Rotten Bulkhead - Help!!

[JoseSanchez]

I notice my bulkhead real rotten. Delamninated on top, soft, spongy other places. I need to fix. Not easy to make pattern for new one. How best to make new pattern? Then, how best to install? Its glassed in place.

[Daidohead]

Hello, Do you have a few pictures that you can post ? Pics of the whole bulkhead would really help. In the past I have used 30# roofing felt to make a removable pattern on large complex pieces.

[bilgeboy]

I'm in the same boat, so to speak.

Had bulkhead crumbling in my hand today. Looks like 1/2" ply with thin coat of chopped strand.

I'll do some more demolition next week, find the extent of it. Maybe we can help each make nice repairs.

I like the roofing felt idea. I was thinking cardboard might do.

Mike

[JPC]

Jose,

I haven't tried this out myself, but recalled coming across the description and thinking that I should give it a shot when I next confront the challenge you're facing.

JPC

See:
http://www.triton381.com/projects/te.../tickstrip.htm

[SamSam]

I've used the technique that JPC suggested and it works real swell to establish the corners in an irregular space with straight line sides, after which you just connect the dots. As described in the web site I think it would work on curves also, especially on a bulkhead where a tight fit isn't really wanted. In a kitchen cabinet shop where I worked, to plot the size and shape of the space for the countertops, someone would go to the site with a bunch 1/4 x 4 x 96" strips of plywood. If the counter had to fit in a 4' alcove, the first piece would be cut 47" and put against the back wall. Then two side pieces would be cut and put against the side walls, where they lapped the back piece they would be screwed together. A piece would be put across the front to hold the side pieces in position and and then screwed to them. Finally a diagonal or two would be screwed on to keep the 'frame' from racking out of shape. The frame quickly and accurately plotted the dimensions and shape of the space (walls are rarely square or perpindicular) without any measuring. They would go around corners also for L and U shaped kitchens and the counters. It would be taken back to the shop and the countertop cut to its shape. The strips could be unassembled and reused on other jobs.The same procedure can be used on bulkheads. To get curves, start with a wider strip and scribe roughly, scribe again to get closer, scribe again to get exact and assemble a frame as for the counters, take it to the shop and cut the bulkhead. Sam

[SamSam]

Originally Posted by JoseSanchez

Then, how best to install? Its glassed in place.

Take out the old bulkhead and grind everything,16-36 grit, through the gelcoat and paint to solid fiberglass. Put the new bulkhead in place and temporarily hold in place with screws, wood wedges, blobs of bondo etc. and then put fiberglass 2 x 4" tabs every few feet. When that sets up, remove all the temporary screws, wedges etc. Put a 4 to 6" wide strip of mat and cloth or woven roving all around the perimeter on both sides of the bulkhead (fore and aft) attaching the bulkhead to the hull. If it's a big boat and more glass is needed, do another layer of mat and cloth or woven roving but make that layer 2 or 3 " wider than the first so you end up with 2 thinner, staggered edges instead of 1 thick one, to better distribute stresses. Sam

[JoseSanchez]

This is good information. Im hoping to salvage the bottom part of the bulkhead. After poking, probing, prodding, the upper 1/3 looks bad, and the lower part is looking strong and useful still.

Im thinking cutting out a section about 6ft wide by about 2 or 3 ft high. This would be square so a fairly easy cut out. The tabbing information above is good for the top, I need to glass it in place.

The question now is how to best connect the replacement wood and the old wood. There is plenty of room to back block on one side only. Is back blocking strong enough in this situation?

Someone asked for jpegs, sorry dont have any. Also the bulkhead is 3/4 in ply so its pretty thick.

Some ideas I had for tracing a pattern (if I needed) were truck bed liner, the spray on type. First, tape some paper down, spray on the bedliner, then when its dried lift up the entire thing, turn sideways, lay on a piece of ply and trace a pattern. I cant think of anything wrong with this idea, except the bedliner might stick, hence the paper idea.

[Russ]

Not a really tough problem. Grind out ALL of the rotten bulkhead then cut one eighth thick batten strips about 1 inch wide and place them upright against the wall using a cheap hot melt gun to overlap bond the strips together. very shortly you will have an exact duplicate of the bulkhead to be replaced. Simply remove and recreate the same shape in whatever thickness you need.
I had to replace rotten bulkheads in a 65' sloop restoration and this was the easy way. I could replace a bulkhead nearly every day till they were done./

[Russ]

I need to add this!
I hope you understand that you only duplicate the perimeter. Also do not remove too many bulkheard at once. If you do you may lose some of the boat shape.

[wdnboatbuilder]

simplist way is to use door skin and a glue gun. more than likely you will have to make into 2 pieces. make sure you have a ship lap for the joint.

[buckknekkid]

check on my posts, you;ll find it. If not email me " buckknekkid@hotmail.com " and I'll send you all the pics in various stages. first things first!!! You must square and level the hull before tabbing anything in place. You can use a water level if need be and tons of measurements

[JoseSanchez]

Well.. my bulkhead repair job is still in progress. Im at the point now Im ready to replace some of the tabbings I ground out. A few spots down low were wet, so I ground away the glass, dried, and applied rot cure. It really was not in bad shape, I figured though I would put the rot cure on there while I was at it. So.. questions..

Since I ground away glass, I need to replace.
1) In some places, I still have a 1/4 in high or maybe more of glass left that is attached to the bottom of the boat. Does this need to come off? Or can I simply glass over the top of it? Im planning to build up the new thickness to match the thickness of the old tabs.

2) Ive only worked with glass once before many many years ago. From what I understand.. I need to have a schedule. Cut glass strips to size, according to the schedule. These strips will only be roughly 6-8 inches long by about 4 in high. Then.. "wet out". I assume wet out means cover one strip entirely with epoxy resin, then place on the bulkhead. Im planning to place each strip on the bare, non glassed part and build up to the thickness of the existing leftover tabs. Then lay a few strips over everything to seal/firm up.

3) DO I need to sant/prep since I put rot cure on it?

The above sound reasonable??

Thanks for any help...
Jose.

[buckknekkid]

grind away amigo. you need to flare the bond out to gain more area to lay up on. Prep and wash everything down to get rid of grease and oils.

[Davidof8]

How did this bulkead repair work out?

The top part of my bulkhead is damaged but the bottom part appears to be okay.

Is it okay to cut out the damaged portion and replace with new wood?
Will it be secure enough?

What about applying penetrating epoxy to the damaged bulkhead?

thank you for your time

Originally Posted by JoseSanchez

This is good information. Im hoping to salvage the bottom part of the bulkhead. After poking, probing, prodding, the upper 1/3 looks bad, and the lower part is looking strong and useful still.

Im thinking cutting out a section about 6ft wide by about 2 or 3 ft high. This would be square so a fairly easy cut out. The tabbing information above is good for the top, I need to glass it in place.

The question now is how to best connect the replacement wood and the old wood. There is plenty of room to back block on one side only. Is back blocking strong enough in this situation?

Someone asked for jpegs, sorry dont have any. Also the bulkhead is 3/4 in ply so its pretty thick.

Some ideas I had for tracing a pattern (if I needed) were truck bed liner, the spray on type. First, tape some paper down, spray on the bedliner, then when its dried lift up the entire thing, turn sideways, lay on a piece of ply and trace a pattern. I cant think of anything wrong with this idea, except the bedliner might stick, hence the paper idea.

[JoseSanchez]

This has been slowwwww going. But Ive gotten the rotten stuff out mostly, replaced with good wood. Removed old tabbings, cut matt to size and am just about ready to start glassing. A little more grinding to get more surface area. I noticed it last night while cutting. Needs grinding...

The replaced wood Im wondering if glassing with some tape is going to be strong enough or should I back block. Im guessing back blocking is the way to go. The wood worker routed out a notch and screwed and epoxied the pieces together. I think though it needs more. Its up high on the bulkhead, near the top so I think the block is the way to go???

Jose