Hunter 41DS aft head tabbing

[MFD]

Hi all,

As part of replacing gaskets and such in the head I wanted to check hoses and such. This is in the aft/starboard head and after I removed one of the plastic panels right behind the toilet I was a little bit surprised to see what I presumed was a somewhat structural bulkhead not having any tabbing whatsoever to the hull. It looks like the hull itself even has a 1/8" extra layer toward the stern that flares inwards and is cut off - exactly like what where one would want to put in the tabbing?

Anyway - I am curious what others have seen on their boats when they looked in here.

 

[Terry Cox]

I am curious what others have seen on their boats when they looked in here.

Kind of a quiet thread prompting me to post a reply. Different model boat here, so unable to compare a tabbing concern. A bit unclear from your pictures, but to me does not look like a place for tabbing. We have similar structural bulkheads on our boat that do not have nor a need (IMHO) for tabbing. Our boat has a bulkhead that divides the main salon with the forward cabin, another that divides the aft cabin and the main salon/engine room/aft head, neither of which have any tabbing. These marine teak veneer plywood bulkheads are secured to FRP channels via SS screws and seem quite sturdy and secure. I suspect the builder designed the boat this way so as to make these bulkheads less permanent and somewhat flexible.

Below all this is a different matter. Structural stringers and hull joinery very heavily tabbed and strong for structural integrity. Bulkheads seem to be there to add some rigidity to the boat, separate compartments, but more for a place to mount cabinets and gear to the boat superstructure. No boat designer here and whether any of this reasoning makes sense, well I defer to others with that kind of knowledge and experience who might weigh in here to help you out.

 

[MFD]

Hej, thanks for the reply. Overall my thoughts ended up to being to trust the mathematicians to determine what is required.

I also dug around a bit forward again and 'half tabbing' seems to be the overall construction level. Definitely different from the way I was raised for sure for a job well done. There is absolutely no reason not to tab both sides if one is tabbed, other than saving labor costs.

Meanwhile with newer construction techniques, maybe it is all okay. The boat seemed to do quite well and took care of me when I was unable to take care of her in the Pacific a couple summers ago. Hence going back and poking around to see what all these hunter complaints are about.

Overall for me, it is what it is, was mostly curious if the build on mine was substandard somehow.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Terry Cox]

You're welcome. Just note that Hunter did a quality job building their boats with value in mind. Whatever you have planned for your cruising intentions, your boat can deliver and then some. We looked at many boat brands and models before we settled on Belle-Vie. No regrets here and when stacked against these other brands, I think you made the right choice.

 

[sailor5017]

we have the same boat. That wall is not a structural strength component unlike a bulkhead wall the goes from one side of the boat to the other. the boat is very strong. no worries