Buccaneer 24 Builders Forum

Good point Gary, no point in getting him back to the water if he can't stay there. Saw a Piver where they put a short trunk in and built the enclosed head around it, when they hit a wave just right it turned the stall into a power bidet...

 

floor

HH, I think all will be revealed when that floor comes out, and it looks as if you have good access. I agree with Gary, Please! brace the top of the trunk when you are done. Mine takes a lot of load in that area. Pics if you can when you get it open? B

 

Angel's post had me chuckling wondering if there was a missing drain plug, only other spot would be the rudder hardware, the trunk still would need help....

 

I braced my vertical trunk to the side stringers with two pieces of 1" pine plank.
It made a nice little seat when the board was down, (as it was most of the time).
A F/glass mask on the bottom, with a cut out closely fitting the board section, reduced turbulence in the trunk. A cleat on the top of the board prevented it from dropping down into the box and water coming up out of the top of the box in rough seas. The board was made from laminated Cedar, shaped to a symetrical section and parallel on all sides, so the mask sealed the board whatever its position.....Worked for me

 

Carl, perhaps superfluously, but better to be safe than sorry . . . . .

. . . water is kinda heavy so be sure the hull is well supported under all bulkheads when doing the test from post #869.

Cheers,
Angel

 

the problem is revealed

Nothing like grinding fiberglass at 9:00 PM. I removed the cabin floor around the dagger trunk. There is no question where my problem is. You could drive a truck through the hole.

It would seem that the boat hit bottom sometime in the past. The strike rotated the daggerboard in the case damaging the aft base. In the forward section of the trunk, the dagger struck and cracked the angled end piece approximately six inches above the keel base. Because the end piece is foam cored, it simpley bent in, exposing the enterior of the trunk to the bildge. When you look down/up into the trunk, you see the gentle bend, but everything looks to be intact.

Construction seems to be very weak in the area. Why would you use a foam cored end piece, then fail to reinforce with glass on the interior or exterior? I see no indication the trunk has fastners, it just seems to be glued.

What to do? (1) add a new forward endpice just aft of the existing bent piece. (2) glass the lower portion of the forward trunk base, but the integrity of the end piece joint above this is unknown. (3) glass the entire lower trunk directly to main bulkhead and ignore the problem with the forward end piece. (4) start over and replace the entire trunk.

Pictures attached, should be self explanatory. Thanks for all the comments and encouragement.

 

I'd make a new trunk, remembering a sturdy floor and old sailor's seat. If you just do it, it'll just take a couple of weekends. I'd use marine ply if you're not comfortable with laminating. Its just a box in a boat, might as well make it vertical and save doing it twice.

 

do a new one

I agree with Cav, build a new one- yours has too many issues, and it is probably easier to build new. Please don't take this as an "approved" way to do it, I tend to be "quick and dirty", but after you cut the old trunk out grind and prep the inner hull, stand a removable core the correct size where you want it and brace it top and bottom. Several layers of construction insulation foam wrapped with plastic is my usual choice and comes out easily. A male mold. Use epoxy for good adhesion and build up enough glass to suit you with plenty on the front and back areas, remove the core, brace the top and go sailing. Less than a weekend's job I would think, and you can trust the boat from then on. If you build the trunk a little oversize, you can adjust and shim the board to taste. I would want a finished size of 1.5"x 20" as a minimum, set in vertical. If your current board has a longer cord, give the trunk several more inches in length. B

 

new trunk

Cav and Bruce,

I agree, I think a new trunk takes out the guess work, and you know what you have. I would prefer to make a plywood case, then glue, screw and glass.

Any thoughts on screwing from below through cored material? I can't imagine the fastners would have any holding power. Maybe I can screw a 1/8" backer on the hull bottom to distribute the load, then putty and sand. Regardless, I will radius the opening and glass up and into the trunk.

Still can't quite figure out what the builder was thinking when the made the last trunk.

 

I'd leave the outer skin slot to size and grind /cut the inner skin and core back enough to insert the new trunk all the way to the outer skin with room for thickened epoxy. Build up the base/inner skin joint with epoxy glass layers or even a ply lamination to distribute the load, new floor well coated both sides and edges if ply, tabbed in with epoxy/glass tape etc...You don't need any screws if you don't bump the case while the epoxy is kicking but they won't hurt if you want to hold it in place while working. I'd use meranti hydrotek ply for the rot resistance and line the inside of the trunk with glass or polypropylene/vectra before assembly for abrasion resistance. If you can, epoxy tape the trunk inside to the outer skin and feather to help with abrasion/sand etc....3/8ths/9mm ply should be plenty strong but you can check the guys with ply plans to see what Lock used.

 

#4 + 1 to all the above.

 

On post 848 Bruce posted the plans for the standard trunk, I'd add a bed log like the timber on the top to help spread the loads on the outer skin. Make it taller and glass from there to the inner skin after filling it in. Your tabs can be 4" wide or so. There are a lot of ways to do things like this but strong never hurts when it comes to trunks, your old one didn't pass!

 

put away the saw

I really would not add rot prone wood to a perfectly good fiberglass boat, and unless you are planing on using a true rot proof ply like "power ply", you are just building in a problem. I have never been able to completely seal a trunk from the bottom, and neither have quite a few production builders. Even a tiny pinhole will take on water against the wooden trunk, and once the boat has been through a few freeze cycles, the wood will start to turn to mush. Then, your hull to trunk-hull joint is compromised. The stock Buc only uses 1/4" ply on the sides of the trunk, just enough to hold the water out and the ends apart. All of the forces are at the top and bottom. Grind the inner skin and foam back about 6", put a nice fillet around the bottom edge of the trunk plug, and use a good combination of cloth and roving to make it all solid. You will never have to do it again. I do sometimes include an expendable piece of wood at the aft end as a crash and wear block. B

 

That's another way. The neat thing about molding is that it appears magical when you are finished, quite different from traditional construction. I haven't had any problems combining materials though and like many think miracle, renewable fiber W has much to offer..I sail wood based boats that integrate many different composites and value the long term fatigue resistance of the material.. What works best for you is the way you should build, done correctly they all have merit. Bruce, if you suggest all glass, give him scantlings and a construction, layup method.

 

trunk

Having read Bruce's points, I think the idea of a fully glassed trunk is very appealing. I come from Lobster boat country, and I talked with a few of the fishermen who build boats on the side, they all agree. Fiberglass is final.

Bruce, I would be interested in any thoughts on glass thickness, layup schedule etc. With the upcoming holiday, this will take some time, but I should be back on the ramp in a few weeks.