Bulkhead Tabbing on old morgan

[akopac]

I have an old Heritage yachts Charlie Morgan West Indies 38 foot cruising boat (79) and I have put a ton of miles under it. The boat was built like a tank like most boats back then, with both masts keel stepped and a rod rigged main, large steel I-beam floors that are well maintained, and is a ketch with a ton of miles on it. I have noticed some of the bulkhead tabbing has popped loose, but have had little or no flexing or leaking from flexing. I’m wondering how structural the tabbing is? I’m long term cruising and several people have mentioned that the boat is really overbuilt and it’s not a problem.
Any thoughts?

[Fore and Aft]

Akopac I would fix the tabbing for sure. Fibreglass is strong when it's in a modular unit, not long lengths of unsupported material. The best analogy I can think of is an egg carton. Start snipping out those egg holders and eventually the remaining carton is easily crushed.
Cheers

[rognvald]

Fix it! It's not a big job and you'll never have doubts about your boat in a blow.
Rognvald

[gonesail]

since you have the time to do it right .. it will be much better and stronger than what Morgan did.

[s/v Jedi]

Yes, fix it for sure. Use a Fein Multimaster to cut the old tabbing out so it doesn’t make a mess like with an angle grinder, then sand and put new tabbing in.

There should be either a void or foam between bulkhead and hull/deck. Don’t fill that with a hard filler.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Yes, fix it for sure. Use a Fein Multimaster to cut the old tabbing out so it doesn’t make a mess like with an angle grinder, then sand and put new tabbing in.

There should be either a void or foam between bulkhead and hull/deck. Don’t fill that with a hard filler.

Indeed.