Aft bulkhead repair/replacement

[whoover]

When you say cloth on both sides I'm @$$uming you mean on the outer surfaces. I've found a few things where Hatteras bonded wood to fiberglass structure and it looks like they used a piece of mat to hold resin in between the surfaces.

While I'm asking dumb questions, does anybody know how the door frame is held in? I can't see any evidence of fasteners or seams. The wood actually looks like it wraps around the bulkhead and is mostly held captive by the fit of the pieces. I assume this is another one where adhesives are also involved.

[SUB][/SUB]

Hello, yes the door frame is one solid piece of molding that is fit around the entire opening and is glued in place. Mine also had screws behind the hinge side of the door. I ended up cutting the outside portion off with a multi tool then I could get between the frame and bulkhead with the saw to cut the glue. This way the inside trim side is saved but you will need to mill new trim for the outside.

Good luck, I'm glad you found it before any further damage happened the bulkhead behind the cockpit liner to the hull.

Walt Hoover

 

[Avenger]

Thank you everybody for the insight. It's been extremely helpful.

It turns out that (surprise) the rot is more extensive than we thought. On the stbd side it goes all the way to the cabin side. So last weekend we ended up starting to turn it into a day boat. At this point I see no advantage to trying to salvage the few inches of plywood that aren't compromised. So I'm going to be learning a lot about Coosa.

The "good" news is that it looks like the bulkhead is split into upper and lower halves at the cabin sole. So we're hoping (like we were hoping before) to limit the scope of the nightmare to upper bulkhead only.

The cabinet ended up coming out in pieces, but we saved the one critical side for a template. I was planning on making a new one with less holes in it anyway. Just wasn't looking to add that into this project. Alas, change orders.

And my advice of the day when it comes to removing such things is to bring a friend who is a lot less sympathetic to the boat than the owner to handle the crowbar and sawzall and just turn him loose and go out for a walk for a few minutes.

 

[12V71]

Looks like I am will be joining this club as well. But this is what really scares me

 

[Cricket]

Yep, unfortunately that's how it usually goes.
You might want to place a couple of 2x4's in there for bracing so the bridge deck doesn't try to sag.

Just an idea, you may be able to build the new bulkhead part off the boat and then just tab it to the sides.
Will be a lot easier to get everything glued and faired on a table than working vertical.

 

[Avenger]

Yep, unfortunately that's how it usually goes.
You might want to place a couple of 2x4's in there for bracing so the bridge deck doesn't try to sag.

Just an idea, you may be able to build the new bulkhead part off the boat and then just tab it to the sides.
Will be a lot easier to get everything glued and faired on a table than working vertical.

I'm planning to fabricate most of it off the boat, however the lower ends of it go all the way to the hull under the side decks, so it's going to have to be in at least two pieces that can be tied together after install. In real life it may end up being much more involved. Further updates as events warrant.

 

[12V71]

Yep, unfortunately that's how it usually goes.
You might want to place a couple of 2x4's in there for bracing so the bridge deck doesn't try to sag.

Just an idea, you may be able to build the new bulkhead part off the boat and then just tab it to the sides.
Will be a lot easier to get everything glued and faired on a table than working vertical.

Thankfully, or unfortunately because this guy did some crap work it is supported. Gotta rip this out Too.

 

[Avenger]

Thankfully, or unfortunately because this guy did some crap work it is supported. Gotta rip this out Too.

View attachment 38646View attachment 38650

Holy crud. It looks like they only heard the word carpenter in the term ship's carpenter.

 

[cenger]

I went through this on my last boat which was a 1982 Viking. I had the same extensive damage Avenger is showing and had to remove the entire back as well. In my case the damage was due to a leaking window which also took out the turbo and lower bulkhead. It was a strange sight to see it as a dayboat. I had the local yard do the work and they recommended rebuilding the upper bulkhead with teak which is what was done. I don't know the difference structurally between coosa and the teak approach but I liked the aesthetics of the way it turned out, though the tackle box and sink hide much of the wood. I wish I took more photo's but the sticker shock prevented me from wanting to memorialize the event.

 

[Dazed338]

I went through this on my last boat which was a 1982 Viking. I had the same extensive damage Avenger is showing and had to remove the entire back as well. In my case the damage was due to a leaking window which also took out the turbo and lower bulkhead. It was a strange sight to see it as a dayboat. I had the local yard do the work and they recommended rebuilding the upper bulkhead with teak which is what was done. I don't know the difference structurally between coosa and the teak approach but I liked the aesthetics of the way it turned out, though the tackle box and sink hide much of the wood. I wish I took more photo's but the sticker shock prevented me from wanting to memorialize the event. View attachment 38653

It that seat base attached to the hatch and the deck? Weighing options for RV type tables.

 

[cenger]

The seat chair base on the Viking is not attached to a hatch. The cut out you see is from the replacement of the 212 gallon diesel tank. The floor had to be cut to get the tank out.

 

[Avenger]

Does anybody know if the bulkheads are tabbed on both sides, or just one?

It's starting to look like we're going to have to do both the upper and lower and I can't really see the back sides of them.

 

[micky]

Last week it was my turn in this project. Everything was rotted. At least in my 34 the bulkhead was like a puzzle. Had to remove it in pieces. As for replacement, 1" PVC with a 1708 on each side. Hard as a rock.
As you can see in the last pic, the bulkhead goes inserted in the slot behind the window.

 

[whoover]

Hello, will the resin or epoxy adhear to the pvc or what do you do to the pvc to make it stick. I do know that Awl Grip will stay on. I built my swim platform from pvc and it painted very well.

 

[micky]

Sanded the pvc very well with 80 grit, applied some thinner with a rag (it opens the pores in the pvc) and started applying resin, then the 1708 with more resin.

 

[whoover]

Hello, that's good to know. I try to use pvc in as many wet areas as I can, I find it easy to work with. I'm going to do a trial test to see if I can have the same success.
Walt Hoover

 

[Boatsb]

PVC will not bond that well with polyester. I use it with epoxy but polyester will loose the bond over time.

Try coosa or one of the core materials made to bond to polyester.

 

[jim rosenthal]

You would be better with Coosa board; I did a partial repair to my aft bulk head in a similar boat and used three thicknesses of 1/2" Coosa panel, and epoxy. Polyester is very good for construction, but not for repairs. Repairs should be done with epoxy or vinylester adhesives. Coosa panel is also much more rigid than PVC and lighter for the strength you get. It is made to bond with epoxy and vinylester and works very well with them.

 

[Cricket]

PVC used as a structural core material??????
Hopefully it works out, and we love to make stuff out of PVC and then Imron it, just not anything structural.

 

[micky]

Nobody sells coosa here in PR. I bought 3 sheets for another boat I had and between the shipping (freight) and taxes, the sheets were 3 times the original cost.

 

[Cricket]

Well that sucks, hopefully it works out.
What's your plan for attaching the vertical seams between the sheets to each other?
Are you going to build the entire bulkhead in 1 piece and then install it up into the boat or multiple pieces.
It would be heavy but much easier to get fair on the ground laying flat.
Thinking the best option would be to use 2 layers of glass on each side, 1 vertical, 1 horizontal.
Can't remember if you're using epoxy or polyester resin.