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E38 Bulkhead replacement questions galore

upnorthfrank

Member II
I am replacing pretty much all the bulkheads in my E38 ('83 #77). I'm wondering about the possibility of changing positions (or eliminating) various bulkheads. My plan originally was to restore back to original, but I could also go custom w/ her (I can always change her back)-

Obviously I don't want to alter her integrity, as we plan on sailing her as long & as far as possible. I'm not looking to turn her into a floating palace, just a simple very nicely done interior w/ some high quality woodworking here & there where it's needed & some of the stuff we need to live & sail in reasonable comfort, without a bunch of bells & whistles (well, except for the sauna)-

A friend (who sails but doesn't know a lot) sez I should keep her wide open on the inside. I like the concept, it might save a few hours & it would make for a more spacious feel. I would do something to make the head/sauna semi private, footprint won't change much. I've also thought of changing location (aft?) but don't know if there's any advantage to that. The port nav station desk is in about the best shape of anything wood on the inside-

Basically the nav table, a few teak trim pcs & all the paneling are what's salvageable, w/ the exception of the paneling along the stbd side v-berth, which got hacked up by some PO. I'm keeping as much of it as I can to work into the new design, to honor the guys in the shop & the studio as much as than anything I reckon-

I'm notoriously long-winded- any thoughts out there?!? There's a lot more coming as well. And as always, much thanks!!!:)
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Some ruminations on the layout...
Bruce King designed the boat to have a low displacement for it's length. The structure and placement of bulkheads, full or partial, contributes to that strength. Another way to look at it is that there was probably very little bulk or weight or structure that was excess or not useful in an engineering sense.

The way I would try to assess what is essential is to put the layout changes of the E-38 along side the "opened up" interior of the E-381.
(Bias: I prefer the look of the 381, especially the big locker forward where the old shelf and solid fuel stove formerly lived. And, much prefer the opening up of the aft berth area.)

It will be interesting see comments, esp. from Martin, on this... but remember that No One is going on record to advise you to leave out any structure.

On our model, where all the interior modules and pieces are tabbed to hull and deck, I would not remove any piece due to concerns of altering the boat's ability to resist the torque of seas or rig loads. Over time, and thru many a project, I have noted just how our whole hull is strengthened symmetrically from bow to stern.

Loren
 

upnorthfrank

Member II
Thanks Loren, I figure there probably ain't a lot I can change in regards to bulkhead placement, but it'll be interesting to know what I can get away with (or not)-

I saved everything I took out for patterns & I might reuse some of the solid teak trim that's attached. I still have some existing stuff to cut out mostly from the engine aft & this would be my next question:

Will it affect her hull shape by gutting her bare on the cradle? I've seen it done, happens all the time, but when I began cutting out the port bulkhead separating salon from head, I noticed the fairly substantial (2"x2" or so roughly) solid vertical corner trim attached to inboard edge of bulkhead panel seemed to butt up against the overhead (not the panel, it was floating on tabs as usual). When I cut through the tabs the overhead almost seemed to drop (very very little if it did, & it may have been simply because of location of this post which was rubbing against the overhead while flopping around when cutting the upper tabs. I figure it's nothing much but I'll bring it up anyway. Overhead is real solid from what I can tell so far, even the areas where water came through are pretty good. I heard they used ply instead of balsa that may have helped-

Better let this post fly. Of course there's also the chainplates, they need to be attached somewhere real close to where they belong I'm sure-
 

upnorthfrank

Member II
Do you mean E380?

Hey Loren do you mean the 380 w/ the aft head? I was looking at the resources page & it looked more like what you're describing-

The engine appears to be in a somewhat different configuration than ours though, don't think I'd wanna change that. The powerplant's in good shape:egrin: gotta tear out, clean & build around it. Aft of the galley gets better as wood structures go inside her but it's still pretty funky. My plan is to replace most of it w/ MDO or something, paint grade stuff, & maybe do some (re?)configuration back behind there to suit some harebrained scheme of mine maybe, the muse hasn't descended yet. I like what's going on w/ the 380 aft bunk/head & I've thought of trying to make ours a little more open like that, but there's not a lot of fudge room. There is a little bit though.....

My plan is to keep the salon seating /berthing arrangement pretty much the same simply because her tanks are located beneath (& still there!!!)

A lot is missing off her, but we got all the tanks except holding. She also has the big aux fwd tank, which maybe the subject of another thread before it all goes together-

And sa I mentioned before, I'm thinking to keep the port side nav station, simply because of the desk. I like the semi-private thing too, & I can reuse the solid molding from the bulkheads surrounding. The nav table would work however on the stbd side facing aft like the 380!!! Hmmm.....

I'm wide open to any & all suggestions too, if anyone's seen something or they have an idea, I'm all ears, eyes or whatever:confused:
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Speaking of aft head compartments...
The E-38-200 is the model with the aft head arrangement, and the shower stall with it.
PSC built this model in the 90's as the E-380, if I recall correctly.
When this hull was introduced in '79, it was just called the E-38 and then they opened up the interior a few years later by removing the dividing panel and door to the "aft cabin" and also putting a larger hanging locker on the forward starboard side where the shelf and Cole Stove (solid fuel) was in the first model.
If I am misremembering this, others here will be chiming in.
:nerd:
Here is a better thread:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=150&referrerid=28

Regards,
Loren
 

upnorthfrank

Member II
Still have the Cole stove but the lockers/shelves are gone, aft & fwd of stbd divider bulkhead you could see the remnants where PO's tore them out-

I'll assume then that ours is the model w/ the previous configuration, the stove's overhead fitting is still in place, looks like standard equipment. I'd like to keep it as well, nice having a fireplace (of sorts)-

Also looks like there was a door to the forepeak, but I don't think I'm gonna include it. I'll build something nice for the head though-

The aft compartment had a slider I believe, I like that idea, maybe even do a shoji but all this cuts into the potential 'openness' so I don't know, it'll all shake out. I'm certain to get some ideas here...

I saw (& fell in love w/) a beautiful deep green PSC 38 @ the dock in Bayfield WI. a few yrs ago, didn't go aboard but she had lines very similar to ours. I remember the owner mentioning Ericson somewhere in the short conversation we had. Looked very well cared for (he was washing her) & had been to Ireland, Norway & back w/ her. This encounter was important in putting me on the path that ultimately brought us to our E38 (& here)-

I can still see her, what a gorgeous boat. Hey if someone's reading this that has a PSC 38 in Bayfield WI that's been to Norway Ireland & back, nice boat!!!:cool:
 
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