern, or 2) that’s where the leak is. The stem is screwed into the hull, and usually seated and sealed with bedding compound. After so many years, the bedding compound is surely ineffective (if not rubbish) now.

You could test this by putting the canoe right side up on saw horses, lower the stern end, pour water in and see if you get seepage out by the stem band. You could also test the whole canoe for leakage this way.

 

[Tellico]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will post some pictures.