Cascade 29 needs some love

[tgwright]

I recently salvaged a Cascade 29 in need of a complete interior refit. I've stripped everything that is not fiberglassed to the hull out and plan on starting on that next week. The one thing I don't know how to deal with is the roof. The wood clearly has to go, but I'm unsure if it is part of the structure of the roof or if it is just superficial.
So that's my first question- what do I do with the interior roof?
Second question is about getting the interior wood that if fiberglassed to the hull out-is it ok to use and angle grinder just off of the join and sand it the rest of the way down.
I'm an experienced residential contractor, but this is my first foray into marine anything.

Thanks so much for your help.

[HellBentSailing]

I am no expert on that particular model, however I did have to do a very similar job to your roof on the companionway bulkhead of my Ranger 22 (completely rotted from water seeping through the compass ring). It looks as if part of the wood has already come away from the fibreglass meaning that you can probably scrape the rest of it off leaving only the glass and a thin layer of glued on wood behind. I don't recommend stepping on on near the cabin top after this has been done as the wood likely supports a lot of the load. After that cut new pieces of marine grade plywood and bond them in (I recommend Sikaflex 292i or comparable structural marine adhesive) This probably won't look very good in its own but can be easily covered with thin strip planks, vinyl, carpet, etc. I cannot comment on the actual removal of the other interior wood but strongly recommend contacting someone with an engineering background before cutting out any bulkheads for replacement, especially if your boat is sitting on stands, a trailer, or a cradle as these generally sit on the bulkheads. It is possible that the hull could collapse after the bulkheads are removed causing serious damage or at the very least making the process of fitting new ones impossible. Good luck on your project.