Congrats, Hal. Wow, shes' gorgeous, and you've got those unmistakable lines. I love the Signature, Bob Pritchet, Rogue River splash boards, and the sheer angle drop at the stern for the motor tiller handle. So cool!

I think Jerry, mainly used hardwood for the outer chine. My Briggs had mahogany on the chines, attached w/ a ton of ring shank nails. I used mahogany to replace, but decided to epoxy it on to eliminate all the nails.

Jerry's gunwhales were typically Port Orford Cedar or Doug Fir. Many of the re-builds have been done in Ash, which would work just fine for the outer chine as well. One Port Orford source is East Fork Lumber, near Coquille , OR. A couple of boater friends, locally have stocked-up on some, so if you wish to go this route, contact me.

Sanding wise, I'm not familiar w/ sand blasters. You could try it, by working a small, section of the boat. It may work, just fine. I'd have a tendency to just, sand the existing paint w/ an 80 grit, orbital, and call that a primer coat. If you wish to sheath the sides w/ epoxy and fiberglass, sanding and a proper cleaning would allow an adequate lamination, w/ out "fully removing" all the old paint.

Best of luck and keep me in the loop on your progress.