C22 New Style "Stormwatch" Purchase and Refit

Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Hello all,

At the suggestion of other forum members, this is a thread that will document the projects I go through in the process of getting the 1987 Catalina 22 New style sailboat "Stormwatch", ready for use.

I should probably give you a bit of background so you can gauge my experience with sailing, DIY repairing, and why we bought a C22;

I have sailed since I was a child, and have regularly sailed dinghies and keelboats up to 44ft long. My wife learned to sail not long after we met.

While we have sailed for ages, we have never owned a keelboat.
We always chartered them, because it didn't make sense, in our opinion, to buy a boat, and pay for berthing, haul-out, maintenance, etc. when we'd only use it for 20 days out of 365.
The other problem is that unless you are retired, your sailing area is limited.
As they say, "nothing goes to windward like a 747", or even a road vehicle.

What we did own was a 16ft dinghy.
Our dinghy was a sailboat that you sit "on", not "in".
It required that we use wetsuits, or even drysuits, to stay warm. If we didn't, the sailing season was pretty short.
It's fun and exhilarating
That said, our biggest complaint with that specific boat was, that it didn't have enough room for two people to sail the boat, without getting in each others way, or even getting bruises.

We originally were looking at switching to a Hobie Cat, or a CL16. Both boats are fun to sail, and have plenty of room. In fact we thought about setting one up with a boom tent so we could camp on it. (when we weren't trying to get every tiny bit of speed out of it, and capsizing regularly as a result )

As we thought more about it, we decided that a truly trailerable keelboat would make a better choice. Unlike a larger keelboat, we could tow it to a bunch of different places, with the bonus of saving on marina fees. We could sleep on it. We could sail in the fall and spring. We could race it. We could have wine and cheese in the cockpit. 

After looking at a bunch of different AVAILABLE boats over the winter, we narrowed it down to the Oday and Catalina 22. While both have similar accommodations, and function, in the end we chose the Catalina 22 because:
-we felt that having a swing keel lower down in the water would be a better choice.
-the C22 has a huge fleet out there and that means info and parts availability

---------

So we bought "Stormwatch".. a 1987 "new style" swing keel Catalina 22.

Here's the thread where I choose Stormwatch, and the hassle of bringing her home:
forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=1211732


---------

Like almost any boat, Stormwatch was listed as being "ready to sail".
Also, like almost any boat, that was far from the truth.

I felt I didn't have enough experience to fully inspect a keelboat myself, and the boat was 1500 miles away. Therefore I had the boat surveyed by a professional marine surveyor before I purchased it.

The survey noted that some of the systems were unable to be tested.
The boat was on it's trailer with the mast down, which helped in some ways, but prevented lowering the keel. There wasn’t a battery on board, and the DC power hadn’t been used in the last 5 years of the previous owner’s daysailing. This meant that the surveyor was unable to determine all of the info I would have liked.


Here's a summary of the non-cosmetic faults listed in the survey:


  1. No brakes on trailer - Completed
  2. Rudder has 2ft crack in leading edge and partial delamination - Completed
  3. table leg detached from table - Completed (New Table Made)
  4. Teak hatchboards need cleaning and refinishing
  5. Port cockpit drain needs resealing
  6. Transducer not well sealed: recommend resealing.
  7. Slightly Elevated moisture readings around the skylight: recommend re-bedding skylight and stbd stanchions
  8. Mainsail: Appears original. Leech is worn with multiple tears. recommend replacement - Completed
  9. All Lights: not tested due to no batteries on board. - Completed
  10. Battery Selector switch: not equipped
  11. Wiring not well secured - Completed
  12. Bent port upper shroud swage fitting
  13. Anti-fouling in need of renewal: remove flaking paint, prep and repaint
  14. Winches: Service winches
  15. Freshwater tanks: replace clear plastic supply line - Completed

———————————————————————————————————————————————


What do we have here ?:

Once I got the boat home, I took all of the gear out of the boat, and slowly went over the whole thing.
I pulled off panels, and dug into every little hidden spot. This way I could inspect the whole boat and also familiarize myself with all of it’s areas.

In the process, I determined what was required to fix the problems that were listed in the survey. In addition I also found a couple problems that weren’t listed.


———————————————————————————————————————————————

Stay tuned !
 
Last edited:
Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
Excellent write up.

May I suggest you ultimately transfer your write-up into Boat Info/Boat Resources as a way of permanently recording this under the Catalina C22 section. No criticism towards the layout of the Boat Resources but I've found it difficult to relate pictures to text on these write ups. For several items I have submitted for our H-310, I have included a rough outline of the subject and then attached a .PDF of the submission to get the text and pictures together.
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Ralph,

Thanks for the sugestion.
I admit that I find these forums a bit of a PITA, no matter which forum software a site uses. The problem is made worse with these "one site to handle everything" type wesbites. Personally I find individual blogs, and boat specific forums a better way.

I'll check how you did your submissions.

Roy
 
Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
This is awesome... Looking forward to all of your posts as you progress through projects!
 

T_Cat

.
Aug 8, 2014
333
Catalina 22 1987 New Design. 14133 "LadyHawke" Modesto CA
Welcome and congratz!! I'm partway through and refit of my 87. I'm getting off easy compared to some of the posts here. Most of my work has been cosmetic and converting to single handing.
BTW what's your hull number?

As always Post Pictures!!

Russ
 
May 11, 2014
156
Catalina 22 Lake Pleasant, AZ
Welcome and congratz!! I'm partway through and refit of my 87. I'm getting off easy compared to some of the posts here. Most of my work has been cosmetic and converting to single handing. BTW what's your hull number? As always Post Pictures!! Russ
t-Cat: I, too, recently purchased an '87 - sail number 13772. I hope to take it out for the first time this weekend. Finding this thread very informative, although I hope to do as little as possible refurbishing, and as much immediate sailing, as possible!
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Trailer Brakes:

To safely and legally tow the boat, I needed to add brakes.

Fortunately, the axle already had mounting flanges for the brakes.

All I had to do was:
  • bolt the brakes on
  • swap the normal hubs over to brake drums with integral hubs.


View of the brake mounting plate on the axle, before I installed the brakes.
The brakes simply bolted to the plate with 4 bolts + washers + nuts +lock-tite

An electric brake system obviously needs wiring, so I ran additional wiring for the brakes themselves, and the breakaway controller I also installed.

I used a plastic junction box to connect all the trailer wiring to the plug and vehicle connection cable. I prefer to keep all the wiring without splices, and join everything in the junction box. One reason for this is that, there is no single wiring standard for 7 Pin trailer plugs. If I ever tow the trailer with a different vehicle, I can easily swap the connections in the junction box as needed.
If I did any splices I soldered the connections, coated them with “liquid electrical tape” and sealed that with dual wall adhesive lined heat shrink tubing.

One import task was to use the correct gauge wiring. This is especially for the brakes and 12volt accessory wiring. The longer the cable length, the larger the wiring you need to use.
If you use wire that is too small, the brakes won't work as well as intended, and you can also overheat and damage the wiring.

I used 10ga wire for both. That includes on the tow vehicle.

Unfortunately, many of the factory vehicle trailer wiring harnesses use too small a gauge for some 12volt accessories and brake systems.

Your brake controller user manual will tell you which gauge to use.

For the 12volt accessory wiring, you will need to determine how much amperage you will be using, and size the wiring accordingly. Currently the 12volt wiring on my trailer is being used to charge the breakaway system battery. I may be using it to charge the battery in the boat, which means I'll likely need to increase the size of the wire I used.

UPDATE: The breakaway controller I used had a gasket to help prevent water getting inside. I don't fully trust it, so I removed the battery when launching. Next spring I will be moving the breakaway unit to the upper end of the winch post. That way it's won't be in immersed in water at all.


———————————————————————————————————————————————

Table:

The original table was made from chipboard with a laminate top. (The problem with MDF is that it doesn’t like moisture. Not good on a boat. Another problem IMO is that it doesn’t hold screws well)
The table leg screws had pulled out repeatedly, and some previous owner even tried to use adhesive to keep the leg attached to the table.





My solution was to make a new table out of a 4ft x 4ft piece of mahogany veneered plywood.
This would not only be better than chipboard, but it would be lighter, and better looking.
I used the original table to trace out the shape onto the plywood.
While I had the tools, I have a friend with a complete wood shop and asked him if her could cut the table for me. I figured this would be faster than me doing it with a circular saw+guide, and a jig saw.

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it clear that I wanted a 90 degree edge on the table.
He assumed I wanted the edges sanded, but that made it impossible to put edge veneer on the table.


See how the edge of the veneer is no longer exactly at the edge of the table ? Especially at the corners ? That would prevent the iron-on edge veneer from working correctly.

Because of this I had to use a router to square off the edge of the table.

For the straight sides of the table, I took a piece of wood and clamped it to the new table, and used that as a "guide" for the router.
I made sure the "guide" was longer then the new table, and had a perfectly straight edge.

Note: By used a guide that was longer than the table, I would be sure of not rounding the corners slightly.
After the edges were cut, I decided to make the table slightly different.
The new table would be slightly shorter than the original table.
Because of this, as long as the original table had a smooth edge, I could have used the original table as the guide.




I measured the distance from the edge of the router bit to the edge of the router.
I then adjusted the piece of oldtable/guide so that it was, router measurement+1/16", away from the edge of the new table.

This way when I ran the router along the guide it would cut exactly 1/16" of an inch off the edge of the table, at a perfect 90 degree angle.


Once I had the edges cut straight, I needed to do the rounded corners at the outer end.
Using the same technique, this time I used the original table as a guide for the router to get nice rounded corners on the new table.

The original table's edging was in bad shape in some spots, but the corners were smooth enough to use as a guide.


Using a square to position both edges on the original table, the same distance away from the edge of the new table.


Original Table set back from 2 edges equally, so I can use it as a router guide.
It had to be in the exact same place as the



Table corners after I cut them with the router.
Notice that they don't match the corners on the the original table underneath ?
That's simply due to geometry. Doing it this way was simpler, and I figured that the larger radius corners would make is easier to sit down at the table, without losing too much table surface.

I then used an old clothes iron, to attach the heat glued mahogany veneer edging to the plywood. The veneer comes with glue already on it. You simply hold the veneer in place and run the iron over it. The heat from the iron melts the glue and bonds the veneer to the wood.


Table ready for attaching edge veneer. The roll of heat bonded edge veneer is sitting on the table along with the old clothes iron I used to attach it.

Once the edging was attached, I rough trimmed it with a new sharp utility knife blade, and then used 220 grit sandpaper on a sanding block to sand off the excess edging.
Normally I would have used the sanding block on a slight angle, against the edge of the veneer. In this case, because the veneer on the plywood was thin, I sanded flat against the plywood top until the excess edging was gone and the edge was nice and smooth


Table Ready for stain

Now that the table was built I needed to seal/finish it.
To try match the original Teak and teak plywood colour, I took a piece from the boat, and a scrap piece of the plywood down the local paint and stain store.

After a bit of trial and error with the stain they had in stock, we found that “Old Masters” oil based “Red Mahogany” was an "ok" match, as long as I didn’t let the stain sit too long on the mahogany veneer.

Note: In hindsight, I should have taken the time to have the stain custom tinted at a commercial stain/paint store.
I used custom tinted stain on the bulkheads I rebuilt later, and they were a perfect match to the existing color.


First I sanded the table with 220 grit sandpaper, to get rid of scratches and any contaminants that would prevent the stain from soaking in evenly.
I then simply rubbed the stain on with a cloth, and immediately wiped all the excess off.


Table ready for a varnish !

Update: Table is now completed. You can see it, later in the thread here

—————————

While the stain was drying, I went back to the task of “going over” the rest of the boat.


2 days ago, my wife and I were sitting on the boat discussing the various options, and in the process I discovered that the bottom of both bulkheads had started to rot

After quickly removing and fully inspecting the bulkheads, I decided that it would be a simple job to make new ones. By replacing them now, I would not only have piece of mind, but I could immediately build some of the storage ideas that other C22 owners had come up with.


Off to the lumber store I go….
 
Last edited:
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Bulkhead Replacement and Modification:

As mentioned previously...
When I was digging into the nooks and crannies of the boat, I discovered that the bulkheads had some rot.

They visually looked ok, but when I noticed that the bottom edge of both bulkheads had water staining.


Water stains making me curious...

I investigated further by removing the bolt/screws.
2 of the chainplate nuts were removable by hand !



Nuts for lower port bulkhead, inside garbage bin opening

After pulling them out, I found that the sides against the fiberglass sink and stove areas had some rot happening. It's not surprising considering that Catalina didn't stain or varnish that hidden part of the bulkhead.

I may have been able to get away with using them for the summer, but I'm not "wired" that way. Replacing them also gives me an excuse to reconfigure the boat for better storage.

When shopping for Stormwatch, I had looked at Oday 23s.

The odays have a table and bulkhead configuration the same as much larger boats.
The table is mounted to a full height bulkhead, which gives privacy to the v-berth.

Oday 23 Bulkhead and table

I like this design, and once I spent only a minute inside Stormwatch, I was thinking about the possibility of making the port bulkhead full height. This would not only increase storage options, but give better privacy to people using the head.

One of the first things I did once Stormwatch was "home", was to become a C22 association member, and buy their tech manual. The manual is a compilation of information developed by C22 NSA members over decades.
(Become a member and buy a copy.. seriously… just do it. you won’t regret it. http://catalina22.org/index.php/tech-manual-mainbrace-cd )

In the tech manual I found a write up by the owner of Seadog, (sailboatowners forum member "Bilbo") on replacing his bulkheads. While replacing them is straight forward, he made a full height bulkhead like I had been considering.

http://baggins.150m.com/Sailing/C22_Bulkheads.html


Then I found further inspiration from another forum member:

In a recent sailboatowners.com thread, member: Watercolours!, posted some photos of his boat.
http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=171135&#post1206736

In addition to adding a panel/shelving above the portside bulkhead, he modified the galley on his C22 new style, in what I believe is a brilliant way.
By rotating this stove 90 degrees, and adding an additional bulkhead, he acquire more storage in the galley. he added 2 drawers for plates etc, and used the space behind the stove for a shelf and small storage space.


Inspiration from Interior of "Watercolors II"

-------------

So I decided that since I had to replace the bulkheads anyway, it wouldn't be a lot more work to do similar modifications.


Port Bulkhead Location


Starboard Bulkhead Location


Both bulkheads have a bullnose edging on them, which is made of pieces of teak.. I'll reuse both sets. The starboard side will be used as is. I'll modify the pieces from the port side, so they can be reused on the modified bulkhead.


Removing them was fairly simple. They were attached in the factory with staples and glue. The glue was dried out an brittle.
I used a hammer and a block of wood to gently tap the bullnose off the original bulkheads.
The corners were a but harder to remove, but I used the same method, along with a small prying tool to gently work the edge loose.

Even with all the precautions, due to the direction of the grain and the age of the wood, one piece cracked and another broke.
I simply used weldbond glue to fix them.


Tapping the nosing off the original port bulkhead

Starboard Bulkhead:
Making a starboard bulkhead was simple. i simply traced the outline onto the new plywood sheet, and carefully cut the new panel out with a jigsaw.

Port Bulkhead:
The port bulkhead was more work since I needed to create a cardboard template, partially based on original bulkhead.

First I traced the original port bulkhead onto a large piece of cardboard.
I also went in the boat and measured the maximum height the bulkhead would be.

Using this info I made an oversized cardboard template:
-with the bottom section cut like the original bulkhead
-with the upper section in a rough approximation of the shape it needed to be

Then my wife and I went into the boat, and we gradually trimmed the template down to exact size and shape. While making sure I didn't trim too much off.
We folded the top of the cardboard down and got the bottom section correct first, then gradually trimmed the top section.
Test fit.. trim... test fit... trim.

Once we had the template close in size, I used a protractor (remember those geometry sets from school ?) to trace the exact curves onto the cardboard.
I set the protractor to small amount and ran the point along the hull and deck, so that the pencil would trace the same shape onto the cardboard.

Each time, I cut on the pencil line, and tested the template for fit.
After doing this twice, the template was very close in size.

The only problem was that the cardboard wasn't stiff enough, and there was a chance that it was slightly too big due to bulging.


Cardboard template for modified port bulkhead, with outline of original bulkhead.


Port Bulkhead Template Test


I traced the template onto the plywood and cut the new bulkhead...
and confirmed that it was slightly too large and wouldn't sit fully upright.

Easy to fix... Just use the the protractor to mark a new cutting line..

Marking a new cutting line along the top, with a protactor


The new bulkhead before trimming near the compression post.

Once the bulkhead was in place, we looked at it and considered how we wanted to complete the edge near the compression post.

Watercolors II appears to have post encased in wood.
Seadog reuses the bullnose and trims the edge back from the post.

In the end we decided that we wanted easy access to the post and copiedthe design used on Seadog.There are enough bullnose pieces on the original bulkhead, to do the full height bulkhead.
The hard part was to determine what shape to make the bulkhead, and how to cut the old bullnose.

The lower edge of the bulkhead was easy. I simply traced the shape of the end of the original bulkhead onto the new one.

Next I had to determine where the bulkhead needed to curve upwards again.

The original bulkhead has 2 curved sections of bullnose edging.
One near the compression post, and a second piece where it curves up to the deck.

First I took the 2 curved pieces and determined where I needed to cut the second piece so that when combined, they would make a curve that had both ends parallel.

I cut the second piece of bullnose, Then my wife and I held both curved sections in place, and I traced inside edge of the bullnose shape onto bulkhead.

I then adjusted the marked line outwards to compensate for the fact the bullnose covers the edge of the plywood, not just sits against it.

I hope that makes it semi understandable... it's hard to describe but fairly easy to do.


Here's a photo for reference, that shows the old and new bulkhead, the 2 pieces of curved bullnose, and the straight section of bullnose:

PHOTO UPDATE:

Comparison of Original and New Port Bulkheads.
You can see how the original bullnose can be used on the new bulkhead.


Bullnose edging reused on the new port bulkhead.



Flash Forward to both bulkheads stained and installed.

(I'll eventually put trim along the top the the port bulkhead)

I then moved on to the additional, 3rd, bulkhead...


Galley Mod

If you look at the modified galley on "Watercolors II", you will notice that the the original pieces can be reused.The first thing I did was remove the rear panel were the stove knobs are and trimmed BOTH ends to they were 90 degrees/square to the bottom and top. I trimmed both edges because i also wanted to remove the holes where the original screws were.
I only trimmed as much as I had to


Trimming the stern stove panel so it can fit where the original end one was.

I then removed the original end panel, and replaced it with the modified stern/rear panel like this:


Stove Panel in new location

Since the new stove position sticks out into the starboard settee/bunk, I had to trim the bunk.By putting the modified panel in place I was able to measure where the new bulkhead would be and how much the bunk had to be trimmed.The length of the modified panel dictated where the new bulkhead would go.
On my boat the worked out to:

  • 8" inches from fiberglass stove support to new bulkhead
  • 9" inches from fiberglass stove support to edge of bunk.
To prepare to trim bunk, I measured and marked where it needed to be cut, then removed it from the boat.

Unfortunately, I had lent both my table saw and mitre saw to a friend, so I needed to trim the bunk without them.
The bunk is made of plywood with 2 pieces of teak screwed and glued on the edge. I removed the screws that went through the plywood into the teak support, and gently used a prybar and mallet to separate the plywood from the teak.I then trimmed the plywood bunk lid, and then the teak bunk edge.
Once they were both trimmed, I reassembled them, and re-installed the lid.Now that the bunk lid was out of the way. I could make a cardboard template for the additional bulkhead.
Using the original bulkhead forward of the stove, I traced a new rough template onto cardboard.

Because the hull is wider at this location, all dimensions are longer that the forward bulkhead.
I made the inner edge and first curve, exactly like the forward bulkhead. Then I gradually marked+trimmed the section against the hull, using the protractor as a guide, until the inner edge was close to where it should be, and the outer edge against the hull was correct.

Once I had the hull shape correct, and the edge close to where it needed to be, I trimmed the inner edge to the exact length, and traced+trimmed the shape of top edge where the stove top is.


Almost there.. just need to trim that inner edge


Once the template was complete, all I needed to do was trace it's outline onto the plywood and cut the bulkhead out.


New Bulkhead propped up in it's eventual mounting location.


Next up... planning the drawers.

UPDATE: Galley modification continues HERE

Cheers,
Roy
 
Last edited:
Apr 26, 2010
434
catalina 22 lake tillery NC
very very nice Roy keep them coming. I'm glad my videos helped you decide on the boat. Alan
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Thanks. I'm hoping it will help others, even if it's only from learning from my mistakes.

The bulkhead project is on hold a bit, since i'm waiting for a shop to custom tint some stain so I can make the cherry veneered plywood match the original teak plywood.

In the meantime, between bad weather days, I've been replacing the deadlight/skylight on the foredeck. The original is just acrylic, and I replaced it with lexan/polycarbonate. The experiment/mod in this case is using clear , instead of opaque white, sheet. Time will tell if it's a good choice.
It will let more light in, but it has the risk of adding too much heat into the v-berth, in addition to visual "flaws" due to future scratches, and visibility of the deck of edge. We shall see. Unlike before, at least it's water tight now. Worst case I replace it with some opaque sheet later.

Cheers,
Roy
 
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Likes: Bilbo

w4swk

.
Mar 23, 2015
185
1991 Catalina 22 Wing Keel 15202 Nocona
Looking good Roy! I can already hear my saw calling... I see MUCH plagiarizing in my future!:) Seriously, your work looks great!

Ken
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Thanks Ken.

The C22 is small enough that modifying the bulkheads aren't too much of a hassle.
The hardest thing so far was trying to find nice veneered plywood locally.

I envy the people who can just go down to their local wood supplier and get teak plywood. I was only able to find 2 sheets of old stock 3/4 teak veneered plywood locally. The veneer on those sheets was rotary cut and thin. It didn't look good at all.
That's why I chose the Mahogany veneered 3/4" for table.

Mahogany and Cherry (and other veneers) are much more readily available here in the midwest, since they are used in homes. Teak, even veneered plywood teak, is just too expensive for most people to justify the cost, unless they are using it for marine use.

In the end, since I want to actually sail the boat this year, I used 1/2" cherry veneered plywood, because that was the only 1/2" veneered plywood i could find locally that would not look too out of place on the boat. (they didn't have mahogany 1/2")

If this was a winter project, I would have special ordered some quarter sliced teak veneer and glued it onto marine grade plywood. I looked into doing that, and delivery times would have more or less eliminated most of this summer for actually sailing.

Cheers,
Roy
 
Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
Roy,

I envy your woodworking skills and shop equipment. I would have liked to just replace my existing bulkheads too but I just don't have a table router and a few other key tools. I do have a nice table saw but the fence isn't any good, and the cost of a new bessy type fence is as much as I would need for my furler or rope clutches.
I sanded my original bullheads to clean them up and there is one or two places where I went through the very thin teak veneer. Luckily there are places that are hidden by other things when installed, like under the chain plates.
I might still change my mind and build new ones, I may even use King Starboard instead. This is something that could wait until next season too. Right now I'd rather be sailing!
Cheers, Luke
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Roy,

I envy your woodworking skills and shop equipment. I would have liked to just replace my existing bulkheads too but I just don't have a table router and a few other key tools. I do have a nice table saw but the fence isn't any good, and the cost of a new bessy type fence is as much as I would need for my furler or rope clutches.
I sanded my original bullheads to clean them up and there is one or two places where I went through the very thin teak veneer. Luckily there are places that are hidden by other things when installed, like under the chain plates.
I might still change my mind and build new ones, I may even use King Starboard instead. This is something that could wait until next season too. Right now I'd rather be sailing!
Cheers, Luke
Hey Luke !

All the stuff I did so far was using a normal Dewalt 7.25" circular saw, a jigsaw, and a router (which I borrowed from a friend).
Had my friend not sanded the edge of the table (which sanded the veneer off close to the edge), I wouldn't have needed the router.

All you need is some good clamps and a wide, straight board and the circular saw works fine for straight cuts.

I cut all straight bulkhead sections with the circular saw+board+clamps and the curved sections with a jigsaw

The blade on my circular saw is 5 inches from the left edge of the saw baseplate.
I just measure back 5 inches from where you want the actual cut to be, and clamp the board there.
Then you simply run the saw against the board, and it cuts a nice straight line.

(A good trick is to lift the blade guard up before you start the cut. The guard can force the saw around as you start the cut and prevent getting a perfect straight edge.
It's not the safest thing to do. But if you take your time, it's possible to do it safely)

In fact, for stuff like the bulkheads I prefer using a circular saw over a table saw. As long as the jigsaw and circular saw have fine toothed blades, and use tape on the sections cut with the circular saw, it's not so bad.
I could have simply used the jigsaw to cut the bulkheads, but straight sections are almost impossible to freehand cut with one.

Truthfully, the hardest part so far was making the templates for the non-standard bulkheads.
That, I admit, takes time and experience.... or more time and less experience.
In my case it's someplace in the middle. LOL

EDIT: I should mention that the edges of the bulkheads against the hull would be extremely time consuming to get perfect. My goal was to get them close enough that trim would cover the gap. Catalina used little strips against the hull to hide the gap.
I haven't decided what I'm using for that.

I'm also replacing the panel below the starboard settee. Some idiot previously installed speakers there. (where feet can kick them and water attack them) As expected, the grills are broken.

It looks like a single 4x8 sheet of plywood will do 3 bulkheads, the settee panel, and drawers for the galley.

As for doing it in the off season... amen to that.
Unfortunately that's not an option for me. My gudgeons will be here this week, so I hope to be sailing by June 12th. I suspect the old mainsail will rip, but at least I'll be out there. I'm looking for a way to make it survive a tiny bit longer until I get a new mainsail.
I tell ya if I knew a place that had a 2 reef, loose foot, main, in decent cloth, for a C22, in stock, I'd order it and cancel having Precision custom building one for me simply because I would be on the water faster.

Cheers,
Roy
 
Mar 25, 2015
146
catalina 22 Fort Walton
I'm considering putting in full height shelves or other mods that would require cutting out bench seats... are those structural though?
 
Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
Yes, I'm fairly certain the seats are structurally integrated to the Inner Cabin Liner, it all adds to torsional rigidity.

I'm considering putting in full height shelves or other mods that would require cutting out bench seats... are those structural though?
 

jmczzz

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Mar 31, 2013
515
O'Day 26 CB New Orleans
Really nice work Ray. Your boat is going to look and be really nice.
James
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
spatacus99: It would depend on which seats you are talking about, and what you replaced them with. As Luke says, many of the interior components are engineered to contribute to the strength of the whole.

in my case, once I'm done, the hull will be stronger.
The one area I have to be concerned about, is the modified galley.
As it stands, obviously it's stronger than just the single bulkhead bulkhead by the stove. But, unless I'm wrong, "Watercolors" had to cut the fiberglass liner where the stove is so he could install the long drawer for plates and knives etc.
I'm going to do some measurements, and size things so that I minimize cutting the hull liner, in addition to restoring any strength lost, by adding bracing.

Another consideration, is making sure the new panels don't create any hard sharp pressure points against the fibreglass. Obviously boats flex a lot, so sharp edges could cause cracking over time. If you look at how the original 1/2" plywood panels edges were cut where they touch fibreglass, they are rarely a 90 degree edge. That's because you don't usually see 90 degree true sharp corners in a fibreglass mold, in addition to the fact that sharp edges could lead to cracking. The panel below the starboard settee on the new style C22 is a good example. Almost all the edges on it are NOT a sharp 90 degrees.


James: Thanks ! This bulkhead mod is what has me most excited. The previous owners were using a "picnic backpack" to hold all the plates, cups etc.
On one hand, I can really see their use on a boat. Not only do they store everything you need, but you could grab it and go ashore for a picnic on the beach.
On the other, it takes up space, and I feel Watercolors' mod is a better solution.
Besides, in our case I assume that if we eat on shore it will be in a warm dry restaurant. :)
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
Bulkhead Replacement and Modifications: ... Continued

OK another update.....

I dropped off a piece of the original teak, and a scrap piece of the new bulkhead material, at a local Sherwin-Williams store. They were recommended to me, because they make great stain and are a store that caters to commercial clients.
They spent over 3 hours coming up with custom tinted stain so that the new bulkheads would match the original oiled teak panels. The $25 price, for a 1 quart can, was way less than I expected for that type of effort.

While I was waiting for them to come up with the stain, I tackled the next panel.

Some previous owner, for some goofy reason, thought would be a good idea to mount stereo speakers into the front of the starboard settee/bunk.
Surprise... the speaker grills were broken by people's feet, and there's a risk of water damage. A new speaker grill came with the boat, but the mounting location has to go.


Original panel with bad speaker location


Since I'm modifying the stove area, which uses some of the old bunk space, now is a good time to replace the starboard bunk's panel.
I can make the new one a bit different, so that the left side has a taller section that covers the front of the new stove area.



Tracing the Old panel onto the new plywood.

One thing you have to keep in mind when making new panels, is that some of them may need rounded corners, or beveled edges. If you look at the original panels made by Catalina, you will see this.
Fibreglass, almost, never has sharp 90 degree corners. Sharp corners crack easily and make it harder to remove pieces from a mould.

Here's a video of my new starboard bunk panel, with the modified section for the stove,
taken as I was adding the bevels, and rounding corners. The finished panel fits like the original.

<Video to go here>


Once the new bunk panel was complete, I needed to do the final trim of the new stove bulkhead.

Watercolours' built his new bulkhead so it goes down into the bunk storage area, and he cut an access hole in the new bulkhead so the remaining storage area was accessible.
His design is strong. His new bulkhead only needed to be attached to the plywood shelf the stove sits on, and the starboard bunk's front panel.

In my design, I took the, cut off, forward portion of the bunk storage lid, and trimmed the front edge so it would just rest on top of the front panel.

I will attach a wood strip to this old lid piece, and it will be bolted down to the fibreglass hull liner that creates the storage area.

The new bulkhead then sits on top of this and will be bolted to the wood strip. That way the full bunk storage area is accessible without needing to cut a hole in the new bulkhead, and the bottom of the bulkhead is secured.

I had to trim the bottom of the new bulkhead to match the contours:

Bulkhead bottom trimmed to match the new bunk front panel, and the cut portion of the old lid.


New panels temporarily in place. Time to figure out where the drawers go.

The next tasks are:
a) determine the size and location of the drawers.
b) make a shelf for the stove to sit on.
c) decide the configuration for the new additional storage behind the stove.


Looking down inside the stove area where the drawers and shelf will go.
 
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