Teal Cruiser Newbie questions
 

Hi folks

I've just bought a Teal cruiser(about 5.5 metre) and I think she
dates from the mid to late seventies.Should the boat have a makers plate
on it and if so where? She needs a bit of work
and I wonder if anyone has come across these boats before.
Under the rotting ply decking is a steel girder grid embedded into
GRP.I was wondering about the functionality of this.Is it just for strength
and rigidity or does it serve some other pupose.There's also something that
looks like a valve or drain cock down in one of the girder 'compartments'
which goes through the hull.
What's that for? Are these items found on lots of boats?
As you can probably tell I'm new to boats and would appreciate any
tips or advice and maybe a recommendation of a good book on
GRP boat structure and repair.

Thanks for your patience

Brian