New hull to deck joint inboard flange

I think you should take Pardey's advice when you build a carvel boat. For this one, stick with the toerail. If you really want to eliminate fasteners laminate youself a composite toerail and glue it on with epoxy. Make composite stanchion bases, glue them on. It's a lot of work for marginal benefits, the conventional bolted fittings will be good for minimum 10 years, and if you don't use a strong sealant rebedding them will be short work. But, your boat, your choice.

 

Thanks all for hashing through this with me. As usual I’m over thinking the extent of the problem. I think I’m going to glass the underside, (still not sure which compound to use inside the flange yet, probably epoxy) forget the bulwarks, make some marginally higher than spec toerails (4-6”) and just do an extra good job mounting them and just figure I’ll have to replace them down the line and keep up on the maintenance.

 

Will the bulkheads be bonded to the hull prior to dropping the deck on?Some people prefer to bond the deck first so that there is a continuous bond to keep the moisture out of the edge of the bulkheads.Others prefer the convenience of bonding the bulkheads into the hull first and doing all the deck bonding in one go.Which also makes it easier to drop larger items inside the hull while the access is best.

 

I found it very easy to push the epoxy out of the seam laying my soles down. Post application inspection showed that any slight x-z plane movement was a bad culprit in shifting the material.

For this reason, I recommend hanging the deck say about a foot above the work, having lots of people on hand and setting it on as even as possible.

 

My plan was to load in all the plywood for the bulkheads into the boat while I had the deck lifted. I was intending on doing the hull to deck joint first before bulkheads so I have easy access to glass the inside all the way around and then after the deck was affixed I would cut the bulkheads out and put them in with foam spacers and glass to the hull and deck. Then bolt through the glass/plywood flange of the bulkheads all the way around (note sure if that is strictly necessary). Then everything else will be loaded in through the hatches and built in. For hull to deck alignment I was intending long (waxed) registration bolts every couple feet. Kinda like you guys mentioned in your earlier posts. First I will set the deck on, line it up and setup the fairing lines. put in my registration bolts and then lift the hull on blocks, trim off the edges along the lines, then grind/ clean the inside of the flange, lay down thickened epoxy and set it back down and clamp down the bolts. Will probably have wood backing under washers between the deck and the underside of the flange to help spread clamping pressure. I don’t have a garage or barn high enough to get the boat inside so unless I rigged some sort of overhead beam to do the lifting I’m kinda stuck with putting the deck up on block lumber spacers. I’m scrounging parts and planning right now so I can start on these projects in the spring and ideally get the boat water tight (with hatches) over the summer so I can work on the inside next winter and keep the elements out.

 

As I was writing the post above I realized hadn’t shared any photos and then I also realized I don’t have any photos of what I’m working with. So I went out and snapped a few. Sorry, it’s dark and of course foggy so the water vapor makes for grainy pics

 

I don't disagree with your thought that adding bolts to the flange after bonding may not be entirely necessary.By the time you have an epoxy bond plus the glass over the joint,it ought to hold together adequately and adding holes for bolts means adding more potential leak paths.The bonding of the bulkheads will add another tier of strength and any deck fittings that bolt down in the region will do their part also.Your outline plan seems to be thoroughly thought out but does lead me to ask a question-with a boat full of plywood for bulkheads you will have eaten into the available working area so how will you create the space to work?It can be done and I have done it but never without the feeling that moving stuff around is occupying too much of the time.My guiding principle is that it helps to work from the ends of the boat toward the access hatch(es) so that you don't brush past pieces that are supposed to be finished any more than is necessary.Which can mean beginning with the anchor locker bulkhead and the cockpit lockers before moving to the engine beds and then to the centre of the boat.One big advantage is that you are just about guaranteed to provide good engine access because of the building sequence.

 

Bulkheads later sounds really more difficult; especially if they have locker bases atop.

I'd install them first to the hull sides; then the only bit left is tabbing them to the cap.

Here are a few bulkhead installs from my build. It would have been very difficult to do some of this work with the deck on..

Bulkhead one gets cut away lower and access is via a locker hatch forward.

 

So I had thought about work space with plywood inside and I’m really only intending to load in a few large sheets that will all be used in the main forward bulkheads and rear bulkhead. Essentially the boat will only have 3 main bulkheads (1 small forward behind the anchor locker, 1 main just forward of the mast and #3 the rear under the companionway area. And yes, work front to back for finishing etc. I haven’t decided if I’m going to put in a diesel or just keep an outboard. I know the diesel can be convenient but it’s a lot of systems complexity, cost and maintenance (plus oily fluids inside, and exhaust, noise and vibration all over.)

 

Fallout- I think it can depend. Looks like that might me a skinny hull your working on there, and that can get super tight for sure. If the beam is wider, i wouldn’t think it will pose as much of a problem.