The wood color suggests it has been subjected to weather for a long time. You should go over the frame and make sure there are no edges or protrusions that have developed that could punch/wear thru' the new skin.
Stubby kayaks like that were a common project in do-it-yourself magazines 40 or more years ago. There are a couple at this site;
http://www.svensons.com/boat/
I would think that they were too common to identify without comming up with the exact plans. Most of the newer boats would have had plywood crossframes.
Looks like a nice little project.

: The skin is very likely painted canvas and rot will be suspect. These old
: canvas skins are very prone to tearing btw. Personally I'd cut the skin
: off, check out the frame and recover it. With a modern synthetic skin
: should last a long time.

: Bill H.