[tempest]

Wait for the full survey. Get back on the boat and carefully inspect the Bulkheads that the chainplates attach to. (both sides.) Chances are that if the deck around the genoa track and the chainplates are mush, the bulkheads are also affected.

Dealing with the wet deck is only dealing with the result of water intrusion. The other half of the problem is finding where the water came from and remedying that? Toe Rail? Stanchions? Chainplates?

Are you capable of performing this work? The Mast will have to be removed or the shrouds will have to be attached to a cradle in such a way to support the mast while you perform the repairs. All the hardware will have to be removed, while you cut the deck, remove all the wet core and replace. Everything will have to be re-bedded. But the first order of business is to find the leak (s).

Once you fix this..you still have a 36 year old boat. What kind of shape are the sails in? the standing and running rigging? Engine, Mounts? etc etc.

I think we all get that you like this boat...but are you going in to this with your eyes and wallet wide open? Good luck..whatever you decide..

 

[tempest]

Well, you could always ask the seller if he'd be willing to share the old survey with you. It may have been missed, but unlikely to escape a good surveyor; or, the owner may have thought like your friend..that it's not structural, so the repair can be postponed or ignored.

The core could certainly get soaked in 6 years, if there was a good leak. What happened to the leak? Does it persist? or did the owner deal with the leak and not make the repair. Again..you want to find out how the core got wet and address it.

You might want to invest in a Phenolic hammer and sound out the area for yourself.
Plastic mallets from The Hammer Source!

You will be able to easily hear the sound of a solid deck vs a wet, possibly delaminated one and how large an area you're dealing with. Be proactive. Yes, you hired a professional surveyor; but don't stop there. Take the survey in hand and look for yourself. Talk to the boatyard folks, if they are a reputable full service marina get estimates for the repair. They do this stuff for a living, they should be able to offer some good guidance. They may even be familiar with the boat's history.