Opening up a V20

First post. This is a great site. I have a small boat repair business, but I certainly don't know everything. I was a do-it-yourselfer that hobbied my way into a business. I visted some time ago but just recently signed up. I am a big fan of the Step V20. I'll help out here where I can, but I certainly appreciate other's insite.

I have a family friend and neighbor that needs help with a 1978 model. After looking through some photos and reading a few posts here, I made an observation: Vic's project appears to be opened up by removing the whole cored floor section. Has anyone else had success in doing this? How did you go about breaking the bond from the floor to stringers? I would have guessed the floor would tear to pieces this way. If this process typically works for this boat, it would be the best way to remove the floor. The floor could then be re-cored from the back side. Otherwise, you just remove it in sections and rebuild from scratch, maybe re-using the top skin.

The other issue with opening up, concerns the deck cap. I have seen some with the rear section cut off and have heard others refer to lifting the cap. Any suggestions on which works better for this boat?