Opened up the sole on my 8.0CC this past week. Interesting piece of, ahem, engineering.
Recall I had sag in the sole under the compression post. Well the post is stepped on the 1/2 inch marine ply sole, which is on top of a 1 inch thick X 8 inch wide teak plank running athwartships and tied to the sole stringers which are inturn glassed to the hull. The stringers are 2 inches thick and yes you can guesss that the compression post step beam is one inch less in thickness and was atached and leveled level to the stringers with four bronze screws. That's it, holding up the rig was just four bronze screws, end-inserted into that 1 inch thick teak board.
Rigging tension compressed down on sole plywood, which pressed down on the teak beam and after many years or an over zealous rig tuning the four screws popped out of the teak beam and allowed it to drop one inch to hull. Sag ensued. If your 8.0CC is sagging under the compression post, rest assured it is not rot down there but failure of this support beam and the atttachment with the stringers.
Now for the repair. Laminated up a a new beam, six inches wide and 3.5 inches thick. Contoured the ends of the beam to the shape of the hull and down into the bilge area, well clear of bilge bottom. The beam will run athwartship and level to the port and starboard sole stringers. When it warms up a bit I will epoxy this to the hull contour and tie into the sole stringers. Contemplating inletting a vertical support out of aluminum bar into the bottom of the beam and step it onto the top of the keel encapsulation at bottom of bilge. This later part may be overkill.
Fore and aft of this beam I will insert two 2X2 cross members to support the cut edge of the original ply sole. These cross members will be epoxied to the hull and to the stringers.
I will top the beam and about an inch of the two cross members with new ply to replace the distorted ply that I cut out and glass over the ply to tie in with the original sole.
Pictures to follow.
Next task for warmer days is recontruction of the deck step damaged by the sole sag.
Recall I had sag in the sole under the compression post. Well the post is stepped on the 1/2 inch marine ply sole, which is on top of a 1 inch thick X 8 inch wide teak plank running athwartships and tied to the sole stringers which are inturn glassed to the hull. The stringers are 2 inches thick and yes you can guesss that the compression post step beam is one inch less in thickness and was atached and leveled level to the stringers with four bronze screws. That's it, holding up the rig was just four bronze screws, end-inserted into that 1 inch thick teak board.
Rigging tension compressed down on sole plywood, which pressed down on the teak beam and after many years or an over zealous rig tuning the four screws popped out of the teak beam and allowed it to drop one inch to hull. Sag ensued. If your 8.0CC is sagging under the compression post, rest assured it is not rot down there but failure of this support beam and the atttachment with the stringers.
Now for the repair. Laminated up a a new beam, six inches wide and 3.5 inches thick. Contoured the ends of the beam to the shape of the hull and down into the bilge area, well clear of bilge bottom. The beam will run athwartship and level to the port and starboard sole stringers. When it warms up a bit I will epoxy this to the hull contour and tie into the sole stringers. Contemplating inletting a vertical support out of aluminum bar into the bottom of the beam and step it onto the top of the keel encapsulation at bottom of bilge. This later part may be overkill.
Fore and aft of this beam I will insert two 2X2 cross members to support the cut edge of the original ply sole. These cross members will be epoxied to the hull and to the stringers.
I will top the beam and about an inch of the two cross members with new ply to replace the distorted ply that I cut out and glass over the ply to tie in with the original sole.
Pictures to follow.
Next task for warmer days is recontruction of the deck step damaged by the sole sag.