Stripped down

Max has been stripped down, all fittings removed, except for the mast step, stay tangs and bottom pintle. The screws were really tight, so I decided that they could stay put.The hatch/ports proved to be a bit of a challenge as they were stuck fast with something,  but I eventually freed them.. I also removed the wetsuit material stuff that lined the centreboard case.

The next thing was to tackle the hole in the deck, which is barely 1mm thick 3-ply. Some epoxy, a piece of scrap ply for backing, a stick inside the hull to provide some positive pressure and a brick for a clamp. All sorted.

OK, now to start stripping the finish. I just wish this didn't need doing. It's going to be a big job. What annoys me is it shouldn't have come to this if the right thing had been done in the first place...

Also, I'm thinking about the finish once it's stripped. Should I go with a bright finish that will show Max, warts-and-all, or a paint job? Thinking, thinking, thinking. Any suggestions? Colour/s?

Max is a light-weight but a trolley helps to move him around by myself. Solution? An old Laser topmast strapped to a trolley with packing tape works well enough: