I also took advantage of working out of the boat in order to seal it, since the smell sticks around for a while, so I got a coat of linseed oil mixture over the entire interior of the boat while I worked on the mast.
I went to work at the rotten mast step area and surrounding floors and frame heels. I started at the second floor forward of where the mast comes down and replaced it, the frame heels as well as the floor and heels for the next two moving aft. I attached the new frames, which overlap the old ones with G-flex epoxy and two bronze fasteners from the top. Then the floor is installed with a 1/4" bronze bolt that I tapped myself that comes in from the bottom of the keelson to the top of the floor. The floor is then bolted to the new frames with four 5/16" stainless bolts. Then I refastened the planks from the outside into the new wood, with excellent bites. I also made a new mast step out of 1 1/4" thick White Oak, that has a 1/4" bronze bolt through it sideways to stop it from splitting. This was fit to the frame tops, with holes cut out for the nuts and washers, and secured down with #16 bronze 3" fasteners. Now, this is easily the most solid part of the boat, which it should be. I got great satisfaction out of feeling the entire boat shake when I pushed back and forth on the new mast step.
With that installed, I can go to work on the old shear clamp and carlins. I first removed the old deck beams which show where the coaming goes, and cut new ones out of White Oak. Then i got out my big board of Fir and traced the shape of the shear, cut it out and began fairing it. I am torn right now between finishing the sheer areas or getting the sole down. It would be nice to have something flat to stand on while working, so I may change tactics next week and get the cabin sole down. We'll see.
