Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

[erikgreen]

You all know how this story goes. I was prepping my floor for my new nautolex install, when I checked out the bulkhead in front of the engine block on my '83 Sea Ray 210.

"Hey, it's crooked!.... oh, that's why. It's sealed with a huge glob of silicone and nothing else. Way to go, PO."

"Hmm... well, it'll get worse if I leave it, and this is my 'good' boat. I'd better cut out the bulkhead and replace it, then re-glass it. Shouldn't take more than a couple evenings."

I started cutting.....


.

.

.

Three and a half hours later, I've excavated 20 lbs of mulch and powdered poly resin from the bulkhead, the end of two stringers, and the surrounding glass, to finally reach solid wood and dry foam.

At least I know it's not gonna get worse. Tomorrow night I'll cut some dry pieces of PT ply I have to fit, and glass in all but the top edge. Then I'm gonna inject a half cup of antifreeze along the edge where the wet wood was, just in case. Then once I glass in the top, I can get back to prepping for my nautolex install.

Just another day in the life of a boater

Erik

 

[oops!]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

man....... erik...

does the grinding ever end......


keep on it bud

cheers
oops

 

[Bondo]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

"Hey, it's crooked!....

Ayuh,....... That $uck$.........

Just alittle FYI,.... Your thread title is Quite True,........
Most Hulls are Neither Plumb nor Square, nor Symmetrical....

That's Why a String line,+ a Tape measure are your Friends when building Boats........

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

Here's what it ended up looking like post-demolition:

Port Side:

Starboard:

Here's a view from above where the transverse bulkhead is supposed to go (I'll fit that after I patch the stringers):

And with my custom cut patches fitted:

I'm coating the patches, butt blocks (I cut back the glass on the starboard to match the port so they'll stick) and a small rectangle for the port aft corner with epoxy (thickly). I also brushed epoxy into the spaces where the patches will go to fill any little holes.

I know the patches will provide all the needed strength, especially after I glass them in with roving and 8 oz cloth. There'll be some air spaces inside the corners, but that's not a problem. I know the motor mounts are solid... I did those last summer

Tomorrow I'll mix some epoxy/wood flour/cabosil glue up and paste the patches in. The butt blocks will stick out a bit into the tank space, but they'll make a good spot to mount a neoprene pad to buffer the tank.

There's obviously some small amount of water now in my foam... even though I got out all the soft wood and almost all the wet splinters. You can see the staining on the wood that's still there, and a bit of wet foam at the bottom. I thought about getting it all out, but I'd have to rip up the aft half of the sole to do that.

I suppose that means I'll get to replace the stringers in the future.

@(#&$*(&@#$&&&.

Erik

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

.....aaaand I'm not done yet.

I went and worked out, and the stuff I did tonight on the boat was bugging me. I thought it was just because the boat had some water damage, but I realized it was because I wasn't fixing it the right way.

I remembered what some cranky old man said once, "Why is there never time to do it right but always time to do it again?".

So I decided to do it right.

I loaded a new cutting disk in my grinder, and set to work. I got both of the rotted/wet boards out. I did find out my deck (probably the whole thing) is a bit damp but sound, probably damp because of the holes that sea ray used to put in the foam came unplugged.

Most of the foam I took out was dry. The two boards turned out to be deck supports, only attached to the stringer at one end and floating at the other.... the only structural stuff in that area is the connection between the stringers and the short stringers that support the motor mount.

So now I have access to fix things the right way. I'm going to butt joint the stringers to extend them, replace the deck support piece using one of them as a template, then use epoxy putty to make the join at the short stringers. Should be solid, dry for the most part, and last.

I'm not going to seal this space up completely nor put foam back in. I'm hoping it'll dry out some over time. I may put a hatch on the starboard side and use the space for storage, but I think that might end up with more water getting in. Urgh.

Pics:

The boards that were rotten:

The starboard side:

and port:

Suggestions for reconstruction are welcomed.

Erik

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

I started reconstruction today. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Basically I kept digging until I got to dry wood except toward the stern, and I used butt blocks with epoxy putty to restore the stringers to their original length. I also replaced the triangular pieces of wood that supported the deck, and tomorrow I'll tie them into a cleat where the deck meets the hull.

I'm also going to overbuild a bit since I'm not putting the foam back in... I'll put a second deck support (rib?) at the forward end of the replaced section, then I'll tie the triangles together with a short outboard stringer. That'll form a small box like section with the main stringers, which should give a lot of strength.

I'm going to install hatches over the two open spaces - may as well use the space. I'm also going to make provisions for drainage of the new space, as well as one-way vents into the still foamed areas.

I removed what foam I could from under the still ok deck spaces, and there basically was a half cup of water total, so I'm hopeful by giving it proper drainage it'll dry out a bit, or at least the rot won't go much farther.

I'll definitely need to re-do the deck in a couple years thanks to sea ray, but maybe not the stringers again. I'm pretty sure the transom is dry because the test holes I drilled for electronics mounting came up with clean wood, but never say never.

Erik

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

Okay, I spent two long days this weekend working on cleaning up and reconstruction. Whew.

I got stringers, floor supports, and cleats installed. I have yet to finish coating the new wood with epoxy to protect it, but once that's done I can put in the new deck.

Then maybe I can get back to installing my new flooring. Sheesh.

I'll definitely have to redo the whole deck if I keep the boat, but other than that it's structurally solid for now.

Pics of the port and starboard repair areas:

The port side was a much smaller repair. I am not sure I'll be able to fit a hatch in there, so maybe I'll just finish the reinforcement and close it up except for some drainage and a vent. I'm thinking I'll use a piece of PVC near the hull side as a vent hole or something.

The starboard I ended up removing about four feet of deck and stringer total, and replacing the structure. I still have yet to install the smaller outboard stringers, and then I have to glass the structural members into place. I need to order more epoxy. Again.

Mostly I used screws for clamps... once the epoxy hardens the screws come out. Putty is wood flour and epoxy mixed, all wood will be coated with epoxy for waterproofing.


Erik

PS: Almost forgot, I still have to replace the bulkhead that started this whole mess

 

[Lou C]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

Looks like you got that under control, reminds me of my job....glad it's done!

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

Hmmm.... the flat floor below the fuel tank is just a layer of glass over foam, which covers the bottom V of the keel.. at the center of the tank is maybe a 2 inch space filled with foam.

Anyone think I should remove this? I could make some provision for drainage under the tank and into the engine bilge.

I'd have to work out a different way to mount the tank though, as well as re-glass most of the stringers, as their current length is one piece of glass with the tank compartment floor.

Hmmm.. lots of work, but it would drain better...

Erik

 

[Lou C]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

You sure there is no plywood in there? That's how mine was, a plywood floor between the 2 main stringers, for the tank to set on, but there was drainage underneath. I made new mounts you can see in my pix, out of mahagony. All the original stuff rotted away. You could probably make make a plywood floor for that area, and tie it into the main stringers. More work though, how was the tank mounted originally?

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

I dunno about "originally" but right now it's mounted on the flat floor section with two sets of aluminum straps holding it down. It sits on top of some plastic strapping that resembles vinyl rub rail inserts.. I was at the least going to replace that with some neoprene pads when I finished this refit I'm working on.

You may be right about the plywood.. it'd be a thin sheet though. When I re-did the stringers, I accidentally lifted that end of the floor under the tank up a couple inches.. right now it's just fiberglass and maybe plywood on top of a foam wedge.

I'm getting really tempted to remove it... I'm sure I will at some point, maybe when/if I replace the decking.

I've tentatively decided for now that it's extra work to remove... there's a forward bilge pump that removes water from the front of the boat for now, as opposed to a drain system.

I'm just worried about water getting into the tank space... it has nowhere to go, really, except maybe I can put a couple small holes in the motor bulkhead to let it drain into the engine bilge.

Erik

 

[Lou C]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

That's how my bowrider is, there are 2 bulkheads, one in front of the tank, one behind, and there are limber holes in each one so any water that gets in the ski locker can run under the tank and out the rear one into the bilge under the engine. BUT, since doing all this work, I do my best to KEEP WATER OUT OF THE BOAT! Nothing worse, than water sitting under a gas tank all winter.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hey, that bulkhead is crooked....

That's gonna be a challenge for me... there's a distinct chance that bad luck may have me taking waves over the bow - green water.

Of course, if the forward bilge pump can't keep up then any kind of drainage under the tank probably wouldn't either. Maybe it's best if I try to avoid being out in that kind of weather

I'll think about this some more, and post when I have the glass and deck in place, and that engine bulkhead.

Erik