I've thought of this a few times but have talked myself out of it. I reason it will cause nightmares when the finishing takes place such as sanding the inside and outside of the hull. I don't think salt should be relevant in this. I'm currently working on a 1880's canoe that probably has not seen water in 100 years. Honestly, I don't think a canoe could be much drier. Wood has broken just by moving the canoe for repairs but I still think I made the right decision. It will get a good amount of tung oil on it soon once it's sanded out. I would assume your canoe is going to need to be stripped and cleaned? It will get its share of water on it at that point which should help. Water will remove any salt that is still on it at that point.