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When I first looked at her I saw some rot on the port side of the hull, between frames 4 and 5. This was my major concern and needed to be fixed before I could even think about putting her on the water.
After I cleaned all the collected dirt from the hull, cabin and cockpit and removed the port side cockpit sole to reveal the foam that was being used for flotation. While many may like this foam and it does do a great job, the problem was that once water enters, there is no where for it to go as it can not get to the stern because foam has blocked its possible drainage channels.
This foam had to be completely removed so the rotted area could be identified and treated properly. This was a major task as the closed cell foam was very hard to remove. It would break up into small pieces, a few plastic bottles were enclosed (hard to cut through) and the foam was sealed against the paint. There was some trapped rainwater in places. Each section took about an hour and a half of hard and tiring work! Nearly a full week's work to remove it all!
Cockpit sole removed - showing the foam flotation.
Foam removed to expose rot. There was a "void" in the foam next to the plywood, and water got trapped in there. Quite wet.
The foam has been cleared from the stern to in front of the centre board on both sides to check the centre board and also that the starboard side is sound. The foam was removed to were the original paint is still sound.
The frames and stringers are OK, although I may strengthen the two centre stringers between frames 4 & 5 just to be sure.
A good dry out, clean up, sanding and a couple of coats of epoxy to seal and protect them. Plywood planking will have to be replaced.
Thankfully the failed plywood area is basically only between frames 4 & 5 on the port side. While there was some dampness on the starboard side, the wood appears to be all sound.
The hull will need a few weeks now to dry out before work can be commenced.
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