: Unfortunately, now I have to go back to sea for a couple of months.
: On the plus side, the boat will have plenty of time to dry out
: hanging in the garage. On the downside, it will be 10 weeks
: before I can pick back up on the project. I will say that the
: work I've done today was a bit of fun and I look forward to
: getting this thing back on the water. I feel good about the
: start I've gotten and again, I appreciate all of the advice and
: ideas given.

: Thanks!
: Louis

Btw, standard tool for checking for rot is a thin knife, like a paring knife. If it goes into the wood with little effort there's rot, if there is considerable resistance there isn't any. Often times on a boat stored outside the rot dries out and it doesn't look rotten anymore, worth checking as it'll continue to spread when the outside temps are warm and moist again.

Bill H.