37C Main Bulkhead Rotten

[SailingHarry]

I'm looking to buy a 37-C, and it has serious rot on both sides of the main bulkhead. I can literally put my hand forward through what used to be the bulkhead, between the remaining wood and the tabs, on both sides.

Obviously, this provides support for the chain plates and is serious, and will be a consideration in any offer. But, has anyone made a repair of this kind of damage? Any thoughts on how to do it, and if it has to be full bulkhead replacement or is there anyway to scab in a partial plate?

Thanks for thoughts,

Harry

 

[Ed Schenck]

Geez Harry, that's a tough proposition. As you have noticed that bulkhead holds up the mast. If the rot is due to leaking chainplate holes then the other two mounts(lowers) might also be compromised. Did you mean both sides of the boat or both sides of the bulkhead? As much as I love the H37C it would have to be a heck of a deal to make me undertake that project. Chances are the decks are soaked too. And what else?

 

[SailingHarry]

The deal is pretty sweet right now. It's on eBay, closing tonight, and currently at $7200. Obviously, it will climb quite a bit in the last couple of hours. Search eBay for "1980 Hunter Cutter," and you'll get only one hit.

The bulkhead does not *directly* hold up the mast, as it is keel stepped, but it does hold up the rigging. By "both sides" I mean port and starboard. I looked at it last night in poor lighting, I'm going by tonight with a nice bright flashlight to look at it again, from both a "just how bad is it" standpoint and from a "how would I fix it" standpoint. My best recollection is there is no wood in the tabbing from the level of the settee bunk up to the deck level, both sides.

My initial thoughts (and I want to look at it tonight) is that I would need to remove a 1-2 foot wide swath of bulkhead, basically a vertical line from the cabin trunk/deck joint straight down the hull, and replace all wood outboard of that line. I don't think a structural joint to the existing bulkhead would be necessary since the new piece would be large enough to pick up the load, but a cosmetic joint would be required. It would be nice if possible (but probably not possible) to reinforce the edge joint with a handful of biscuits. Perhaps the cleanest cosmetic repair would be to put a nice vinyl wallpaper on the entire bulkhead and completely eliminate the paneling. Also, I just don't know how many interferences there would be to make that replacement.

Thoughts would be appreciated!

Harry

 

[Ed Schenck]

Sounds like you are a glutton for punishment. Kind of like me. If the engine and most other systems are sound I would probably offer up to $10K. But as I said before you are only looking at the support for the upper shrouds. You have four lowers that might also be a problem. And if the deck is wet the fact that it is keel-stepped is not much comfort. That cabin roof is not going to keep that mast upright. I'll be on my boat for an extended time starting next Tuesday and can further study your idea. But I need to look more closely at those chainplates.

 

[SailingHarry]

Well, I went back down to the boat, and here's what I found.

The deck has had a lot of work done at some point. Very well done, but a lot of work. You can see unevenness in the deck at various points, probably from fiberglass work. The dorade vents are missing, with little solar fans in the spots -- they actually look pretty good both from on deck and from below. The inside jib traveler is gone. The inside jib chain plate was removed and remounted upside down (you can see the "top" in the forepeak) to eliminate tripping hazards, since the PO apparently went to a sloop rig. But, on to the issue at hand.

First and foremost, the main bulkhead does not support the upper shrouds -- big plus. The upper and after-lower chains go into heavy tabs off the hull in the storage lockers. All four of them (two each side) look good and dry. The forward uppers go into the same kind of fiberglass tab, but the tab is two-sided with the bulkhead in between, and the chainplate mounted through the whole mess. The result is that the forward lower is not well supported, because there is no wood in between. But, it is "only" the forward lower, which bothers me much less than an upper. I think a good job could be done of a repair that would be sufficiently strong, given how the remaining chains are engineered. The deck around the forward chains does not sound good with a screwdriver tapping, so that's another issue as well.

Well, the bottom line, I came home and bid $10K. I was immedately outbid, so someone has a higher number than that in mind. Not too rich for my blood, but I think too rich for the boat. In addition to the rot, the entire below decks is in the midst of a refurbish -- all the wood has been sanded bare, the carpet has been removed from the upper portions of the hull and the glue sanded to clean glass, etc. There's also a mess of wiring, old electronics, etc.

Best of luck to the (NOT ME) new owner!

On the way out of the yard, I came across a newer H37C (with the dorade guard). Much better condition, but not for sale.

I've not been on the quest for very long, and this boat just became another data point in the search. Worth looking at and learing from, but not the one for today.

Thanks for your input, Ed.

Harry

 

[Ed Schenck]

Thanks for the update Harry. After thinking more about it I realize you are right. The middle chainplates(uppers) are aft of the main bulkhead. I see those everytime I open the cupboard just the salon side of the bulkhead. Well good luck in your search for the "perfect" ride.

 

[dvideohd]

Well when you find your 37C, there are several others of us working on our own 37Cs. I've heard of rumors that two more 37Cs will be up for sale this spring - don't know more...

It's good to be able to trade note with others working on these (extremely) tough old boats...

--jerry

 

[Ed A]

It sounds to me like the clasic 37 dorade leak, many of the 37c boats had a leak the comes form the dorade box design and lets water in the deck. It works its way out at the corner of the bulkhead, usually identified as the stain on the forward cabin wall.