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Help with Bulkhead Removal

Joe

Member II
I've pulled the chainplate and all the bolts as well as the smaller screws on my E25, but the bulkhead stubbornly refuses to budge. I've run a thin sawblade between the surfaces and can detect no further bolts or screws. There is no sign of it having been glassed in, but there is some sign of a rubber-like extrusion along the top.

Before I break out the 4-pound hammers and reciprocating saw, I thought I had better check with this forum in case there is an obvious obstruction I'm unaware of.

Thanks!

P.S. There is soft wood all along the hull edges of both bulkheads -- the starboard side being especially bad. I've started on the portside however, because it seemed simpler (no centerboard column).
 

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tenders

Innocent Bystander
I don't know what else could be holding the bulkhead in. On the E32, there's nothing other than the fiberglass tabbing on the bulkhead.

I would suggest a bottle jack, placed between the port and starboard bulkheads and well-braced against the deck and overhead, to raise the overhead a quarter of an inch or so. Perhaps the bulkhead is wedged in there.

tenders
 

Joe

Member II
I tried the bottle jack: lots of ominous creaking and groaning, but no gap appears between the bulkhead and overhead. The bulkhead was still resolutely stuck and I wimped out before I damaged something. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
 

Rob Hessenius

Inactive Member
Bulkhead Removal

Joe- Cut a wedge out of the bulkhead to the closest place to the side of the boat without hitting the fiberglass. After you have that wedge shape out, pull down on the top piece and lift up on the bottom piece. Take your three pieces and lay them out for your future template. Rob Hessenius
 

raslocum

Member I
stubborn bulkhead

i just removed the same bulkhead from my 25 for replacement. there is nothing else there other than what you mentioned that prevents you from removing the bulkhead. I did, however, notice on mine alot of compression weight from my ceiling and apparent sagging mast step. I purchased a couple of spreader bar type adjustable extension bars from a local auto parts store. these bars are used to support the load of a partially full enclosed trailer by extending and placing pressure on the side walls of the trailer. They are almost infinitely adjustable devices for lifting the ceiling, or mast step as they can adjust to wherever you need them, and very slowly and incrementally apply presssure to the ceiling in just the careful amount you need. I think they were only maybe 20 bucks a piece. To distribute the load more effectively, I placed a couple of 3/4" rectangle pieces of plywood on the floor before applying the pressure.
 

Joe

Member II
Success...

Thanks to the above suggestions I finally got the bulkhead loose using a combination of cutting out a wedge-shaped piece and jacking. Someone in the past had forced old contact cement between the glass and the bulkhead -- luckily it was quite brittle and was easily scraped out.

Can anyone point me to a source for the 1 7/8" rubber edging that was wrapped along the top of the bulkhead?

Thanks!
 

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Joe

Member II
The McMaster-Carr Catalog is very impressive and I easily found the right rubber strips. Thanks.

I considered the bicycle tire but rejected the idea because I didn't see an elegant place to let the valve hang out and I also didn't want to stow yet another piece of equipment like a bicycle pump. ;)

Less impressive is the workmanship standard: specifically the fitting of the bulkheads. The hull number is 218 and falls in the middle of the range (1 - 384) of those manufactured between 1972 and 1978. This is probably one of those 'Friday afternoon' installations. The picture clearly shows that the one through-bolt missed the bulkhead completely. This bulkhead was cut very unevenly and smaller than necessary: probably to make installation easier. But that means that the deck really doesn't have direct bulkhead support in the area of the bolt.

The holes through the bulkhead were obviously not pre-drilled but drilled after the bulkhead was inserted. I'm not clear on whether the diameter of the holes was purposefully so small that the bolts cut their own threads into the bulkhead as they were screwed through, and whether I should duplicate this approach with the new plywood.

I'm going to attempt to cut the marine Okoume plywood I'm using slightly larger for a better deck support but that's going to mean a lot of extra time: as I assume templates are not available anywhere.

So it goes.
 

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Joe

Member II
Next: The Starboard Bulkhead

As far as I can tell, during manufacture the bulkheads were installed into the hull before the deck was lowered into place -- I can see no way the starboard bulkhead can be retrofitted after the deck is in place. I hope I'm missing some obvious point, but, if I'm not, there seems to be two ways to proceed after the damaged bulkhead is removed.

The pictures show the bulkhead from both the cabin and the head side (column under mast containing the centerboard-lowering mechanism has been removed). I can either cut it into two pieces along the yellow or the blue lines:

The cut along the blue line will yield one large piece and one very small piece, but I'm not at all sure that the large piece will fit through the companionway hatch. Also, there will be no bolts holding the lower edge. The small piece will be more or less useless as a structural element.

The cut along the yellow line will yield two more balanced pieces -- the piece having the chainplate will be about the same as the bulkhead on the port side. Both will come into the companionway hatch easily. One drawback is that the joint will be a simple butt joint (there wont be working space to insert either dowels or biscuits).

Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
 

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Randy Rutledge

Sustaining Member
Have you thought about a lap joint where you cut a notch out of the edges to allow the panels to overlap while being in lane? This would give enough surface to bond the panels together and you would be able way to clamp this joint (a board covering the seam on each side and bold another board through the chain plate holes across to the edge where clamps would work even two cross pieces at angles to cross the seam high and low) while the bonding agent of choice set. This would keep the panels matched up with no gap and add strength. Don’t forget to use wax paper or the like to prevent the temp bracing from becoming part of the finished panel, it also would be a good idea to mask the surface edges at the joint to prevent the glue from getting on the surface of the panel unless you are going to sand and finish the panel after installation.
 

Joe

Member II
Randy:
Thanks for the suggestion: a lap joint will work very well and it gives me a perfect excuse to replace my old wobbly router. I think I'll avoid using any glue and just fasten the two pieces through the lap joint using four evenly spaced SS bolts. There is so much SS on the bulkhead already that I don't think it will look out of place. The next owner will also be able to take it apart easily.
Thanks!
 

rossano20

Junior Member
bulkhead and beyond

Hi fellow Vikings,
This weekend I began removal of the cabin skin between the port glass that 16" high strip of 1/4 marine mahogany/ okume. It looks so easy until you begin lol. The veneer is stuck to the fiberglass so transporting the plywood home to trace out has slowed my pace... Anyway, i see lots of chatter about bulkhead replacement. Mine too has become punky and I see the challenge ahead of me removing the 2x8 teak which is plowed out to receive the 1/2 plywood. Oh how I dread the thoughts of being a slave to my woodworking if I don't get humpty dumpty together when the sailing season makes it's return.
Happy New Years to all and thanks for your postings.
Roland ('86 E-26)
As '06 was my initial season I'm remembered by one Chris H whom told me
Get off the mooring! Without people sharing or extending aid of some form I too would fail to discover the beauty of the open water.
Thanks and Best Wishes
 

escapade

Inactive Member
while your at it

A suggestion while your replacing the bulkheads. If you coat the end grain (cut edges) of the plywood with epoxy before reassembly it will slow the absorbtion of moisture theirby slowing the rot greatly. By sealing the open pores in the wood you close the path for the moisture to enter. That way your repair job will last nearly forever (or at least as long as you own the boat). Keeping moisture out of the plywood bulkheads & end grain balsa coring is one of the MOST important things you can do to keep your boat seaworthy. Just my $.02 worth (as Loren would say).
Have fun & sail fast
Bud E34 "Escapade":cheers:
 

Eslovett

SV Dulcinea
Have you completed your bulkhead replacement project? I would love to see some pictures and hear how you completed the work. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.:confused:
 
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