The task today was twofold. Firstly to locate and extract the screws through the hull holding the stringer upon which the thwart was placed and secondly to remove the remainder of the starboard thwart itself.

The screws were quite difficult to locate but by using a bright light and looking carefully along the hull for shadows I was able to find the bumps where the filler had been placed over the screw heads. A quick sand to remove the paint and then some work with a chisel soon revealed the screws all of which came out easily. I was fairly astounded at this.

The starboard thwart also came out quite easily once I had found the trick of using a hacksaw blade through the saw cut in the top of the thwart to cut the foam right down to the hull. The rounded edge of the blade made sure that I didn’t damage the hull any more than it was already.

Once I completed my tasks for the day I stopped work since the next bit requires me to clean out the hull and I’ll need a skip in to which all the rubbish I have created so far on the project will be placed. Then I’ll have a clean(ish) work area to continue the project.

The results after the screws had been removed from the hull shown from the bows

And another shot from the stern.

The starboard thwart removed. Doesn’t look too bad does it? But it is still all rotten through the first veneer and some of the second in places. All three layers are compromised where the hole is, not surprisingly.

And this looks like it might be part of the cause. Hyphae. Strangely enough, this part of the hull is still undamaged, so I will removed the hyphae forthwith so as to keep it that way. Oddly enough there is no sign of any mycelium.