All’s well that ends well, to repeat Shakespeare. After grinding off the paint and some fairing in about 40 patches all over the hull on both sides, the hull was tested with an ultrasound machine to test the thickness of steel. The good news is that there were no problems at all! The less brilliant news is that it was not possible to get a very clear reading alon g the welds were the plates meet the steel framework. However, there was not sign of thinness anywhere in the hull.
A few days later, a very cheerful and very skilled welder patched the one-inch hole in the hull so well that you could not see where the problem had occurred. A couple of coats of yelow prime and Kuan Yin was ready to take to the water again. However, other work has delayed that event. I found another soft spot later and was able, by using considerable force, a small screwdriver through the steel. This was also easily repaired by the welder. However, the two holes point up that the weld all along the stringer (interior framework) needs to be watched. Probably eventually much more drastic repairs will have to be made. I may have to learn welding in order to be able to do the work myself.
All in all, the experience has not been too painful. A wonderful friend made available a substantial line of credit in order to pay for what at first I feared might be a horrific repair bill (and certainly would have been in Toronto!) but the total bill was less than $200 for ultrasound, welding and a marine surveyor to take a look.
