1981 Catalina 27 Bulkheads

jrowan · Jul 26, 2011

Check the previous links for bulkhead replacement. Its major surgery, but Catalina did not heavily tab in their bulkheads. There is a fiberglass lip that surrounds the lower bulkhead perimeter, which allows it to flex some under sailing loads. The cabintop / deck was then placed over it in a shoebox fashion during construction. The compression posts handles more of the mast compression load then the bulkhead does. If the chainplate holes dor the shroud attachments are rotted, but the base of the bulkheads are still good, then I would just fabricate larger stainless steel flat bar stock to create stronger, longer & wider backing plates to disperse the load to a wider area. This may fix your problem without bulkhead replacement.

John rolka · Aug 8, 2011

I replaced the starboard bulkhead on a 79 Cat 27 this winter, a pretty simple procedure. If you have a dinette or standard or forward or aft galley can complicate things. Mine is a dinette with forward galley the bulkhead on the dinette side was very easy to remove, just take off some trim on the back side of the compression post which captures the 1/2in plywood and remove the screws into the deck and compression post, and bolts into the bulkhead base. I had seen some post talking about needing to jack up the deck and remove the compression post but that was not required in my case, I got it done very quickly with the mast on. The one thing that was a bit hairy was while your mast is up without the upper shroud attached make a serious temp anchor for that shroud and get the repair done in a timely manner, its not something you want to have sitting around for weeks. I used the removed bulkhead as a template for cutting out the new, you might want to cut slightly larger and shape the last bit with a belt sander because some of the edges are cut on angles. The port bulkhead with the galley built to it was in good condition but looks more difficult to replace because of the construction around and connected to it.

Fred McMullen · Sep 17, 2011

Hey All
It is really important that you spell out the source of who built the boat.

Was it built in CA, or are you talking about a Canadian built Catalina 27?

Yes the hull moulds are identical (as far as I can remember), yet the deck mould for the Canadian built Cat 27 is quite different.

If in doubt, look at the ID plate. The easiest way to tell the difference is that the CA built ones had rounded edges to the coach house roof. The Canadian version has a sharp edge with a built in channel to drain the coach roof portion of the deck.

Another thought, does the boat have the Dinette layout, or does it have the opposing double couch layout with the fold up table?

I mention this as the templates for the bulkheads below will certainly be different.

Best Regards
Fred

Fred McMullen · Sep 17, 2011

I don't normally answer my own posts yet it is a quick way to add to the Forum.

If you use your old bulkhead as a template, you may just add insult to injury. Remember after years of having the mast pound down on your deck, using a previous bulkhead as a means to replace it might not be in your best interests. Get the exact pattern from the Manufacturer if possible.
If there is even a hint of rot in your bulkheads, you are just repeating a shrunken version of that piece of wood (or Mast support post). Using someone else's bulkhead as a pattern won't solve the problem either.
Catalina has built their rep (as well as Hunter) by pleasing their clients.
By all means, fellow sailors, if you have to go that far to replace a major structural member, make sure it is exactly what the builder designed it for in terms of dimensions. Anything less would be not only a waste of time, but a compromise to your safety on an overly flexing coach house roof, imho.

Regards
Fred

jrowan · Sep 18, 2011

I wasn't even aware that Catalina built boats in Canada. I thought that they were all built in Woodland Hills California, until Catalina bought the old Morgan factory in Florida about 10 years ago. Now most of the east coast Catalina are built in Fl. This was new to me, but hey, learn something new everyday. Was this just C 27's that were built in Canada?

Fred McMullen · Sep 19, 2011

jrowan said:
I wasn't even aware that Catalina built boats in Canada. I thought that they were all built in Woodland Hills California, until Catalina bought the old Morgan factory in Florida about 10 years ago. Now most of the east coast Catalina are built in Fl. This was new to me, but hey, learn something new everyday. Was this just C 27's that were built in Canada?

Naw Cooper Yachts built some very cool sailboats in the 80's including the Cooper 365 and 416,

http://sailboatdata.com/view_builder.asp?builder_id=254

Check em out folks. Hey we've been know to build something other than frozen mudpies in the Tundra, like some of the best Icebreakers on the Planet, EH?

Take care all
Fred

Fred McMullen · Sep 19, 2011

Oops! I forgot
One of the best cruising deep sea boat that I've had the pleasure to run:
The Maple Leaf 42 and 45. A 2 bedroom condo that is more than capable to take you around the globe. Even to this day, their amazing livable design and very high construction standards still put them into the 'Wish List" at 140K plus