Creaking cabin bulkhead? Sanity slipping...

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M

maine89

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Mar 22, 2012
39
ODay 27 Weymouth, MA
Firstly, I take it as a huge luxury (given I still have a very long todo list) to even feel comfortable complaining about this, but it drive me INSANE.

The bulkhead between the cabin and head of my oday 27 creaks maddeningly with any rocking of the boat from passing waves. I don't care about underway, it is the trying to sleep and having a sound so loud I would be concerned if my brain DIDN'T think I should be woken up for safety sake.

If brace myself and push on the bulkhead while the boat is rocking due to ferry waves I can really muffle the sound completely. This is all I ask, the rocking is fine, the sound is not.

Anyone had a run in with this same issue? I'm tempted to find some sort of silicone and cram in into the space near where the bulkhead connects to the hull in hope of making sleeping on the boat bearable.
 
heritage

heritage

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Apr 22, 2011
930
Hunter 27 Pecan Grove, Oriental, NC
Our O'day, and I think most others, has a floating bulkhead. The bulkhead fits into channels that are molded into the bottom of the deck. They are not screwed or fiberglassed to the deck. When someone walks on the port side deck, we get a squeak that is pretty loud down below. I think your idea of spraying some silicone in the gap would work for a while. Good luck.
 
M

maine89

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Mar 22, 2012
39
ODay 27 Weymouth, MA
heritage said:
Our O'day, and I think most others, has a floating bulkhead. The bulkhead fits into channels that are molded into the bottom of the deck. They are not screwed or fiberglassed to the deck. When someone walks on the port side deck, we get a squeak that is pretty loud down below. I think your idea of spraying some silicone in the gap would work for a while. Good luck.
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Does it squeak when the boat rolls or just stepping? That's good news about it being a floating bulkhead, sounds more cosmetic than anything then (meaning I can't really mess anything up).
 
Panta Rei

Panta Rei

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Nov 3, 2010
564
Oday 39 Lake mills WI
Bulkheads are not cosmetic. Floating or not.

The bulkhead in my O'day 22 are screwed in. Check carefully for fasteners.

I have a friend that set up is O'day 39 for blue water sailing . He through bolted all of the bulkhead connections. This may be something you can do.
 
M

maine89

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Mar 22, 2012
39
ODay 27 Weymouth, MA
Panta Rei said:
Bulkheads are not cosmetic. Floating or not.

The bulkhead in my O'day 22 are screwed in. Check carefully for fasteners.

I have a friend that set up is O'day 39 for blue water sailing . He through bolted all of the bulkhead connections. This may be something you can do.
Click to expand

Thank you Panta Rei, I will check again for fasteners but seem to remember it is very uniform looking. Boat is 1.5 hours away so I want to make sure I have my todo list fully prepared before getting there this weekend.
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,086
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
HIgh end boats use fiberglass tape to glass the bulkheads directly to the hull and deck. Lower production boats have them bolted in place. Not sure about this "floating" business. I've always thought about glassing mine in at some point to improve the structural strength of the boat.
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,086
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Tom,
Are they through bolted or just screwed directly into the laminate? Screws going directly into FRP is a terrible design. To have any strength at all they need to be through bolted or have inserts in the FRP that the screws go into. I think 25YearsLater replaced his bulkheads, let's ask him what kind of construction they were.
 
M

maine89

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Mar 22, 2012
39
ODay 27 Weymouth, MA
jibes138 said:
Tom,
Are they through bolted or just screwed directly into the laminate? Screws going directly into FRP is a terrible design. To have any strength at all they need to be through bolted or have inserts in the FRP that the screws go into. I think 25YearsLater replaced his bulkheads, let's ask him what kind of construction they were.
Click to expand
Yea I saw that in his thread but I didn't want to hijack it. Hopefully he sees this one.
 
25yearslater

25yearslater

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Aug 20, 2010
1,399
Oday 27 Oak Orchard
Let's get started shall we? Squeeks are the result of movement. First off are we talking about the main cabin bulkheads with the bifold door? The starboard side is attached with 2 sheet metal screws into the settee base. Then in that nifty cutout there is access to the screws that secure it to the settee back, the vanity top and the vanity sides. It is also tabbed to the hull fore and aft. The port side is screwed in with 4 screws behind the trim strip at the bottom into the floor pan rise. It has screws that proceed up the settee base and is also screwed to the settee back. The hanging locker front, screws into this and the forward bulkead and v berth base as well as the floor. This bulkead is also tabbed to the hull both fore and aft. A few favorite spots for water to do its damage are at the floor, the chain plates and the tabbing. Once any structure is lost in these areas this allows the bulkhead to drop allowing a less than snug fit in the cabin top liner. This would be a good starting point. Check for any rot at the floor or any visible attachment point. My starboard bulkhead was almost rotted through just below the vanity top and the port rotted out 2 inches up from the floor. We will confront the tabbing once we determine what isn't causing the movement.
 
Tom Potter

Tom Potter

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Jun 28, 2009
104
1984 O'Day 28 Bath, NC
jibes138 said:
Tom,
Are they through bolted or just screwed directly into the laminate? Screws going directly into FRP is a terrible design. To have any strength at all they need to be through bolted or have inserts in the FRP that the screws go into. I think 25YearsLater replaced his bulkheads, let's ask him what kind of construction they were.
Click to expand
I looked tonight and the bulkheads sit in a channel, one of the channel edges is a little longer than the other edge. This allows room for screws to go through the FRP and screw into the longer side of the fiberglass channel. So the screws do not tighten in the FRP, they go through it and tighten in the fiberglass channel. The screws are about 6 inches apart, and run all the way around the bulkhead. I'm guessing there are 20 or more screws holding each side. It's the same on the forward bulkhead.
 
M

maine89

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Mar 22, 2012
39
ODay 27 Weymouth, MA
25yearslater said:
Let's get started shall we? Squeeks are the result of movement. First off are we talking about the main cabin bulkheads with the bifold door? The starboard side is attached with 2 sheet metal screws into the settee base. Then in that nifty cutout there is access to the screws that secure it to the settee back, the vanity top and the vanity sides. It is also tabbed to the hull fore and aft. The port side is screwed in with 4 screws behind the trim strip at the bottom into the floor pan rise. It has screws that proceed up the settee base and is also screwed to the settee back. The hanging locker front, screws into this and the forward bulkead and v berth base as well as the floor. This bulkead is also tabbed to the hull both fore and aft. A few favorite spots for water to do its damage are at the floor, the chain plates and the tabbing. Once any structure is lost in these areas this allows the bulkhead to drop allowing a less than snug fit in the cabin top liner. This would be a good starting point. Check for any rot at the floor or any visible attachment point. My starboard bulkhead was almost rotted through just below the vanity top and the port rotted out 2 inches up from the floor. We will confront the tabbing once we determine what isn't causing the movement.
Click to expand
Thank you! Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the boat until the weekend and maybe not until longer. What should I be checking for exactly? Just rot?
 
25yearslater

25yearslater

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Aug 20, 2010
1,399
Oday 27 Oak Orchard
Yes. A thumbnail should be sufficient to discover if this is the problem. We can start by eliminating it as the source. Once we know it is not the problem then we can move on. Oh yeah. Take a screwdriver and see if the screws have loosend. Look also at the channel in the liner for rub marks. They will either be polished looking or very dull in comparisson to the surrounding areas.
 
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T

tfrench

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Nov 2, 2012
50
oday 27 Morro Bay
Just bought a 27 and the port bulkhead is pulled 1/2" from the hull. Any idea the time and $ if I do the work? I was also considering fastening to the liner and connecting the port a starboard with metal strap or wood spaning across the cabin. Any thoughts? Have you had any other issues with your oday 27?
Thanks Tim
 
25yearslater

25yearslater

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Aug 20, 2010
1,399
Oday 27 Oak Orchard
It sounds like you have a serious problem. That bulkhead should be tabbed to the hull. The repair itself would be less than 200 bucks in material and depending on your skill level and level of quality you want to achieve anywhere from a few days to a week. I would be more concerned with the chainplate shifting and allowing water into the balsa deck core if that hasn't happened already. Do you have a picture? That would really be helpful.
 
T

tfrench

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Nov 2, 2012
50
oday 27 Morro Bay
25yearslater said:
It sounds like you have a serious problem. That bulkhead should be tabbed to the hull. The repair itself would be less than 200 bucks in material and depending on your skill level and level of quality you want to achieve anywhere from a few days to a week. I would be more concerned with the chainplate shifting and allowing water into the balsa deck core if that hasn't happened already. Do you have a picture? That would really be helpful.
Click to expand
Yes, the deck flexes in that area which might indicate moisture in the core. Is there a fix for that other than removing the liner?
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,086
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Considering the location and ease of repair you will be better off cutting the upper deck to repair the core then re-laying up the laminate. I have heard it is very hard to remove the top layer and be able to bond it back down as there is high probability of damage in the removal process. So you may need 25YearsLater to help you with methods for gelcoating the top deck.
 
25yearslater

25yearslater

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Aug 20, 2010
1,399
Oday 27 Oak Orchard
OK tfrench. It indeed sounds like you have delamination of the deck core. Take a hard plastic handled screwdriver and start taping from the flexible area forward or aft. It will change pitch when you find solid bonded deck. It will be a dull thump in the delaminated areas and a sharp rap in the good areas. Then start reading 'And so it begins' thread under bigger boats. Cutting away from inside is possible if you want something other than the molded liner. There is a gap between it and the inner deck skin. If you can somehow dry it out like taking it to a desert for about 3 years then you can drill and epoxy and screw everything together. Previous owner tried and failed miserably with my boat. The screws that hold the deck skins and core together will in all probability drive through the liner and leave you a mess of holes to contend with there. Replacing a core is a big job but hardly beyond any handy person's ability. The cosmetic stuff isn't that hard but does require some patience and practice.
 
T

tfrench

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Nov 2, 2012
50
oday 27 Morro Bay
Tom Potter said:
The bulkheads in my O28 are fastened with many screws.
Click to expand
Humm, I've got the 27 which is VERY LOUD and has no fasteners on the overhead to secure the bulkhead. Would you happen to have a picture of the overhead on your boat? I assume the fasteners pass through both sides of the channel through the bulkhead ply. Is that right. Did they bed in 5200 or is it just fasteners?
Thanks,
TFrench
 
T

tfrench

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Nov 2, 2012
50
oday 27 Morro Bay
In your opinion woud securing the bulkhead to the inner liner be a solution to the creaking while sailing?
 
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