Wow, a lot of strong sentiments regarding this subject. We have peeled away the inner fiberglass laminate to reveal all of the plywood core in the problem area. When we checked on it yesterday it was nearly dry, though as it dried we were more clearly able to see that some sections of the plywood had rotted (as many of you suspected). So we will be cutting out the affected area (1.5' x 2.5') and replacing it with new plywood. I know plywood perhaps isn't the ideal core material, but the area requires a very rigid material for supports, and I don't want to use different core materials side by side.
Since we were given the boat "free of charge" (in quotes, because of course we paid for registration, insurance, launching, dock space, storage, etc.), I'm completely happy to spend my time and money working on it. I still feel like I got a bargain, even after sinking $2000 into various projects thus far. It's certainly a "project" boat, but we are having fun with her and it's been a great learning experience, and we didn't have to take out a loan to make it happen. And when I look around the boat yard, I see plenty of younger boats that are busy being worked on as well.
I'm a novice at all this, but I figured getting into it that when you purchase an object that spends most of it's time floating in water, with extreme forces applied to it on a regular basis, and that said object provides shelter and safety for those aboard, I counted on the fact that maintenance would be chronic and ongoing. So far I haven't been disappointed by this assumption
