Here I am before the realization of what I am about to embark upon. The smile is the ignorance of not knowing what is coming.

After getting most of the iron fastenings out of the topsides, refastening I was feeling pretty good about the project.

Then I went inside:

As you can see in the above pictures the interior was a mess. So I went about removing the plywood under the bunks. The plywood had de-laminated to the point where I was pulling up the wood by hand. No tools needed. Once I removed the plywood and interior I saw the terror inducing sight; The frames were toast. Everything below the waterline literally pulled apart by hand. 

Now the big choice became "do I proceed to reframe and basically rebuild the whole boat or cut it up and throw it away"?

Since by this time I've had about 6 years into the project, it seemed like a waste to stop and trash everything I've done.b onward I go.

Here are some pictures of what I found: Click on the pictures for a caption.

 As you can see the framing was shot. The floors, the fastenings were all practically gone. So out it came. These pictures were taken so I can remember what it is supposed to look like when I put it all back together.

Since I replaced the deck, there was no way to steam bend new frames into the boat. Maybe it was possible but since I hadn't had much experience steam bending I decided to go with laminating oak frames.

Removing the old frames required removing the fastenings I just installed. Once the metal was removed I was able to pry the frame away from the planking. It became easier since the frame had almost no strength left and often would break. The more intact part was above the water line. Since I inserted dowels into the frames to get the fastenings to hold, I now had to cut these with a hacksaw blade on a handle. Wasn't very hard. I loosened or removed the bolts holding the stringer and shelf against the frame. Then when the frame was loose I was able to pry it down from the deck and remove.

With the frame gone, I made up my pattern on the space the frame was to get the curve. After cleaning up paint, decayed wood from the planking, I coated the planking, the holes inside and out with CPES.

Installing the new frame wasn't all that difficult. After cutting the bevel at the deck and as close as I could get at the keel, I was able to slip it up under the stringer and using my foot and my body braced I was able to slide it up into place.

Here is the process I used to get it done.

These pictures were taken in 2015 and 2016

The years of 2017 and 2018 were used to replicate the replacement of the frames going forward. Finally we get to the bulkhead. As with all the plywood on the boat, it was delaminating and needed to be replaced. With the bulkhead removed I also had access to the frame attaching the bulkhead to the hull as well as the entire bow. This is important since the front of the keel needs to be fixed.

 Here is the removal of the bulkhead:

The main issue with the bulkhead floor is that the chock holding the stem to the keel was butted up against the floor. Poor drainage caused the rot. I removed the bulkhead November 2018.

The real work of reconstruction comes next.