floor replacement question

[bikepainter]

Im redoing this boat (79 MT 160V)that was just given to me (Im going to start a new thread on the project when I have more time to upload and resize all my pics). In the attached photo, the wood under the fiberglass floor in the bow area is rotten and needs to be replaced. Is cutting this fiberglass floor section out my only option to access this area? Any ideas on how to refinish this area once repair is made short of re-gelcoating after reglassing?(I doubt I could ever get it to match, and my finish work prob wouldnt look nearly as nice as it was from factory). Thanks for any opinions or ideas. Ill be posting my resto thread with lots of pics within the next couple days.

 

[jbcurt00]

This is how you repair the forward area:

This pix suggests that Den cut the consoles off and removed the structure above the deck, and the fore deck under the consoles running up to the bow:

Notice everything is missing in his next interior pix:

Quite involved.