All right, first let me say I am the opposite of handy! All thumbs, inept, and whatever term you can think of when it comes to building or fixing almost everything. My dad was like that too. Although he was as good as you get with a front end loader. So, I have this cedar strip canoe I purchased and it needs a little work. Not leaking but fiberglass starting to split/crack. Actually been like this for a little while. Again very seaworthy still. Ideally I would like someone to hold my hand or better yet demonstrate what I need to do to fix. Would like to keep it as cheap as possible. Money is tight. I will attempt to post pictures. Might have gear to offer if someone wants compensation.?? Thanks, Pete (I live just south of St Paul)

Repairs are straight forward even if you are all thumbs. You will need some supplies and you probably can get those and more from NW Canoe:
1) a small quantity of marine epoxy. DO NOT USE automotive body repair polyesters. Make sure you follow mixing directions to the letter. Most epoxies are mixed as 2 parts resin and 1 part hardner
2) 6 oz fiber glass cloth
3) sand paper (80 and 120 grit should do it) and maybe a box cutter knife
4) patience

So what you need to do:
1) sand or carve away all loose fiberglass
2) sand the injured area down to wood.
3) judging from that picture you will need to cut a small hunk of fiber glass to fill the wounds
4) once filled, apply a second patch that extends a couple inches beyond the repaired area. Before putting down any patch over your hull make sure the surface to be covered has been roughened up (80 grit) and cleaned.
5) once you are happy with repairs give the treatment area a coat or two of varnish

Good luck. This repair is not that difficult to do.

Check out Bear Mountain Boats builders forum. Lots of good info. If the fiberglass is cut, cracked enough to let water get to the wood just make sure its good and dry before you lay any repairs on it. There's also some videos out there that will show you how. Wear a respirator when laying on the epoxy. Especially if you sand it when its not fully cured. Let us know how it goes.