H34 Compression post - Transverse beam 'loose'

[Artey1]

Hey everyone - thought I'd post up and see what I get from here. I only got a couple of replies from the Hunter Owners Facebook Group.

I have taken the old Post out and chiseled away the rotten portions of the transverse beam overhead. Most of that rot was down the port side but I made both sides equal distance from the original wiring hole. About 11-12" total across. After chiseling the port side part away and getting to good wood I noticed I could wiggle that beam back and forth like maybe all the original epoxy used to set it had delaminated or broken loose.

What would you do? Leave it and continue with post replacement with metal or continue to take more of the transverse post out and replace it? My concern is side loads not compression loads from the mast. That will be fine once I put the new metal post in. I attached a link to pictures of port side of beam after chiseling, starboard side and a short video of the wiggling you can more hear than see cause of shaky video. Maybe wiggles 1/16" to 1/8" toward beam not up and down.

Google Photos Album Link

 

[kloudie1]

I'd go ahead with repair, replacing the center section with metal.. wouldn't take any more transverse wood out.... replace wood that has been removed and glass up the bottom of the beam.. The glass beam and the deck thickness are sufficient for the side loads..

 

[mnmpizza]

Shoot some 5200 up in there. Wait a week, problem solved! Artey: I already shared my design with u on FB. One question: is your mast still on your deck? Or has it been removed?
My only other advice would be for u to jack up both sides of the beam an extra 1/8” from factory. and allow for 1/8” settling once u put your new CP assembly in and tighten down the shrouds.
Good luck! Shannon

 

[BigEasy]

Great job cleaning out the transverse beam. When I replaced the compression post on my hunter 33.5 ('88), I was fortunate that the upper & lower beams were not affected. As Claude mentioned, I would not remove any more of the beam, as you're already into solid wood. I would try to inject epoxy under pressure using a caulking gun to stabilize the remaining wood and prevent movement. Fabricate a replacement beam with solid wood covered with roving and epoxy and epoxy it back under the deck. If you are opposed to using a wood beam, you can fabricate an aluminum box with aluminum cross beams open at bottom. Epoxy it in place, with thickened epoxy, and end screw it into the remaining wood transverse beam to the left and right while the epoxy is setting. The cross beams in the box can be used to attach the compression post upper plate using nuts / bolts. I used rectangular aluminum to fabricate the replacement compression post. Had rectangular plates welded to top of post and bottom to facilitate attachment to the upper & lower beams. As Shannon mentioned, jack up the beam a bit to really get the new post in place tightly, assuming the mast is removed or shrouds loosened. Using the rectangular aluminum post allowed for attachment of wood blocks along the length to facilitate replacement of new teak covering, cut to the same dimensions as the original. When all was done, it looked original.

 

[Artey1]

Shoot some 5200 up in there. Wait a week, problem solved! Artey: I already shared my design with u on FB. One question: is your mast still on your deck? Or has it been removed?
My only other advice would be for u to jack up both sides of the beam an extra 1/8” from factory. and allow for 1/8” settling once u put your new CP assembly in and tighten down the shrouds.
Good luck! Shannon

Hey Shannon, yes I remember your FB reply. Currently my mast is off the deck, It doesn't appear much of the beam sagged, but its hard to know where things were when I didn't own it before the issue. The bulkhead/teak trim of the post did crush through the gelcoat where the butt up to each other, so there had to be some sagging.

 

[Artey1]

BigEasy - Thanks! Chiseling and multi-tool worked great! I'll look into caulking some epoxy or 5200 in there around that port side beam thats moving a bit. My plan is to go back with aluminum in that whole area where it meets the deck. I just took measurements this weekend and it was 12" wide from wood beam to wood beam, 3.5" Long fore to aft, and 2 3/8" Tall from the deck to the bottom of the glass transverse beam. My block will probably take up most of that section if not all of it. I'll leave a little height to allow for reglassing the beam if I go that route, but leaning towards just doing trim work/covering. I like the idea of screwing it into the wooden beams to help tie it all in. I hadn't really planned on jacking the deck up any, but I think you guys are right, maybe an 1/8" or 1/4" at maximum would be good to ensure tight fitment. I think I will be doing a square post as well. Ordering aluminum today!

 

[Artey1]

Shannon - did you end up replacing your bulkhead when you did yours? What wood/veneer did you use? Mine is pretty rotten top and bottom next to the post. The alternative is to scarf something else in and then try to make it match. They both sound like a nightmare to me!

 

[markwbird]

I did that repair like all the other H-34 owners. Everyone has their own of the repair. In my case there was no issue with rotten wood, just poor construction. The contact area between the cross beam and top of compression post was maybe 2 in^2. It was crushing the cross beam. This is partly because the cross beam does not rest on center of the compression post. It is only about 50% and the channel routed into the cross beam for the wiring reduced it to about 60% bearing area. So, I added a 1/4" steel plate to the underside of the cross beam that spreads the load out. I did have to cut away the fiberglass about a foot to each side of the post. I can be covered up with a little decorative teak.

 

[drew-]

My transverse beam was wiggling pretty bad when I cut into it myself and hasn't been an issue for me. In fact I can shove the remaining pieces back and forth a couple inches currently. I have a 3/8 stainless top welded on a 2" x 1/4 stainless beam and I havent noticed any side load issues even in 40 knot winds we sailed in by accident the other day.

 

[Artey1]

My transverse beam was wiggling pretty bad when I cut into it myself and hasn't been an issue for me. In fact I can shove the remaining pieces back and forth a couple inches currently. I have a 3/8 stainless top welded on a 2" x 1/4 stainless beam and I havent noticed any side load issues even in 40 knot winds we sailed in by accident the other day.

This is very comforting to hear.Thank you for sharing Drew! I just ordered my aluminum yesterday and should pick the post up today and get my transverse aluminum and base plates in the mail this week! I'm getting excited... Now to figure out if I'm going to scarf in new wood to my bulkhead or replace it with teak veneered new plywood. The top and bottom are both pretty rotten by the post area unfortunately

 

[drew-]

I was lucky that my bulkhead had minimal damage. I did have a rather large section of the floor that needed repair. My boatyard manager gave me a deal on this teak and holly piece and although it doesnt match I am still happy with it. Good luck!

 

[mnmpizza]

Shannon - did you end up replacing your bulkhead when you did yours? What wood/veneer did you use? Mine is pretty rotten top and bottom next to the post. The alternative is to scarf something else in and then try to make it match. They both sound like a nightmare to me!

My bulkhead was only rotted on the bottom 4”. So I just changed that out and put new laminate in the shower. The new piece is only visible once the setee top is removed.

 

[Artey1]

Thanks Shannon. I'm still contemplating doing something similar, wondering how ugly trying to scarf in the first 4-5 inches of vertical length would look with some teak veneer and daly's sea fin to try and match the original. Most would be hidden by the post and original teak covering from the front. A thought for another day. My aluminum arrives today, time to measure about 50 times before I make any cuts!

 

[Artey1]

So update here - I have all the pieces for my new post. Went to mock everything up and get final measurements. Something I didn't realize was how much there is in terms of a tilt fore to aft where the top block goes. When the block is touching the glass at the fore side and level there is a about 1/4" gap on the aft side of the block to the glass under the deck. Is this okay to fill with thickened epoxy with milled fibers? Will it be strong enough? I don't like the idea of 1/4" thick epoxy to level out the block in the fore to aft plane.
edit: don't mind the missing parts of my bulkhead. will be scarfing in new pieces tomorrow and sorry for the extra large pictures, don't know how to resize.

 

[drew-]

I had a similar gap on that piece and ended up using thickened epoxy without issue. I guess you could make even with some CSM and resin if you are patient and dont mind the mess of wetting out overhead. I cant see how it would be that much stronger than epoxy alone considering it is strictly compression. Just my thoughts.