I took the razor saw to the foredeck of Rapier1 tonight and cut a hatch section out so that I could take a look inside - and fortunately everything looks good in there - so now I have to find a good way of fitting the cut-out section back in again - or making a hatch that will sit over the cut-out.
The newly opened-up section of hull will get the glass fibre matting treatment just to armour it up and to proof it against any future water ingress, although there are no signs of any previous water penetration, so the wood has never got wet in the past.
If I can make this cut-out look OK when it goes back together again, I would like to take a similar look inside Rapier2 and Javelin as this is quite a big void that I would feel better about if I could access it and take a good look inside from time to time.
The newly opened-up compartment will also be a handy place to add some lead when balancing the hull - and a good place to add some buoyancy foam too!
I have cut and glued some supports to the shape of the deck curve at the front and back of the cut-out to support the removed section of deck and when they are dried I will add similar supports along the two sides as well.
Happy so far - lets hope it can be put back OK, remain removable , ..........and not look too bad when it is finished!