I have an aluminum canoe (Lowe Line) that was nicked and cut by a brush cutter blade. See photo below. Both cuts are in the stern end (foam bulkhead) so can only access the outside of the metal. Welding seems inadvisable due to the foam. I was thinking about just trying JB Weld Marine epoxy. Any thoughts?
Gorilla tape, replace once a year.
Since you can’t access the inside I’d go with the JB Weld and fill any imperfections with fiberglass body filler then sand flat and spray aluminum paint on it.
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Looks like you have a good brush cutter.
West System’s G Flex epoxy bonds well to aluminum.
Wasn’t me 
Not totally sure it was a brush cutter, that’s just a hunch.
Weld it or weld on a patch.
Gflex. Obviously, clean damaged area well. The hole by the stem, just fill and fair. The longer cut, I think I’d add some fabric on top. Glass or dynel, maybe both.
There are low temp aluminum welding / brazing rods. You can buy them even from Harbor Freight or on Amazon and they will work with a Bernzomatic torch and MAP gas tank. Melting temp is around 700F I believe.
I would open the ballast compartment and dig out the foam as chances are it is waterlogged anyway. I don’t see an issue though with brazing the crack without doing that.
If you do a google search there are quite a few videos showing how it is done.
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