For others with the older cabin/cockpit layout, I thought I'd pass on the results of our past week's nautical archeological exploration of Hull 3 (Youthful Indiscretion)

Last season, we noticed some hints of delamination of the marine plyboard behind the back of the engine box. It looked nasty to do in the water. Well, it's spring, and we're on the hard, so we decided we actually had to do something about it.

Here's the context:
http://www.panix.com/~dwl/boat/context.jpg

The back of the engine box (At least our hull, we've found many minor oddities on Youthful, compared to boats built 50 or 100 hulls later) consists of a sandwich. The front end of the molded cockpit pan forms the back top portion of the sandwich, then a arch of marine plyboard, and then a layer of the interior faux teak laminate/veneer that forms the interior. Once we took it apart, we found the plyboard arch (3/4 inch marine plywood) totally disintergrating, and the laminate starting to go soft in spots. (Especially where the opening port goes through the cockpit pan and then the laminate.

Here's the veneer, once we pulled it.
http://www.panix.com/~dwl/boat/backVeneer.jpg

And here's what was lurking behind it...
http://www.panix.com/~dwl/boat/Arch1.jpg

Basically, this hasn't contributed much stiffness to front of the cockpit for some time. Ick.

Needless to say, we're replacing the lot. It isn't too terrible. I had to unseat the opening port (not too bad) And then it was mostly a matter of keeping all the bits intact, as I pulled them out. The arch actually screws into the front of the cockpit, somewhat lamely, with wood screws, so undo them, and it can be worked out.

We'll cut new wood to match, and probably beef up the attach to the front of the cockpit floor slightly. I am not a big fan of wood screws for anything even slighlty stiffening in a boat. (And no, I don't think this actually is all *that* structural, but still....)

- David