Bulk Head repairs

[Bill Adkins]

I recently traded work for a 84 Sea Ray 24ft cuddy cab. After a close inspection I noted the bulkhead between the engine room area and the center section that houses the fuel tank has dry rot, what the heck the boat was virtually free. The bulkhead is glassed to the hull on the aft side but not the front side. It is attached to the hull for the full distance side to side but is only used as a floor support in the center. What is the bulkheads purpose, is it a stiffener for the hull shape. Can I replace it in 2 sections and make a joint in the center. the deck is a flush deck so the only way I can see to replace it is in sections. It has a water channel at the bottom between compartments so it being watertight wasnt a consideration when built. There are 2 bulkheads in the boat roughly making the hull three seperate areas. Any info would be highly appreciated as I am trying to formulate a work plan. Thanks ahead of time.
Bill

 

[oops!]

Re: Bulk Head repairs

the bulk head is part of the vessels frame section......

i think it was replaced allready cause it should have been glassed in on both sides ....not just one

you can replace it in two peices if you use a proper joint. the bulkhead cannot be "loose in the middle"

you will have to get thru the floor to glass in the aft side...

use dryed 3/4 inch pressure treated plywood. and standard polyester resin would work just fine.....

a matt.. roving... matt layup would be best.....just scuff the hull with a grinder approx 10 ins away from where the glass will attach to the hull and overlap the glass layers so each peice of glass you lay contacts the hull approx 2 ins more....make sure you clean with acetone.....

when glassing make sure the wood is fully sealed.....

thats it your done !

cheers
oops

 

[Bill Adkins]

Re: Bulk Head repairs

Thanks for the response OOPS, it seems after a lot more carefull close inspection that there is a lot more dry rot on the right side of the boat. Two bulkheads as well as what appears to be a box built paralleling the center mounted fuel tank. I have been searching the web for small craft structural articles, the box is either a linear stiffener or a housing for flotation foam. Wont know till I open it I guess. Need to remove the fuel tank first to get access. I am counting on occasional advice to keep me from screwing it up to badly. The boat has been refit with a 454 with a new stern driveas well as new trim tabs, pump and steering so I think its worth the work. I used to dive from it yrs ago and its a really good handling boat for So Cal waters.
Any advice prior to starting would be really cool. I do have a hobby blacksmith shop so I can fab almost anything I may need from either metal or wood. Thanks again
Bill

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Bulk Head repairs

Read my thread "Unintentional stringer job" as well as "Hey, that bulkhead is crooked".

I started in exactly the same place on my 1983 sea ray about a month ago... that short bulkhead was crooked due to rot... I ended up tearing out everything down to the hull for replacement

Don't worry, maybe you won't. Check and see if your deck is warped or wavy at all, especially where the seats are. Sea Ray put holes in the deck to squirt floatation foam in under the deck all over the place. They plugged the holes with a kind of black glue that doesn't hold up well over 25 years, so it lets water in.

From what I recall on my 22 footer, the box paralleling the main stringer is mostly a floor support, I don't think it goes all the way to the hull, it just supports the deck some. Post some pics and I can tell you for sure.

I suggest you start digging out wet wood and fiberglass... but be prepared to do a lot of work just in case there's a lot of wet wood. Post back here when you need help.

On the bright side, Sea Rays are nice boats, and I guarantee once you fix it up you'll enjoy it a great deal. I wish mine had a 454

Just out of curiosity, what do you use for a dive ladder? I'm going to fab a custom one for mine, since I took off the stern platform to get space for a kicker.

Erik

 

[Bill Adkins]

Re: Bulk Head repairs

Eric, I have been reading your plight dealing with the bulkhead and stringer repairs. It would seem that you have faired quite well. The boat I am starting to revive is a srv 24.5 Cuddy Cruiser. The deck is a flush deck that is free standing over the bilge with a crawl space between the deck and the fuel tank and parallel wood boxes. The inner panels of the boxes seem to be the stringers with the tank mounted between and lower than what the boxes sit on. All the work will be done through three hatches running down the center of the deck. I am HOPING that I can either get the plywood panels through the hatches or I most probably will have to do sections and make joints when in place. If it were steel I could simply weld it in place, no issues but alas its wood so I have to master another form of construction. Good thing I just retired, gives me time to ponder and experiment. I will take some pics and post them here as it unfolds.
As for a ladder, this is my second Sea Ray and they both had factory ladders at the swim step. I did tons of diving and I built a Sturdy handle at the transom and climbed up the outdrive due to the weight of dive gear. Worked really well for myself and anyone who was with me.
Bill

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Bulk Head repairs

I scrapped a 1980 Sea Ray 24 cuddy cabin last summer that had lots of rot in the bulkhead, it was only glassed on one side and the lower wood and stringers were rock solid. I cut the boat up for parts and made tiny pieces out of it. All of the inside wood was bare and barely covered, the rot had started from the floor up, the floor was rotted on both sides but mostly on the right side. It looked to me like water laid there for some reason, there was also a built in cooler below the dash that had a poorly designed drain which leaked and rotted the wood below it.
My overall take on the boat was that there was lots of wasted space, but the hull itself was built like a tank. The outer hull had to be 3/8" thick. I had only bought the boat for it's trailer and outdrive, the rest got cut up or sold.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Bulk Head repairs

Yeah, my experience with the Sea Ray underdeck structures is kinda like that. The transom and two main stringers are covered in chopped mat, but the rest of the under deck woodwork is just bare wood.

It's usually embedded in lots of floatation foam, which I suppose Sea Ray expected would keep away the water - I think they expected the underdeck to remain completely dry given the seal around the deck edges and the thickness of the decking glass.

Too bad they didn't count on anyone screwing things into the deck. It's amazing that some of their stuff is super quality (the hull, eg.) but in other places it looks like a bubba job. They used duct tape in places as anti-chafing... duct tape, on a factory job.

Erik