Willie: Nice boat project. I did a similar boat two years back, a 1958 Blue Star Super Chief 14. I removed the center seat, cut the gunwales down to 2-1/2" above the seats, and put a 5-foot wide plywood deck on it. Great flats skiff for the Texas coast. I bare-metalled the hull, pickled it with two vinegar washes, and primed it with Martin-Senour zinc chromate in two rattle cans from NAPA. Painted the deck with Rust-O-Leum. Sun killed it. I stripped it and used primer the second time and it's holding up well. Hull paint is great. It's what I call my low-tech Polack skiff. Good luck on your project! Picture attached(hopefully). Island Jim in Rockport