Need some advise, need some reassuring

[royst]

First of all thanks for letting me in the forum. My nieghbor gave me his 74 Hunter 25.
It was kept up until Katrina hit in 05. Since than it sat in the bayou behind the house. The hull is in good shape. But the windows leaked and the interior is quite a mess. My concern is the bulk heads. At first I thought they were structural but after getting through some of the rot they seem to be partitions. They were cut at least 1/2" away from the hull and one thin layer of glass to hold them in place. Should I replace these or do you think I can alter the layout without putting my family in harms way.
TIA!!

 

[kendall]

Best thing would be to check on a hunter specific forum to see if they are in fact structural.

Off the bat I'd say that if one of them is under or very close to the mast, it does provide support and should be repaired/replaced. (that little layer of glass can provide a surprising amount of support!)

Otherwise, you can move them around a bit without any trouble coming from it.

Ken.

 

[Mike Holibar]

If you are contemplating doing the work yourself I can recommend "Practical Yacht Joinery" by Fred P Bingham, International Marine Publishing Company, Camden, Maine. I have many boat building books but this is the only one that doesn't assume you already have an advanced knowledge of the subject. It is full of useful information from how to make joins, calculate cambers, lift shapes such as bulkheads mark them out, suitable dimensions for berths, shelves compartments, fastening and gluing techniques and much more. With the help of this book I have built one 35 foot yacht and done major projects on several others, and have been able to produce quite a good standard of work (even if I do say so myself!). I am an engineer by trade and my woodwork was pretty bad, I used to wish someone would invent wooden welding rods so I could fill the gaps in the joins. Binghams book changed all that and taught me how to do a reasonably competent job. Good luck with your project.

 

[bffatcat]

bulkheads

usually in a sailboat with a cabin the bulkheads are structural they provide strength to the hull
I would be careful before tampering with them. Best to get a surveyor to look at the boat before you start

 

[Stu Jackson]

I am an engineer by trade and my woodwork was pretty bad, I used to wish someone would invent wooden welding rods so I could fill the gaps in the joins.

Mike,

Holy cow! Someone else with exactly the same affliction! Hang in there - I learned that they actually make materials other than wood that we can work with. Like titanium - but the plate in my leg broke after six months requiring a second surgery, so it coulda just as well have been wood! These days, the only wood work I do is teak oiling down below, and cetol on the handrails topsides. Nothing requiring refitting or cutting. Only real challenge: we want a smaller saloon table, so I'll have to find a friend who's very good with wood!

Aha, John, are you listening???

 

[Franklin]

Yes, they are structural and no structual bulkhead is directly attached to the hull. The reason is, it will create hardspots on the hull and severily weaken it. The glass spreads the stress and provides a "cushion" while still providing support.

Also, the bulkhead mostlikely is not one solid piece of plywood so that may make it easier to replace, but don't know about your boat. Your headliner may make it very hard to replace the whole bulkhead but if it's rotten, you will need to replace ast least that section. This is not an easy task.

 

[royst]

Yes, they are structural and no structual bulkhead is directly attached to the hull. The reason is, it will create hardspots on the hull and severily weaken it. The glass spreads the stress and provides a "cushion" while still providing support.

Also, the bulkhead mostlikely is not one solid piece of plywood so that may make it easier to replace, but don't know about your boat. Your headliner may make it very hard to replace the whole bulkhead but if it's rotten, you will need to replace ast least that section. This is not an easy task.

Thanks to all that chimed in.
I am going to replace the bulk head I took out. You are right they are not in one piece. I am going to use the existing bulk head as a pattern. I think I can get it close enough and then put a new layer of glass.

Again thanks

 

[Franklin]

I think getting the number of layers of glass and using the right resin is important as you don't want it too stiff or too flexible, so for this I'd call Hunter Marine and ask them how many layers of glass, the type of glass, the thinkness of the glass, and the type of resin to use. When I re-did a second of my bulkhead, I put 4 layers of criss-cross weaved sheet glass and used west system epoxy as the resin. I was sure that is strong enough but since it was only a small piece well above the waterline, I wasn't too worried about making it too strong. Doing the whole bulkhead I would be.

 

[John Howitt]

Stu, a tip for you .
Use two hole saws , approx 3/4 to 7/8 difference in size to cut a circle, then cut it in 1/4's and you have a pattern for the radius corners of the table and the actual piece of trim.
1/4 " teak and holly plywood laminated to a piece of 5/8 or 3/4 makes a beautiful top.