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Sailmonkey · 19-02-2010, 18:13

Ok, so I've finally sealed (I think) all of the deck leaks, and re-wired the whole boat from top to bottom. In doing so I discovered that the bulkhead that the stbd upper is attached to is soft. the 3 5/16" bolts that hold the chainplate on pass through the tabbing on both sides.
I need to know if others who have had something similar just "solidified" the plywood with MEK thinned epoxy or If I need to scarf in a new peice of Ply?
You would think I would have noticed this when I built and installed the new chain plates

Sailmonkey · 19-02-2010, 18:14

and I meant to say ROTTEN!!

Laidback · 19-02-2010, 18:28

Major Surgery recommended - in the meantime surveyor's sharp screwdriver - if you have access to a moisture meter, survey other parts of the hull. West epoxy once all the bad material is removed.

forsailbyowner · 19-02-2010, 18:36

For a piece around a chainplate I'd recommend replacing a major portion of the plywood. When I went to fix a small area around a leak 12 sheets of plywood later all the areas of soft wood were taken care of. The water migrates inside the tabbing once the wood is compromised.

Sailmonkey · 19-02-2010, 18:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by forsailbyowner

For a piece around a chainplate I'd recommend replacing a major portion of the plywood. When I went to fix a small area around a leak 12 sheets of plywood later all the areas of soft wood were taken care of. The water migrates inside the tabbing once the wood is compromised.

That's a warm fuzzy......thanks.......

SkiprJohn · 19-02-2010, 19:25

If you have time before your next sailing adventure I'd certainly recommend major surgery and repair rather than a "try to fix inplace" solution. It'll always be a mental issue if not a physical one.
kind regards,

delmarrey · 19-02-2010, 20:46

Which is more fun? Replacing a mast and plywood? Or just the plywood?

**James S** · 19-02-2010, 23:40

I'm with the "fix it right" crowd.
Sounds like one big advantage you have is that the chain plates bolt through the tabs..that tells me that when you rebuild that area you'll have a chance to thicken the new tabs and that may help compensate for any questionable splicing of the bulk head...not that you work will be questionable...its just a safety net!
Good luck with it.

Sailmonkey · 20-02-2010, 07:47

I am almost positive that my scarf will be questionable, I've only done this twice and both times I was working with full sheets of ply laid out on concrete. This time around I'll be cutting the 8:1 taper with a sanding disc on a grinder while inside of a cabinet that is also tabbed to the hull..........everything else is attached to solid glass knees.......I wish the builder had just continued on with the tradition!!!!!

CarlF · 20-02-2010, 08:40

A couple of thoughts:

How are those chainplates? That rotted area is a great place for crevice corrosion to have started. One idea would be to replace the chain plate and make it long enough to reach past the rotted wood.

Your structural challenge here is simple tension (from the shroud). Epoxy and fiberglass is a lot stronger than any piece of plywood (with or without a scarf joint) under tension.

I'm a great believer in CPES epoxy (or one of the competitors) to stabilize areas where the effort and cosmetic damage to remove the wood is too great. A combination of CPES, epoxy with high strength filler, some pieces of new plywood, and a half dozen layers of biaxial fiberglass tape (maybe even with a few layers of carbon fiber tape thrown in) will be a lot stronger than the rigging. The CPES site has some great "how to". Look at the one for replacing a plywood transom

Wood preservation, rot repair, and restoration using epoxy resin on boats, homes and log homes.

Carl

barnakiel · 20-02-2010, 08:50

We replaced the whole thing on a Puma. I bet one can just cut out part of the bulkhead and re-build, but it might end up being the same amount of work with just less pleasing, visually, outcome (unless we verneer the repair, which is then loads of work).

In any case - if structural, fix it. The better the fix, the better the sleep!

b.

zeehag · 20-02-2010, 08:51

cpes rule!!!!!! having a leaky teaky taught me that lol....i would use them on the new pieces before the scarfing so the wood isnt as prone to rot after the fix.....prevention??!!.
also check the reason for the rot --fix that problem so it doesnt recur....

Sailmonkey · 20-02-2010, 17:13

9 hours spent today to remove the bad wood, cut a new section, curse, scream, kick, bleed, 1 layer of glass mat, 5 layers of glass tape with the fibers in an orientation that makes sense with the load..........I have a new section of bulkhead that should be stronger than the rigging.
Now I think i'll go shave my arms since I can't think of any other way to get the epoxy out of the hair!