I have only removed the floor and tanks, I plan on leaving the molded interior in place for the most part. In places where the core is wet and under an immoveable component, I will recore from the outside - for instance under the bulkhead and floor in the head/closet area. I've cut away some tabbing to allow for parts of the repair, but again, I'm leaving plenty of margin to scarf together old and new laminates. My tools of choice are a circular saw for cutting laminate and a sawsall for cutting tabbing and details. I also use a rotary trimmer for tight spots. A pneumatic chisel is key for attacking vermiculite and stripping away layers of laminate.

I had a bit of an ugly discovery yesterday (tearing things down really undermines one's ability to engage in selective denial). The aft-most keel bolt (aft of the last stringer) is badly rotten (1/2 of diameter is gone). On my boat, this bolt was tucked into a combination of resin and polyester fillter, which let the bilge water stagnate around and down into this bolt. Stainless is only rust resistant in the presence of oxygen (either air or moving water), since it relies on a coating of nickel oxide to remain 'stainless'. In stagnant water, stainless is very prone to corrosion and in my boat this has led to a badly deteriorated bolt. There is also evidence of spider cracking with rusty oxidation on the keel where this bolt is placed. If you see rust here, you've got at least some corrosion.

In general, it is best to keep your keel bolts bone dry. This means no cracks on the keel joint and no water penetration from the bilge. Generally speaking, the best approach to sealing the keel bolts is to 'cap' the bolt with a blob of thickened epoxy (thickened with lightweight and brittle agent like microballons). This cap keeps the bolts dry, yet can be chipped away for inspection. Don't encapsulate the bolt unless its completely dry.

I'm going to sister this bolt using a method similar to this one:
http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=caseyd0040

Using Aquamet 22 (which is more corrosion resistant - though not absolutely): http://www.machinist-materials.com/stainless_table.htm

This bolt was largely, but not completely covered by resin, which I strongly suspect is the reason it failed. On other J/30s, if this bolt is encapsulated, you may be fine. I'm not sure if this was a manufacturing defect or design defect. Also, I have yet to inspect the other bolts - I'm hopeful that their exposure to air kept them more intact. If they are shot, I may opt to drop the keel, or add a couple of extra sister bolts. Ugh.

This bilge area seems to be a major Achilles heel on this boat...