I decided to to a bare wood restoration so I have stripped all of the varnish and paint off with a view to finding any rot. Generally when there are areas of blackened ply it will be rotten or weakened so the first things to be replaced are the foredeck panels which I have carefully removed so that I can use them as templates. this has also allowed access to the forward tanks. I have found rot here so I need to make some decisions as to how I will deal with it. I used broken picture glass as a scraper to remove varnish and paint stripper on the hull.
It is also clear that much of the fibreglass tape will have to be removed and replaced, as well as the bow panel. there is also some rot in the bulkheads where the fibreglass tape had failed. The most difficult part of this stage is successfully removing the fibreglass without further damaging the woodwork.
looking at the overall condition of the boat and weighing this up against what the boat will be used for ( this is a boat for the kids to learn to sail in and have fun rather than a show piece) I think that I will line the bow lockers with a layer of chopped strand mat and resin rather than replacing these sections of the plywood. I will have to be careful not to use too much resin as I don’t want too much weight up there.
rotten bow section missing knees
all paint and varnish removed for bare wood restoration
rot in bow lockers, the hole formed with hand pressure! The question is how far to go.