New Member rebuilds a Coronado 15

I used to buy expensive epoxy, and then figured out how to save a ton of money ordering it on-line. Wish I had smartened up earlier, would have saved some serious cash. But on the other hand,,,that expensive stuff is a very high quality.

I'd like to see some pictures of the current bulkhead situation.

 

I'l try to get some pictures tonight or tomorrow to post.. it's hard to get good pictures in there, I can only imagine how "fun" it is to work on. I suspect issues with compression post as well, and a good portion of the deck is soft...

 

here are a couple of quick picks I took last night... I'll see if I can improve on them a bit in the next few days.

 

Those pictures are somewhat out of focus but still, anyone could get a general idea about whats going on there. Did you cut away the inner part of that bulkhead or is this the way you found it?

Also, what is going on with that post? I wonder what that loose piece of wood is and what is behind it.

 

I haven't done anything yet, other than make room in the garage for her and read about doing the work.

 

Duckypoxy isn't currently available, still in the testing phase, but Marinepoxy is similarly priced, also 2:1 and much cheaper than the name brands too.

 

I'll tell you,,,It looks like that compression post was crushed and then snapped in two. You're right about needing a new post. The project really isn't that extremely complicated. Those bulkheads should be easy enough to remove, but mine did require some cutting. They were bonded well in some areas; pull them out manually and remove the remainder with a saw (as close to the hull as possible but it doesn't have to be perfectly flush.) Then you will want to pull out those floatation blocks but don't misplace them.

That will be an odd angle to do work. I found it much easier to reach these areas with the hull flipped on two saw horses. I sat on a milk crate and was able to get the arms and shoulders into the hatch, and face the correct direction. Will post a picture of that later.

 

An easy way to follow the interior hull shell contours, while cutting out tabbing is a reciprocating saw, with a long metal cutting blade. Force the blade down to the hull shell, through the tabbing, angling off so it makes a relatively parallel cut. With some care, let the blade bend and conform to the hull shell as it slices through the tabbing, it'll save a lot of cussing. A fine tooth metal blade will make less dust and a clean cut. A rough framing blade will do too, but these typically don't last that long on 'glass and the potential for it to dig into the hull shell is much higher. A diamond blade is ideal and best used on an angle grinder, but you can only get so close with these.

 

I tend to use a Multitool with saw blade for following the contours, at least when they are relatively gentle curvature. You can always clean up with an abrasive flap wheel, but mind the dust....

 

Multi tools work well too, though usually slow and dusty work. The regular blades wear out fast too, so I use the tile grout removal blades (diamond coated) which hold up longer, but are still pretty slow.

 

This is what my bulkhead looked like after I pulled it from the boat and threw it on the ground. I used a jig saw and it cut like butter, it goes so fast that there's almost no time to make much dust. The glass is paper thin.

If you don't have one of those nice breathing filters then get one for yourself as a Christmas gift. No need to breath in any boat dust at all, ever. You can use it for all sorts of projects and you'll always be happy that you own one.

 

I don't know what your final goal is with this boat. So, lets just say it's "fix the compression post and have it ready to sail in the spring." My project goals were more like "buy as many tools as I can, re-engineer the whole boat, and maybe go sailing at some-point in the future."

Here you can see the mast partner. This thing makes it very difficult to get into the hatch. I removed it buy drilling out the bungs with a expensive drill bit. The guys on this forum said, it's the wrong way to remove bungs, and they are right.



"Just use a small chisel" or something. They will let you know when you get to that point. So here is the thing, all this teak has to be unscrewed to remove the partner. Go slow and don't be surprised if something cracks. Save everything, every little splinter, because it can all be epoxied back together very nicely.

 

The easy way to remove bungs that are traditionally installed is with a wood screw, preferably a coarse threaded one about 1/3dr to 1/2 the diameter of the bung. Drill a pilot hole dead center and hand turn the screw unto it. The screw will bottom on the fastener head and then the threads will force up the bung, sometimes whole, but usually in a couple of pieces.

 

I'd say fix the compression post with any other urgent structural issues and have it ready to sail by spring is my goal. I've got a lot of tools, so would rather not have to buy much there, wouldn't want the need/cost of buying a tool to slow down my ability to acquire materials..I had been thinking about using an oscillating saw to cut out the bulkhead but I can do the reciprocating saw if that's better.I figured it'd be harder to control and more likely to damage the hull ... That bulkhead seems to be pretty brittle and about the thickness of a milk jug...

 

The bulkhead is paper thin. The other guys might be thinking that it's a heavier structure. You should try to pull it out by hand first. No need to buy new tools, any blade on any jig saw will do for this. But get a respirator anyway (that is something that every guy should own.)

If you remove the barney post, it will make getting in and out of the hatch much easier. The mast partner and the barney post; remove these two things and the job will go much better.