This week I got round to finish cleaning off the last of the top plank on the port side and at least there is not rot on the second plank on the hull. The major job on the port side is now to replace the broken and rotten ribs down the port side and to sort out the frames on the hull above the turn of the bilge which are either rotten or broken or both. From what appears to the case the port side appears to have come in for a lot more of damage and rot over the years. The port side of the deck beams to the side of the boat appear to have the worse rot and are the ones that have been broken and sistered up more than the starboard side over the years,
Also the planks on the turn of the bilge have moved out of position on the turn of the bilge giving the planks a step on the inside and outside. The lower edge of the planks which should be flush against the frames are in some cases up to a 8 mm to 10 mm gap . So it is going to be a matter of removing the nails through the frames in these areas and cleaning out the back of the frames and then pushing the planks back into position and refixing the planks with fresh nails and an extra fixing to ensure the plank stays in position.
Before I can do this the seams on the hull will have to be cleaned out to let the planks move freely and go back where they are going to sit correctly against the frames.
Another job I am not looking forward to is removing the cabin as this is going to be a handful and is reasonably heavy to move about. So that will have to wait until I can get the use of a forklift to lift it clear of the boat and put in the area ahead of the boat so it can be worked on off the boat and out of the way while the work on the continues.
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