I have been retro fitting my Vega with a lot of reinforcement using CSM & 1708. I am adding some 3/8” - 7 ply plywood in a few locations to really stiffen up areas of high use and hardware install. I am toying with sealing off around the cockpit floor where the removable floor is located. I did a mock up using a high grade 7 ply plywood , wrapping around this well. I can see a lot of advantages in doing this…keeping gear from sliding around under the cockpit, better water control into the engine compartment, a strong addition to the hull, and fuel separation from the engine compartment. When finished it would be a water tight compartment keeping any water coming from the seating areas from entering the engine compartment. I could install a bilge pump on either side at the bulk head to discharge any water I might take on. Any thoughts on this idea? Please advise. The additional overlay and added reinforcement is amazing how stiff this boat is becoming. I have been reading about flexing of fiberglass hulls and the damage this causes to the fibers in the resin. Which is not seen until the stress cracks finally show up. Larry V-2716Sent from Windows Mail
Under Cockpit:
- Thread starter lewills30
- Start date
I have been retro fitting my Vega with a lot of reinforcement using CSM & 1708. I am adding some 3/8” - 7 ply plywood in a few locations to really stiffen up areas of high use and hardware install. I am toying with sealing off around the cockpit floor where the removable floor is located. I did a mock up using a high grade 7 ply plywood , wrapping around this well. I can see a lot of advantages in doing this…keeping gear from sliding around under the cockpit, better water control into the engine compartment, a strong addition to the hull, and fuel separation from the engine compartment. When finished it would be a water tight compartment keeping any water coming from the seating areas from entering the engine compartment. I could install a bilge pump on either side at the bulk head to discharge any water I might take on. Any thoughts on this idea? Please advise. The additional overlay and added reinforcement is amazing how stiff this boat is becoming. I have been reading about flexing of fiberglass hulls and the damage this causes to the fibers in the resin. Which is not seen until the stress cracks finally show up. Larry V-2716Sent from Windows Mail
Sounds like a huge project, could be you are better off putting the resourcest elsewhere. Nicholas H. Walsh Admiralty and maritime law; Commercial law Nicholas H. Walsh P.A.120 Exchange StreetP.O. Box 7206Portland Maine 04112-7206Phone: 207/772-2191Fax: 207/774-3940 This email is from a law firm and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you suspect you received it in error, please delete the email and contact us. From: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of lewills30@...Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2014 3:04 AMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comSubject: [AlbinVega] Under Cockpit: I have been retro fitting my Vega with a lot of reinforcement using CSM & 1708. I am adding some 3/8” - 7 ply plywood in a few locations to really stiffen up areas of high use and hardware install. I am toying with sealing off around the cockpit floor where the removable floor is located. I did a mock up using a high grade 7 ply plywood , wrapping around this well. I can see a lot of advantages in doing this…keeping gear from sliding around under the cockpit, better water control into the engine compartment, a strong addition to the hull, and fuel separation from the engine compartment. When finished it would be a water tight compartment keeping any water coming from the seating areas from entering the engine compartment. I could install a bilge pump on either side at the bulk head to discharge any water I might take on. Any thoughts on this idea? Please advise. The additional overlay and added reinforcement is amazing how stiff this boat is becoming. I have been reading about flexing of fiberglass hulls and the damage this causes to the fibers in the resin. Which is not seen until the stress cracks finally show up. Larry V-2716 Sent from Windows Mail
One of the things I like about the Vega is what a well ventilated ship she is. There is a certain genius in the design. Strategic gaps between the bulkheads and the hull allows air to circulate from one end of the boat to the other, keeping the boat fresh and mildew free. The fresh air vented in from the cockpit passes over the hull in a covered duct under the port settee and drops it's moisture to drain harmlessly into the bilge, with dry air exiting in the base of the hanging locker. The only time I had a moisture problem was when the decks were snow-covered. The strip of under-deck along the gunwale, where there was no coring material to insulate it, would condense moisture and drip water onto the shelves below. A couple of well placed towels solved the problem. Making things water-tight also makes them air tight which is an open invitation to mold and mildew. Some consideration should be made to allow a free flow of air through these areas, while still being able to seal them off in an emergency.Peterwww.mostlyaboutboats.ca
I would seal it to the drains at the cockpit floor. I lift the floor and I have access to everything in the engine compartment.LarrySent from Windows MailFrom: GroundhogSent: ?Friday?, ?February? ?14?, ?2014 ?8?:?01? ?AMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
If u seal it off, how will u access from the tranny back?
If u seal it off, how will u access from the tranny back?
I would be cautious of creating hard points in the overall
structure. The design is solid and
proven I too have a tendency to beef up things as a shipwright. However, often the result can be catastrophic. I do think that the cockpit is the very last
place for the engine controls and I plan to box them in with a watertight
compartment. I also feel that the main
companion way can be beefed up and use some seriously strong storm boards
likewise for the ports. I am certain
that if you study the fabrication of some of the best sailboats there strength like
a birch bark canoe is derived from the application of all the materials and not
on one individual component.
structure. The design is solid and
proven I too have a tendency to beef up things as a shipwright. However, often the result can be catastrophic. I do think that the cockpit is the very last
place for the engine controls and I plan to box them in with a watertight
compartment. I also feel that the main
companion way can be beefed up and use some seriously strong storm boards
likewise for the ports. I am certain
that if you study the fabrication of some of the best sailboats there strength like
a birch bark canoe is derived from the application of all the materials and not
on one individual component.
Hi there,In reading your response I am not sure I am following what you mean. I was thinking of boxing in around the well at the cockpit from the bulk head to the two drains aft of the engine. It is about a 24” x 5’-0” area I would be sealing in, from the hull floor up the side of the well 4”. I thought sense the cockpit floor does flex by design slightly, bonding this small area together would be okay. It seems to me, that if a fiberglass boat is flexing at all I would have bigger problems with fibers in the resin breaking. Which would give me stress cracks deep into or through the glass. I have found one such stress crack which has done just this, right below the chain supports for the mast. Some of the guys in our group have bonded the bulkheads tight, which seems like a good idea for reducing fiber brake down. Not to mention a possible watertight bulkhead system when completed. You are right about the materials, I have been laying up biaxial 1708 in the areas of heavy use and I am shocked at the strength of something so light…meaning the matting. My aft deck was worn over the years, flexing a lot under my load, I overlaid this deck and installed a 7 ply 3/8” plywood backer under the deck. It beefed up this area nicely. I had already fixed the top edge of the transom as it was cracked about 2” down from the top and the length of the transom. The areas with damage seems to be centered around or cause by the rigging. I am making this go away. Thanks ,LarryV-2761Sent from Windows MailFrom: beowulf@...Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2014 4:23 PMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
I would be cautious of creating hard points in the overall
structure. The design is solid and
proven I too have a tendency to beef up things as a shipwright. However, often the result can be catastrophic. I do think that the cockpit is the very last
place for the engine controls and I plan to box them in with a watertight
compartment. I also feel that the main
companion way can be beefed up and use some seriously strong storm boards
likewise for the ports. I am certain
that if you study the fabrication of some of the best sailboats there strength like
a birch bark canoe is derived from the application of all the materials and not
on one individual component.
I would be cautious of creating hard points in the overall
structure. The design is solid and
proven I too have a tendency to beef up things as a shipwright. However, often the result can be catastrophic. I do think that the cockpit is the very last
place for the engine controls and I plan to box them in with a watertight
compartment. I also feel that the main
companion way can be beefed up and use some seriously strong storm boards
likewise for the ports. I am certain
that if you study the fabrication of some of the best sailboats there strength like
a birch bark canoe is derived from the application of all the materials and not
on one individual component.