Rehab Notes: 1984 H22

[CraigV]

I have been replacing the bulkheads of my H22, Delphia, and I found a lot of good hints in the archive of the Smaller Boats Forum. I didn't find many good pictures of the process people used and some of the information was contradictory to others. I was able to formulate a general plan and realized that I would need to cut out the starboard bulkhead.

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with Hunter and they verified that these bulkheads are structurally integral to the boat. Removing them would subject the hull to twisting and could damage the fiberglass.

The H22 is a great boat but the starboard bulkhead really seems to waste a lot of space and hinders air circulation. For this reason I wanted to make them as minimal as was structurally sound.

I am by no means an expert, and my method is somewhat experimental. I figured I would document my method in the hopes that someone will learn something from my endeavors and to welcome suggestions and expertise.

Here is a link to the pictures I have taken so far. More will be added as they are available!

http://picasaweb.google.com/cjv767/DelphiaBulkheadProject?feat=directlink

I hope to hear questions and comments!

 

[bobinzville]

looks good

I like the engineering of the strbd bulkhead. The additional ventalation should be a great upgrade. Will you glue the pieces together? If you decide you'd like the woody "yacht" feel there are places (many in Canada) where you could buy a some nice teak veneer. Not sure about the $$. But, it would be handsome. Pls keep us informed how this goes.

 

[CraigV]

I will be coating the whole thing with West System epoxy and am planning to sandwich the two pieces to the mast support with a second strip on the outside. I will be using glue for this strip, but screws to hold it to the support. I like the veneer idea but I have an idea in my head for how I want it to finally look. Thanks!

 

[LDM]

Craig, Thank you for taking the time to keep us abreast of your rehab project. I will be doing the same thing next off-season. Keep the progress photos coming. We are watching and learning.

 

[CraigV]

Update - Progress!

I have posted some additional pictures to the Picasa Link in the original post. I have been able to make some progress on the bulkheads.

I took the bulkheads down to the boat today to make sure they fit on the boat. I had a feeling they wouldn't fit right away, but I didn't think it would take as long as it did (about 3 hours).

Here are some lessons I learned.
1) Those bevels are there for a reason. I could have saved myself a lot of time if I had beveled the edges of the bulkheads to match the originals when I had first cut them out.
2) Pretty much all of the inside corners of the fiberglass hull are rounded, so I ended up putting a 45 degree bevel along all edges of the bulkhead that were in contact with the fiberglass.
3) Patience is a virtue. After working on the bulkheads for a while I wanted to just cut off a lot of wood to make it fit. I was able to make myself take a little bit off, try to fit them in, pull them out, try again....... It ended up working out well and they closely resemble the original shape of the bulkheads.
4) The port bulkhead was making me nervous because it seemed much more difficult to get back in than I thought it would be. I didn't end up having to trim it up too much, but it was a big relief when it finally pushed into place. I put the top corner in first and then pushed the bottom into place. It worked ok, still a little tighter than I expected, but that's probably ok.
5) I put the outermost part of the starboard bulkhead in first. I had to trim this piece a lot to make it fit. After I realized it was the curved surfaces that were preventing it from seating correctly it was a lot easier. After that, the inside piece was considerably easier.

I mostly used a jigsaw and sandpaper but I used a chisel to straighten some of the edges. Bevels were accomplished with the jigsaw set to 45 degrees. Hope this helps! More to follow!

 

[Ed Schenck]

Lookin' good! I have my eye on an H22, belongs to a friend who moved up. I will know what to look for. If I see bulkheads like yours I will keep shopping. Do not have the time nor patience for that much boat work.

 

[CraigV]

More Progress!

I have now cut, fitted, sanded, primed, sanded, primed, sanded and painted the bulkheads. Pics are up. Next will be some decoration by my good friend and then time to epoxy! All paints and primers have been oil-based per West Systems whose epoxy I will be using.

 

[LDM]

CraigV, We are anxious for new pictures of progress...

 

[ksetchfield]

Those bulkheads are going to be very blue when you put them up, aren't they! Why did you use antifouling paint for them? I'd have thought that you'd try to match the stain and varnish them.

I love how open the h22 is without the bulkheads in at all. I can't help but fantasize about some curved mini bulkheads that would occupy only a small portion of the outside area and would leave that nice open feeling in the center. Admittedly you'd still need the mast support post, but I digress.

Thanks for posting all those awesome pictures too!

Kristopher Sprockett

 

[CraigV]

Yes they are going to be very blue. I didn't need to use the anti-fouling. I thought it would be good for protection in the long-term, and maybe it will. Now I think the epoxy itself will protect it just fine. I probably could have used any exterior enamel paint. I am in the process of epoxying now, and soon I will have pictures and will show you why I went with paint instead of stain and varnish.

I completely agree with you about a mini-bulkhead. Maybe an engineer could do some math for us and figure out what materials and quantities would be needed to recreate the strength of the original bulkheads. I have a feeling it is entirely possible and probably not that difficult. When I think about how long those rotten bulkheads were there, offering little to no structural support, I can't imagine that it would take a whole lot.

I'm glad you enjoyed the pics. I will have more soon. I am almost done, hoping to have the boat in the water this weekend or next. YEAH!!

 

[CraigV]

Epoxying is Finished!

Epoxying the bulkheads ended up being one of the most challenging and frustrating aspects of this entire project. I will try my hardest to stay away from epoxying in the future if it is at all possible. Here's why it was so difficult:

Its really difficult to get a consistency that works right. I tried to apply thin coats, but then the coats had lines in them. I tried applying thicker coats and I found the epoxy would run over the edges, creating small bumps on the bottom side near the edges. There is a happy medium but I still haven't found it.

Spreading the epoxy in a way that covers the whole panel and is thick enough to spread out into a uniform thickness is extremely difficult.

I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to get the edges done well, but after a little time I figured out that I could just put on some rubber gloves, wipe some epoxy over the edges and spread out the excess that would have formed bumps. This actually worked really well, I just wish I would have known earlier.

It is really easy to get stuff in the epoxy. I tried to epoxy at the marina as my friend, Holly, finished airbrushing the decorations but I found dirt and bugs just couldn't help but get stuck to the surface. I retreated to the living room where my girlfriend put up with three huge panels for almost a week. I was able to alleviate a little of the angst by epoxying some puzzles for her (actually pretty fun!) Thanks Sarah!

Even the painter's plastic I put down ended up being a bit of a nuisance, as any contact with the epoxy causes some odd looking texture. The bumps and this stuff were sanded with 180 through 1200 grit sandpaper which doesn't look all that great but luckily should be hidden by parts of the hull.

Overall, I'm really happy with the appearance. It is by no means perfect. My painting skills are rusty and my epoxying needs a lot of work. Holly did a magnificent job with her airbrush as I knew she would. It is a bit hard to tell in the pics, but the blue really shines and her decorations "pop." I think the epoxy did help to bring out some color and contrast somehow.

I'll have one more post this weekend after I get these things installed in the boat. I hope they still fit!

 

[CraigV]

All Done!

The bulkheads are in, the chainplates attached, the mast is up and she's in the water. What a huge relief. They look pretty good in there and I know I'll be happy to have that ventilation come summer time.

Installing the new bulkheads was not as hard as I expected but I did notice that drilling holes in them caused some chipping of the epoxy around the holes. I'm not happy about that, but I used some 5200 around the edges and some silicone around the chainplates which I think will seal it up alright. I'm still going to put another piece of wood up to sandwich the center of the starboard bulkhead to the mast support, but everything seems nice and solid right now.

I'll probably add another picture or two with the cushions in place. I'd like to replace those too, but that will be another project for another year.

Thanks for reading!

 

[LDM]

Re: All Done!

You took on a large, intimidating project and look how great it turned out!! Thanks for the pictures. This will be my project next winter.

 

[newsailor130]

Re: All Done!

hi guys, i am doing the same kind of project now. I am finding that the port bulkhead does not sit flush against the ridge of the fairbody that goes up the wall/side of the boat just fore of the bulkhead. I am assuming that will just screw this in tightly to make it flush. i remember the old bulkheads being quite tight against that ridge. am i wrong? do i need to bevel the bottoms of the bulkhead? they seemed flat on the originals. also, what rubber did you use to re-rubber them in to the slots. the manufacturer seemed to have some king of white rubbery caulk in there. My port bulkead is not sitting flush tight against the sidewall, i probably beveled it a bit too much. it is probably 1/6 of an inch asay from the sidewall. does anyone feel that that is a problem? i don't think so, i think these bulkheads provide mostly vertical support, not lateral support for the topsides. does anyone disagree with that?