replacing compression post bulkhead

[skully]

hi to all,

i have 1984 19 footer in need of bulkhead replacement do to old age and condensation
i say this because I've owned the boat for 3 years and never seen any water in there.

this is a picture of the vee berth I'm planning to cut out a section of just forward of the bulkhead
leaving some so i can join a patch back in to place. thought it would a good to leave as much
of the original structure in place for strength and may less work.

this the inside look for the post.

this a view of the port side
any ideas or comments
thanks skully

[Steve Ullrich]

Does look rotten at the base... The top half looks good though.  I would be tempted to try and clean up everything low and against the hull and sister another board or two in place. You can make a pattern of the curve with cardboard and transfer it to the new piece/pieces.  You may have to put the new ones in in sections, I don't know how much clearance you have to work with. I'd want it/them securely glued and screwed, or bolted, to the good part of the existing bulkhead.  I'd use marine plywood for luck... Maybe seal up all edges and put a coat or four of a finish on it before placing it.  Glue wouldn't probably stick to it then though, unless you don't finish the part that's going to be glued to the old bulkhead.  Wouldn't hurt to seal the lower edge against the hull with something waterproof just in case you do ever take in some water up there.

[Craig Weis]

Skull~Couple of questions:

1~Why do you have a round compression post with a factory square bottom? Note that the post is correctly positioned, a little bit above the keel. And lag screwed [I see bolts and washers and nuts drilled] into this rotted bulkhead made of marine quality plywood [?]. Somebody was in here after the hull was built. But not the factory.

2~What is that white chop gun fiberglass surface rounding up toward the red bilge wall forming the hull? It looks as if it festoons into the mat fiberglass cloth used in the hull construction. Did somebody try to 'seal' over the concrete with a chop gun. Keel can't breath that way. I don't know if that is a factory thing or not. Never saw this before.

Anyway cut one matching 16" x 16" hatchway behind the compression post. Matching to the other two hatches.
Remove all the stapled on trim around the job area and save for reuse.
Remove the compression post but measure all the verticals first for reassembly.
You'll not be able to find enough room to draw a template until the bulkhead is removed.
Milwaukee SawsAll the old bulkhead clean out of the way. Can rent these from Ace Hardware with a bunch of blades.
Looks like a five or seven blade job to me. If you touch glass with the blade...she'll be junk! And won't cut.
Don't cut nothing but wood.
That includes where the vertical bulkhead being removed that makes contact with the horizontal vee birth surface.
Make sure that Vee birth surface stays pristine.
Take her out in chunks.
At this point you'll see that their is no room under the quarter births for storage.
But plenty of room from the old/new bulkhead forward for storage.
Make a template.
Make a blank bulkhead. It can be slid in under the vee birth and pulled up right. Go for a really good fit.
When you have the shape perfect, 1 quart West System epoxy with saw dust or micro ballons added for a thickener.
Glue bulkhead into place at hull and vee birth deck.
It must fit the hull shape and fit flat under the vee birth. And be up and down, vertically.
All the contact surfaces, both wood and glass must be ground and cleaned of paint, oils and soils for the epoxy to bond.
Bare in mind that THIS bulkhead is right where any slings go and THAT makes it structural to the hull.
With 90% of the boat keel weight on the trailer rollers, ease the two port/starboard supports closest to this bulkhead.
Keep her tight in the trailer vee block and she'll balance with just the other four steel supports and hull bunks.
You don't want to impose any hull oil canning with this bulkhead out.
Additionally this plywood piece has a good face surface and that is what you'll see when you look at the notch. Keep it nice looking.
Once she's in, lay in the saved trim.
I don't know but I would add a 1" x 1" ledge that the vee birth deck could sit on; glued, screwed, or stapled to the backside of the bulkhead piece. You could glue on some extra thickness for the compression post lag screws to drive into with the socket head ratchet.

My honest opinion is its an easy job once 100% of the old material is out of the way.

Hint: My 16" x 16" hatch sits on some 1/4" ply wood that surrounds the opening. Glue and snap clamp in place, shoot some deck screws down flush. When dry snap off the extra screw length and grind or file smooth the screw flush from under the vee birth. Set up with less then a 1/4" to sit the hatch down onto is more then good. See pic.

skip.

[skully]

hi Skip
thanks for the input, i will try to answer your questions.

as for my round compression post i have only seen my own.
there a bad  picture of interior photo on this link
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B6htC0vnn485OWQzOTRhZGEtZTk1NS00NTE2LTlkMzgtZTQ2YWQ0YmI1OTI0&hl=en   
page 26 shows
what mite be a round post . i noticed that in your photo of your
bulkhead left of the post it does not appear to have a hole drilled into
it,like my photo and the one in the review.  my bolts may be a bit lower like the ones in the review  photo.
let see what fellow 19 owners think ?
i agree the hard part is exposing the bulkhead .
wont start the job till the spring
will update with some photos

thanks skully

[Craig Weis]

Skully. Yes I realize the red is the hull curve. In your picture with the writting and aerrows on it why do I see one bulkhead with 'floatation foam' 8" ahead of this bulkhead.  OK. This foam wall looks so up and down I mistook it to be another bulkhead fwd of the compression post bulkhead....my mistake.

Yes I do see a round post. Round above the vee birth and square under neath the vee birth for a tight fit with the lag screws. An added expense gotton rid of in later production boats I'll bet.

On my boat the only bulkhead I have is the one with the compression post lag screwed to it. From this bulkhead fwd to the bow peak is open [see the photo take by holding the camera toward the bow and pulling the trigger] with just a tad of foam to stiffen and quiet the hull when pounding into the seas. And in order to drill two 2 inch holes through the bottom of the hull, 6" off the centerline of the keel and 6" ahead of the top-o-keel as seen from inside the hull,  a little bit of the foam had to be chipped and ground and sanded away by hand. An easy job through the center [skip added] 16" x 16" hatch fwd of the compression post.

[skully]

hi Skip
thanks
i will post some photos
later on this spring when i pull the tarp !
skully