It was decided that the pit could not be opened until a climate-controlled structure was built around it. Cranes were designed and rails were laid to allow the safe removal of the large casing stones, and these were immediately replaced by wooden boards to keep the climate stable.
The first boat had been 90% cedar of Lebanon with a little local acacia. The second boat was the reverse, being mainly local acacia. This will have contributed to its state of decay.
At the end of the talk a video of the opening of the pit was shown. I've included similar ones from YouTube below to show some of the work. In the 2nd video you see some metal components. Afifi described them as iron, but they look like copper to me.