Skol deconstruction

Dear faithful reader:  you may recall that a few weeks ago I dragged home the hull of a somewhat forlorn Mk I Skol Moth and posted before and after "scrub up" pix of the boat.  Since then I've cut away some of the decks and cleaned out the debris.  What follows is an update of the progress thus far.

No wonder this boat weighs a ton!  She's packed chock a block full with squirrel's nests, wet dirt, leaves and water logged flotation foam!

After removing a bit more of the transom decking and getting out the pitch fork and shovel one can see the tube connecting the cockpit scupper with the transom drain hole.  I should have weighed the black bag of detritus.  Must have been 40 lb if it was an ounce.  The scupper tube will also go and the drain hole in the transom will be sealed off.  These have a nasty tendency to leak without warning, silently filling the boat with water--much to the later dismay of  the skipper!  I also now have access to the back sides of the holes in the bottom and transom seen in the earlier post about this boat.  I know purists are howling that I'm detracting from the boat's original spec and that there aren't many intact Skols left, but the decks were already damaged, all the wood hard points throughout the hull for hardware were rotten and the winglets have to be trimmed off to meet CMBA measurement rules.  Purists may take some comfort in knowing that this hull didn't go straight into the rubbish tip.

More debris under the side decks and cockpit tub.  Note to self: never, ever store a boat outdoors with the inspection ports removed!  In this photo one can see the reinforcing "strongback" which ties the centerboard truck to the scupper tube and provides fore and aft stiffening of the hull and supported the now absent false cockpit bottom.

After cutting away part of the main bulkhead one can see the king post for the deck stepped mast.  If nothing else, this little yacht is a good deal cleaner at this point.  With the damp dirt and leaves removed she should dry out a bit before winter.  This project will have to pause briefly at this point.  Thanksgiving is looming upon us and, with relatives coming, Diaristwoman has several "shovel ready" projects with my name all over them.  Stay tuned.