Hi Ya’ll...don’t judge, but yeah I’m probably the only female here

E I stumbled across this site looking for ideas and answers to repair the deck/floor in my newly acquired single owner $100 barn find! Bought the boat from a widowed lady whose husband had torn out the weak deck prior to his passing and the boat had been sitting since 1995 in a shed basically I’m touched. I’m still in the process of getting the paperwork formalized in order but anxious to get this little boat on the water. What I know so far:
1. Dixie Boatworks is no longer in business so there’s no luck finding assistance from the manufacturer.
2. There’s a lot of hoops to jump thru with NC Wildlife getting registration when the original owner is deceased.
3. There are even more hoops to jump thru with NC getting the trailer registered with the Deparment of Transportation.
4. There’s a lot of cleaning (and spiders) to do on a boat that has been sitting 23 years in a barn. People look at you funny at woman vacuuming and washing a boat at the car wash.
5. ‘Marine’/treated plywood is expensive (also heavy) but a 4x8 sheet WILL fit inside my little Ford Explorer (short girl triumph shown in pics). So far I’ve invested $91 more dollars in plywood, resin, expoxy, water resistant (closed cell) foam, brushes and disposable mixing bucket.
6. I have no idea if the motor that came with the boat even works yet, but I know it is not the original motor. The original motor was swapped with a pontoon boat by ‘one of the grandkids’ because it had a higher horsepower. Supossidely it ran before the swap.
7. I am tired of sitting home on weekends while my older son takes the ‘other boat’ out and there’s not enough room with his girlfriend and the dogs. I have another son who is twelve who will be assisting me on this build and this will become ‘our boat’ until he gets a girlfriend & outgrows hanging out with mom. (Side note: I’m a single Mom, but ain’t raising no sissy’s & we all love to fish).
8. Apparently there are rodents who tunnel thru foam under the deck based on the “evidence” that have found recently. But not anymore!
9. I am already in love with the LED lighting strips ideas. Although this is a 1976 Dixie 316 and I would like to keep it as original as I can...we will have those secret lighting upgrades
10. No the boat is not for sale...yet! I’ve already been offered five times what I’ve paid for it!

I look forward to insight and discovering tips from you guys. I hope you don’t get disgusted by my constant photo barrage as I document my progress or my mundane questions as I come across them.

Here’s day one! The before photos: