Bow refit on O'Day 37.

[tacanno]

I wanted to replace the burlap looking hull liner in the V berth. I noticed there were some leaks somewhere. We pulled off the bow pulpit to rebed it and much to our dismay there seems to be a lot of mushy soft core coming out of the holes where the bolts were for the stantions of the bow pulpit. Thank goodness for the thick top skin on this O'Day! I stuck a coat hanger in one of the holes from the bolts and was digging out soft mush at least 6 inches around the forward most starboard stanchion. At this point I'm not sure what to do. Research tells me that the top skin should come off and replace the core. But to do that I think I would have to take down the forstay, remove that cleat and remove all of that top skin in the bow. Gad! Anyone have any experience here? We were following Maine Sails instructions on rebedding with butyl tape but this is getting beyond that. Thank you in advance

 

[Pafb]

tacanno,
Recently had to rebed the bow pulpit on my oday 28 and came across the same scenario as you regarding deck rot. However, did not have to contend with headstay. I did not remove the deck skin although that was certainly a very viable option. I drilled holes just through the top skin and used a bent nail (sharpened) to dig out the wet core, then vacuumed up the wet goo. I drilled as many holes as necessary till I ran into dry core. In some spots 1-3 holes were drilled and in one spot I drilled at least 6. In addition to removing the bow pulpit I ended up taking off the port and starboard cleats. I did all of this when I was fairly confident that I would have at least 3 days of dry weather because I wanted to let it dry naturally before I started to refill with thickened epoxy. When I was confident all was dry, I refilled with thickened epoxy and where the pulpit and cleats were being positioned I followed "Maine Sails" complete rebedding process...it's awesome! Prior to replacing hardware I sanded and faired but also repainted the foredeck. When all was complete hardware went on. Great DIY project that came out great. In my opinion whatever you have to do to make the foredeck strong and safe should be done...that includes removing whatever hardware you have to remove. Drill some exploratory holes and see how far aft and you may have to go before you decide to remove the deck skin. This was not a quick project so plan appropriately. Hope this helps.

 

[svchickadee]

I rebuilt the bow deck on my Oday 25. The boat was on the hard and the mast was down.
Steps:
Remove all deck hardware.
Remove old deck from the inside leaving the deck outer skin. Messy and difficult.
Install 3 layers of 1/4 inch marine grade plywood from the inside using West System epoxy following West System approach specified in "Fiberglass Boat Repair and Maintenance".
Layer 1 - Apply from the inside drawing up to the deck skin using machine screws and washers installed from the deck. Screw down thru the deck into the plywood.
Layer 2 - Apply from the inside drawing up to layer 1 using machine screws and washers installed from below.
Layer 3 - installed as per layer 2.
Used plenty of epoxy to insure good adhesion between plywood layers.
Installed deck hardware using butyl tape and aluminum backing plates.
Over drilled deck hardware mounting holes, filled holes with epoxy and drilled to size to be sure any deck leaks would not find their way into the plywood.
Holes thru the deck from above where machine screws were used to secure plywood layer 1 were epoxy filled and spot painted.
Be advised that it can be difficult to get plywood layer 1 to conform to the curve of the deck. On my boat the rebuild took some of the curve out of the deck as the outer skin is thin. You might want to score plywood layer 1 so it will conform to the deck cure.

 

[tacanno]

Thank you for your replies. We are seriously thinking of Smith's CPES process. But of course the plot thickens, found broken chain plate this weekend! We are live aboards so ripping out the bottom skin probably will not be an option. So stay tuned more to come!

 

[tacanno]

Well, got the anchor platform and stem fitting off today. Had to cut out the forward portion of the anchor locker to access the nuts from underneath. I held nuts in place while husband unscrewed the screws from above. We had soaked all the nuts with PB Blaster a couple of times this week. Then we alternated using a torch and ice to get the stainless pin out of the aluminum anchor platform that holds the furler/ forestay to access the stem fitting. Amazing only took us about 3 hours and a lot of encouragement from neighbors here in our marina.

 

[Panta Rei]

Well, got the anchor platform and stem fitting off today. Had to cut out the forward portion of the anchor locker to access the nuts from underneath. I held nuts in place while husband unscrewed the screws from above. We had soaked all the nuts with PB Blaster a couple of times this week. Then we alternated using a torch and ice to get the stainless pin out of the aluminum anchor platform that holds the furler/ forestay to access the stem fitting. Amazing only took us about 3 hours and a lot of encouragement from neighbors here in our marina.

take a few pictures

 

[tacanno]

Couple of bow pics with and without hardware first pic showing stem fitting still attached Bow minus anchor platform Starting clean up Bow with anchor platform

 

[njlarry]

tacanno,
Recently had to rebed the bow pulpit on my oday 28 and came across the same scenario as you regarding deck rot. However, did not have to contend with headstay. I did not remove the deck skin although that was certainly a very viable option. I drilled holes just through the top skin and used a bent nail (sharpened) to dig out the wet core, then vacuumed up the wet goo. I drilled as many holes as necessary till I ran into dry core. In some spots 1-3 holes were drilled and in one spot I drilled at least 6. In addition to removing the bow pulpit I ended up taking off the port and starboard cleats. I did all of this when I was fairly confident that I would have at least 3 days of dry weather because I wanted to let it dry naturally before I started to refill with thickened epoxy. When I was confident all was dry, I refilled with thickened epoxy and where the pulpit and cleats were being positioned I followed "Maine Sails" complete rebedding process...it's awesome! Prior to replacing hardware I sanded and faired but also repainted the foredeck. When all was complete hardware went on. Great DIY project that came out great. In my opinion whatever you have to do to make the foredeck strong and safe should be done...that includes removing whatever hardware you have to remove. Drill some exploratory holes and see how far aft and you may have to go before you decide to remove the deck skin. This was not a quick project so plan appropriately. Hope this helps.

In repainting the deck how far aft did you go and how did you color match with the remaining deck. I have a few areas that need some spot repairs.

 

[Panta Rei]

Couple of bow pics with and without hardware first pic showing stem fitting still attached View attachment 84993 Bow minus anchor platform View attachment 84996 Starting clean up View attachment 84996 View attachment 84997 Bow with anchor platform

I'm a bit concerned as to what I'm seeing in your pictures. Like I mentioned in my e-mail. My boat is built a bit different so we will need to rely on the others to take a careful look at their boats.
I see the "anchor platform" off centered to the starboard side. Forward hardware often gets replaced in boats this old. It seems to be easy targets for pilings and such. It may not be original and being offset is not necessarily bad, just something you should carefully understand the "why" behind it. I googled some photos of other 37's and did not see this same offset. Maybe it's simply for anchor clearance but I think it's wise to question previous owner's work. Most importantly, take a careful look at the strap that appears to have been under the plate. This is very suspicious. What was attached to this strap?
Also from pictures from other O'days 37s I see a strap (bowsprit plate) attached to the bow running vertically down the bow towards the water. This should be the attachment point of the forward stay. Is that the case with your boat?
I'm also concerned about the need to open and gain access under the anchor plate. O'day does not put bulkheads or supports in locations without a need for them. Can someone help them and confirm if such a bulkhead was original to the boat? I just don't know what the purpose of such a structure is.
I'm mentioning this now because it's the perfect time to get this all straightened out if needed.
The most obvious flag that drew my attention is the fact that the plate was never bedded properly. It cries out uninformed DIY. Did you find backing plates on the inside under the anchor platform?

 

[Sefuller]

Our Oday 34 had a similar bow plate with the anchor roller offset. It was aluminum, and had some stress fractures showing - look it over carefully! I had a new one made from stainless steel.

 

[Sefuller]

Bow plate photo

This is the aluminum bow plate we replaced. Toward the lower right you can see where there is a crack. On our boat, the stainless steel strap bow strap wrapped over the bow plate and was bolted through it to the interior of the forepeak. The hole you see at the far right of the picture is where the pin for the forestay resides, so if the crack had continued, the base of the bow plate would have remained on the deck (secured by the stainless bow strap) but the forestay anchor pin section could have torn loose.

 

[tacanno]

This is the aluminum bow plate we replaced. Toward the lower right you can see where there is a crack. On our boat, the stainless steel strap bow strap wrapped over the bow plate and was bolted through it to the interior of the forepeak. The hole you see at the far right of the picture is where the pin for the forestay resides, so if the crack had continued, the base of the bow plate would have remained on the deck (secured by the stainless bow strap) but the forestay anchor pin section could have torn loose.

So we took the anchor platform to JTR here in St. Pete, Florida. He came highly recommended from our dock master and marina. Derek recently made us new chain plates for the forward chain plate we recently found broken. See below.
He looked over the anchor platform and said it was sound. We did not have any cracks in it. We are following his suggestion to have it cleaned up and powder coated. It will be a little pricy but a new stainless was $1200.



JTR will replace a new pin to attach the forestay/furler on. They are also making us a new stem fitting, that looks kinda like a 7 and attaches the anchor plateform the the fore peak and down the front of the bow. It should look like new when it comes back. I believe this offset that Panta Rei was concerned with is by design. Although we were not happy with all the crap we found underneath it when we finally got it off. We are also adding a couple of more cleats to the bow, because the ole aluminum cleat often got full with lines. It did the job for us at anchor. But with 2 bow lines it could be tricky to wrap.

 

[tacanno]

In repainting the deck how far aft did you go and how did you color match with the remaining deck. I have a few areas that need some spot repairs.

We have not gotten that far yet, still filling in with the CPES and waiting for it to cure in between fronts here in Florida. I think we will eventually roll and tip the cabin top and deck. I will probably have to speak with a "professional" at some point in time.

 

[tacanno]

I'm a bit concerned as to what I'm seeing in your pictures. Like I mentioned in my e-mail. My boat is built a bit different so we will need to rely on the others to take a careful look at their boats. I see the "anchor platform" off centered to the starboard side. Forward hardware often gets replaced in boats this old. It seems to be easy targets for pilings and such. It may not be original and being offset is not necessarily bad, just something you should carefully understand the "why" behind it. I googled some photos of other 37's and did not see this same offset. Maybe it's simply for anchor clearance but I think it's wise to question previous owner's work. Most importantly, take a careful look at the strap that appears to have been under the plate. This is very suspicious. What was attached to this strap? Also from pictures from other O'days 37s I see a strap (bowsprit plate) attached to the bow running vertically down the bow towards the water. This should be the attachment point of the forward stay. Is that the case with your boat? I'm also concerned about the need to open and gain access under the anchor plate. O'day does not put bulkheads or supports in locations without a need for them. Can someone help them and confirm if such a bulkhead was original to the boat? I just don't know what the purpose of such a structure is. I'm mentioning this now because it's the perfect time to get this all straightened out if needed. The most obvious flag that drew my attention is the fact that the plate was never bedded properly. It cries out uninformed DIY. Did you find backing plates on the inside under the anchor platform?

No backing plates under the anchor platform. But there is a stem fitting that holds it in place that goes down the front of the bow. There are 4 big screws in the front edge of the bow and 3 in the deck through the stem fitting. There is also another 7 or s big screws in the anchor platform in the deck itself.

 

[Panta Rei]

Seems solid. Good luck with the project

 

[tacanno]

Seems solid. Good luck with the project

Got the anchor platform back on Wednesday!




Got the furler back on Thursday. It pretty much takes a 3 handed contortionist in the anchor locker to turn the bolts from under neath and a strong patient person to hold the screws on top to pull the screws too the deck through the butyl.

 

[gatrnoles2]

Just removed mine from my Oday 34, It was bent on the starboard side. The Rigging Company out of Annapolis heated it up, bent it back sanded it down and inspected it. Now they are annodizing it. I hope to put her back together this weekend.

 

[gatrnoles2]

works awesome better than new