It turns out you can't overplan a major deck recore, which is why we put Eriks in charge of planning.  He analyzed every detail and searched discuss lists and websites for insights.

Our first and best decision was hiring a professional.  We had tried fixing some delamination on the cockpit seat the spring of 2003.  While Eriks was successful in the repair and learned a lot about balsa core, fibreglass and gelcoat, we also learned how much work it is.  We didn't have that much time. 

A friend at our club recommended a gelcoat artist. After we also researched another supplier, we decided to go with the recommendation and we were never sorry we hired Louis.

There were several reasons we chose Louis.  Firstly, he recommeded gelcoat instead of paint.  We think it will be more durable.  Second, he let us take off and reinstall the deckhardware.  While that didn't save that much off the cost of the project, it let us take apart and put back together every piece of hardware and so we have more confidence in our knowledge of the boat.  Finally, he was pro.  He had a complete tentline cover for the boat so it could be worked on throughout the winter and rain or snow.  He suggested using a standard gelcoat colour which will be easier to match if we ever need to do a repair.  And he left a hole open at every stanchion base which made it much easier to replace them correctly.

Once we had selected our pro, we began to plan in ernest.  First we took digital pictures of every part of the top of the boat.  (I've only put a very few on the blog)  This allowed us to repostion each piece when we put it back together.  Second, as we took equipment off the deck, we put each piece and all the bolts for that piece in a ziplock bag with a label.  At the time, I thought he was being obsessive.  But he was right.  Don't scrimp on pictures, ziplocks and labels.

Next, we found out our best sources for nuts, bolts, backing plates, lights and winches.  You can't buy too many nuts and bolts.  You will need them in all sizes.  Also, as we were taking equipment off the boat, we took the opportunity to upgrade some items and repair others.

We upgraded the backplates for the stanchions, the jib winches, the outside tracks and the running lights.