Replacing Bulkheads on O'Day 222 - What to use?

peterbud · Feb 26, 2017

djmeaney said:
The weather cooperated with unusually warm weather here and I was able to remove the rotted bulkheads on my new to 1984 O'Day 222. I'm thinking Okoume or Meranti for the new bulkheads. Any thoughts on what is better?

Here are some photos of the rotted bulkheads.

I just did my 84 222 last month andusef marine grade A grade plywood. I was going to veneer it with teal but never got around to it. Worked out well

GDayYall · Feb 27, 2017

I replaced my bulkheads in a 23 with A marine grade ply that was about $60 for a 1/2" sheet. It's lighter in color than the original bulkheads but I think that's a good thing. I made a new compression post and trim from teak.

Brian S · Feb 27, 2017

My take on plywood. It's complicated. Actually, plywood rating is a mess. When you go to a lumberyard, and ask for "marine ply" they are likely to sell you fir made with boilproof glue, which is likely to be a melamine or phenolic glue. From what I understand, there are different grades of melamine glue, some better grades lasting longer in the boil. Phenolic is more expensive and better, basically permanent. Also, this type of fir plywood usually has fewer plies per given thickness of plywood. It can have knots, or knotholes filled with putty, or voids. In my experience, this fir will crack and check over time, even with epoxy encapsulation.

My choice in wood for boating is BS1088 grade, or BS6566 grade. This will be made with boilproof glue, hopefully higher quality phenolic glue. It will also have a greater quantity of thinner plies per given thickness of the plywood. There should be no voids, and no holes filled with putty. BS1088 has higher quality faces than BS6566. So, if it's not really visible structural plywood, BS6566 ought to do fine.

Okoume tends to be fairly light in color, with a somewhat non-descript grain pattern (as compared to real mahogany or teak.) Okoume isn't the most rot resistant tropical hardwood, so it's recommended to be epoxy encapsulated. Meranti can be all kinds of colors, and grain patterns, kinda the luck of the draw what your panel looks like. I have heard that meranti tends to be more brittle and can splinter more easily. I think this would be an issue more with sawing it and working it, than anything else. Sapele plywood is pretty expensive compared to the other two, but can have amazing and dramatic grain patterns, and so is favored for brightwork visible applications.

I hope this helps some. Of course, it doesn't answer the OP's question of "Which is better, okoume or meranti?" I have worked with okoume and sapele building a stitch and glue kayak, and okoume for other applications, with no problems. I have not worked with meranti. I think that probably either of the 3 varieties will give you a solid bulkhead. Sapele would be the more expensive option, but would probably give some pretty grain for varnishing. Or, you could buy some teak faced plywood.

Further investigation with noahsmarine.com gives pricing as follows for 1 sheet 12mm thickness BS1088, meranti $110 USD; okoume $114; and Teak with 2 good faces $228.

Sapele seems only available in 4mm for $89 USD or 6mm, so you won't be making sapele bulkheads...

shemandr · Feb 27, 2017

On my stitch 'n glue pram I used Okoume . Even wiith epoxy covering checking eventually happened. Those panels were bent pretty much which I understand causes it. Still I wish I had sheathing over the hull and interior.

Brian S · Feb 27, 2017

shemandr said:
On my stitch 'n glue pram I used Okoume . Even wiith epoxy covering checking eventually happened. Those panels were bent pretty much which I understand causes it. Still I wish I had sheathing over the hull and interior.

Yeah, with a bent panel, I would expect checking, unless it's steam bent (which it wouldn't be for tortured ply/stitch and glue construction.) The checking I had was with flat fir ply, no bend to it.

JRT · Mar 2, 2017

So is laminating teak boards together the way to make compression post?

justsomeguy · Mar 2, 2017

John Tubb said:
So is laminating teak boards together the way to make compression post?

Could be, if you prepare the wood before glue-up.
Google "gluing teak lumber" to read up on it.

GDayYall · Mar 2, 2017

What I did was take 3/4" teak stock I had and epoxy together two pieces to make it thick enough. Then I cut it to the right size and made a groove for where the bulkhead inserts on the table saw, and then rounded over the edges with a round over bit. Make it a bit longer than the original one, then test fit before finishing, shaving off a little length until you get a perfect fit. Mine came out looking great and you can't tell it's two pieces laminated together.

shemandr · Mar 2, 2017

Laminating? Yes. Teak? As JSG says. It's oily wood.

JRT · Mar 2, 2017

Would white oak be better or easier

Brian S · Mar 2, 2017

John Tubb said:
Would white oak be better or easier

White oak is a known good boatbuilding wood. NEVER red oak! Red oak has a structure of like, straws, which suck up water into the wood. It's a rot magnet.

Teak is ok for laminating, you just need to know that it's oily, and you need to clean it very well to get as much oil off as possible before you glue. It might be relatively expensive for a compression post...

JRT · Mar 2, 2017

Thanks, I was thinking white oak for my O'Day 25, but this thread had be think teak. Checked the prices and teak is a bit high so I'll stick with white oak boards laminated to the thickness I need..

GDayYall · Mar 2, 2017

White oak is fine and looks great, I just had teak on hand. And like others have said, if you do use teak wipe up the oils with acetone right before laminating.

Roy 845 · Apr 27, 2017

GDayYall said:
I replaced my bulkheads in a 23 with A marine grade ply that was about $60 for a 1/2" sheet. It's lighter in color than the original bulkheads but I think that's a good thing. I made a new compression post and trim from teak.

Can you tell me what were the dimensions of the compression post you put in? I'm not interested in length but width and thickness.

Wood Jigger · Apr 28, 2017

DJ, I'm doing the same job to my 222. Take a hard look at the chainplate penetrations because I'm pretty sure you'll find a soggy core around the penetrations. I think I've got to cut out a section of deck almost the full width for about 30". If enough water got through to rot the bulkheads, you can be pretty sure that it weeped into the deck core material as well. This is even more problematic in a cold climate where the soaked core freezes and expands. It doesn't take many cycles to create a much bigger job than planned. Good Luck

GDayYall · May 3, 2017

Roy 845 said:
Can you tell me what were the dimensions of the compression post you put in? I'm not interested in length but width and thickness.

I made it to the same specs as the one that was originally in the boat. Not having it in front of me, I can't tell you exactly what the dimension are. If you'd like for me to, I'll measure it next time I'm at the boat and get back to you.

Roy 845 · May 3, 2017

Yes that would be great! I bought a Rough sawn White Oak timber that I'm going to trim down to some unknown size this weekend. I plan on using long stainless wood screws on the mast step right through the cabin roof into this timber. I think if I reconstruct the Port side Bulkhead I'll be able to get a decent idea on how the post will work. I originally thought that the Bulkhead would fit into a routed out channel on the post but it looks like it might just attach to the back side of the post. The floor under the post was opened up then refilled with Epoxy to make it solid. I probably will use a Galvanized angle bracket to secure it to the floor. I appreciate any input you can offer. I was at our Marina Monday evening and I am excited to launch her.

Replacing Bulkheads on O'Day 222 - What to use?

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