Question for anyone that has replaced all their bulkheads

[48dodge]

I'm trying to get an idea of how many sheets of plywood I need to replace all of my bulkheads and rebuild my little galley area. I'm thinking 2 can possibly be used, but I may end up going with 3 so I can rebuild the table and hatchboards. If marine plywood were a little cheaper, I wouldn't worry quite so much about it. Also, the rearmost bulkheads seemed to be a thinner ply, what did you use there?

 

[Joe11688]

I'm trying to get an idea of how many sheets of plywood I need to replace all of my bulkheads and rebuild my little galley area. I'm thinking 2 can possibly be used, but I may end up going with 3 so I can rebuild the table and hatchboards. If marine plywood were a little cheaper, I wouldn't worry quite so much about it. Also, the rearmost bulkheads seemed to be a thinner ply, what did you use there?

I didn't replace any of my bulkheads. I pulled them out and stained and varnished them. The companionway bulkhead is made up of one piece and the other two bulkheads are made up of two large separate pieces, plus a couple of small connecting pieces. You could probably get away with two sheets of plywood for the three bulkheads, but if you're going to build pen boards and the table, you'll probably need three sheets of plywood I think. The galley cabinet doesn't take more than two small pieces of plywood, if you're planning on rebuilding that. I hated that fiberglass sink and stove compartment and I'm glad that I got rid of it for a stainless steel sink and S.S. steam table pan for the stove. Here's some pics so that you can get an idea of what you need for plywood. Sorry about not getting Penny to smile in the picture.
Joe

 

[jackhartjr]

Joe...that is sharp buddy! Good work!
Jack

 

[Joe11688]

Joe...that is sharp buddy! Good work!
Jack

Thanks Jack! As the old say goes, "it's good enough for government work" really applies to my refinishing skills. In other words, it looks better from a distance than close up but still passable. This was something that I've wanted to do for a long time. I got the idea for the color from my friend Chuck R. in Ohio. He did the cabin of his boat "Get Away" with the dark red Mahogany and I got jealous. I built some settee covers out of 3/8" plywood last year and stained them the same color. I'm in the process of varnishing them right now. The other day while I was sitting in the cabin, (I have the boat sitting on the trailer next to the house with the mast and boom up and a tarp over the boom), I looked at those two round cabin lights on the celling and said to myself, "these lights look hideous and they have to go." So I cut the wires and removed them. I left enough wire just in case I want to hook up something else in it's place, and taped the hot leg and stuck it back into the head liner. This act alone could be the birth of yet, another one of my various brain storms.
Ahoy,
Joe

 

[jackhartjr]

Joe, did you use marine plywood or off the self plywood from one of the box stores for the settee covers? (I assume you mean the board you set and sleep on?)
And if not marine plywood, how did you prep it?
Thanks
Jack

 

[Joe11688]

Joe, did you use marine plywood or off the self plywood from one of the box stores for the settee covers? (I assume you mean the board you set and sleep on?)
And if not marine plywood, how did you prep it?
Thanks
Jack

Jack,
I used regular exterior 4X4' 3/8" plywood. All the covers are the same width and the ones in the V birth section are shorter than the ones in the main cabin. I took the like covers and put them together and cut them all on my bandsaw and used a hole saw for the finger holes. All I did was sand them and stain them. I thinned the first coat of varnish. I can't see buying expensive marine plywood for something that's only going to be hid by a mattress. The ones that came with the boat were only 1/4", and they were getting so badly delaminated that they were falling apart. Wayne made some covers for his Seaward 22 and he coated them with epoxy and put locking mechanisms on them. The epoxy coating may be a better way to go. He replaced a floor in his son in-law's bass boat with regular exterior plywood and coated it with epoxy. I only work with epoxy when I have to. Also, I'd much rather build stuff for my cabin out of Mahogany than Teak. There's really no point in buying Teak and staining it with a dark red Mahogany stain, if that's the color that you like. Almost any wood can take that color and look well, and the cost would be far less. One of my friends used white oak in his Pearson. It's all in what you like, I guess.
Joe

 

[48dodge]

I was lucky that all of the bulkheads came out in one piece (except for the one at the companionway). But I have enough of an outline left to go off of.

I really like what you did with your galley. I may do a different sink than the fiberglass one that I have. It's in really good shape, though. I may just throw it in for the time being and redo it in the future. I'm more concerned with getting the boat in the water than the sink, right now.

 

[Joe11688]

I don't blame you for not wanting to take on more projects at this time, Dodge. Just do what you need to do for now, and the other projects can be got around to, in time. I like to do all my boat projects in the fall, myself. Right now I have a few small things that I'm doing that don't require a lot of time and work. The important thing is to get her in the water and use it.
Joe

 

[appleman]

I got 3 bulkheads including the large port chainplate bulkhead, and new hatch boards out of two sheets on my 26. There was not quite enough to make the fourth that went on the port side of the v berth.
There is still a sizable piece left though.

 

[emergpa1]

I am in the process of rebuilding my 26 oday. I have read as much as i can about plywood. So for my main bulkheads, i have decided pay the extra for marine plywood because it has waterproof glue. Marine grade not only means that it has waterproof glue, but also no voids, or empty spaces within the ply itself. the chainplates on my 26 attach to those, and since they are notorious leakers, i want to be sure that i am not replaceing them again in a year or two! For all my other cabin projects, i will use off the shelf plywood. Also, i strongly recommend doing a template with cheap 3/8 c grade plywood first. For some weird reason, i couldn't make it fit well with just using the original as a template. Maybe it was a combination of the rot, poor initial fit (the manufacture left a large gap), and maybe just plain old age (boat, not me!). Then when i get the fit i want, i will use those as a template for my expensive walnut marine grade plywood.
For an interesting lively discussioin on my redesigning my oday interior and bulkheads check the thread "cutta hole in my boat" The pix will show how my bulkhead templates look so far. They are not yet the final product.
good luck!
keith