water btwn ballast and hull?

We hauled out recently and discovered water between the ballast and hull when we removed the bolts for the rudder strap.  It appears this has lead to some delamination on the inner layers of roven that are close to the ballast.  We pounded around with the hammer to find these dead spots.  We have drilled some test holes and are trying to dry it out.  Any advice would be great.  We are also currently taking off the gel coat which was not in great shape.   We discovered that on both sides of the boat about 2 feet up there is a bonding strip inside the hull.  About every 8 inches from the bow to the stern there is a plugged hole.  We assume it was for bonding the boat.  Has anyone seen anything similar on their boat?  I still have not been able to see it from the inside.  We have a 1975 Rawson.  Thank you for any info