No Bulkheads?

19 Glasply.

Fuel tank started leaking so started cutting the floor yesterday. Only had a couple hours but I noticed that it seems to have no bulk heads.

The wood you can see is sitting on top the stringers and looks like it was used to raise the floor.

Since I'm down there should I be adding some?

 

No

 

Assumed so since it didn't have to start.

Praying the rest is dry. So far it was just dirty as hell.

 

I have done exactly what you are doing. All you need is the structure you see to support the sole. Just replace the existing structure of longitudinals (the fore and aft pieces) and thwarts (the cross pieces) and you should be good to go. You just want it to be stiff enough to keep the sole from flexing or feeling spongy. I suggest you give the wood a good coat of epoxy resin to keep it from absorbing moisture.

 

Thanks. Need to redo it a little anyways. Fish box is going in the floor where the tank is.

Tank going upfront under the seats.

 

I’d recommend you install bulkheads, even though you’ve got plenty of beef with those stringers.
Bulkheads help divide the bilge spaces into watertight zones, each with its own bilge pump for safety purposes.
I’m currently working on my boat to break the bilge into individual spaces, bow, engine room, and stern after a near disastrous flooding from a puka salt water hose.

 

I'm open to options but why would I want each compartment to have its own bilge pump? They aren't sealed and drain into my bilge now and I have 2 pumps back there if needed.
I only have 1 thru hull below the water line. It was for a raw water pick up that I never used. I was actually thinking of removing it and sealing the hole permanently.

 

How long is this boat?

 

19

 

So we’re looking at an 19’ outboard powered fiberglass skiff with a fuel tank down the middle and a 2 x6” grid under the floor?
If so, the bulkheads may not be entirely necessary, but I’d still recommend some connections between stringers and floor grid.
The fuel tank looks like it is currently being asked to be part of the hull’s structure, possibly the reason for the leaks?

 

Fuel tank stamp has 97 on it so if the hull is using it as support it lasted a damn long time. I'm surprised it lasted this long.

I'm leaving the grid they used to raise the floor. It is tied to the hull sides. Just going to add some glass and gel to seal it.

I didn't take more pics but I got 90% of the floor gone now. The front of the boat where they previous owner did not raise the floor doesn't have bulk heads either. Just planning on using the same structure to level the whole floor.

Only issue now is trying to decide where to put my fish box in the floor and keep weight distributed.

 

For a 19 foot boat there is really no need for bulkheads. Here's a link to what I did with my Sea Ray 190 SRV (actually a little over 18') https://newboatbuilders.com/pages/SeaRay190.html. A previous owner replaced the fuel tank but did not replace the flotation foam. It was soaked with gasoline. So I had to replace most of it. Fortunately they put in a rotomolded plastic tank. They don't corrode and they have no seams to leak. If you leave limber holes for any water that gets in, to flow back to the transom, and put a bilge pump there, that should be sufficient. Mine has a drain plug so when I put it on a trailer, and remove the plug, any water just drains away.

Unfortunately I no longer have the boat.

 

Not needing bulkheads is good. Still going to leave some supports but right now its about 2ft apart making for some very small compartments for me to work with under the floor. I want to push my fish box in the floor as well at the same time.

Not needing bulkheads helps me get more room to put saddle tanks and put the fish box down the center.

 

Just being pedantic, but you are actually talking about solid "floors" under the "decking", not bulkheads under the floor. So for an open FRP boat with no frames, the skin plating is supported by the longitudinal 'stringers', the stringers are supported by the transverse 'floors', and the 'decking' then runs over and is supported by the floors. So yes, you should have floors to support the stringers, but they don't need to be solid.

 

Sorry not up to speed on all the terminology.

No floor under the deck. There is just the fiberglass stringers with 2x6 on top of it to raise the floor and support it.

This is what I was thinking of doing.
- Cut the support (red lines)
- Drop a saddle tank in (both sides of course)
- Add back 2x4 or 3/4" ply bracing back (yellow lines)
Then put back the floor with 3/4"

Still need to determine if my tanks and fish box size is to my liking.

Plan B is to put the fuel tank from port to starboard under the helm seats and move the fish box back to help with the weight distribution.

Plan C is just to replace the tank one for one and leave my fish box on deck but its in the way and of course rather not do this. But only so much I can do on a 19 footer.

That PVC is going away. Its a drain for the bow area as the floor wasn't raised. I'm going to make the whole floor level now so no need for drains.