Hi, I just bought a 17ft sailboat (my first boat), but it has some hull
damage from a hurricane smashing it into a dock. My plan is to grind
it down to clean glass (and 4 inches all around it) and lay cloth in
layers with epoxy on the outside of the hull.

I was thinking I should start with small patches and get larger with
each layer of cloth completely overlapping the previous layer until I
am able to build it up enough to get the correct shape of the bow.
Does this method sound acceptable for this type of repair or should I
shape the nose first with some sort of thickened epoxy?

The boat will be painted so I am not worried about the gel coat.

Here's a picture of the damage:
http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/groups/g_hr...I63XEBcHzI4ls2

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.