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E25+ Compression Post Base

Nick J

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Blogs Author
My wife and I recently purchased a 1980 Ericson 25+ and now it’s time for the work to start. The boat’s in decent shape for its age, but the main concern is the compression post base. The block supporting the hull liner directly under the compression post is rotten and needs to be replaced. I've done a few searches and come up with a few posts warning about the possibility
My plan:

  1. Loosen the rig
  2. Jack the cabin top up (not sure what to use for this)
  3. Shim the hull liner up on either side of the block to push the liner against bottom of the compression post and take the rest of the weight off of the block.
  4. Cut the block out and clean up the old tabbing
  5. Create a template of hull
  6. Create a new hardwood block with the template
  7. Seal the block
  8. Apply thickened epoxy to the hull and bottom of the hull liner and install the block
  9. Remove shims and jack
Is this a good plan of attack? Will this work by itself or do I need to tab the block into the hull and liner? I’m hoping to avoid this because I don’t have access to the front of the block after it has been installed.
 

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Nick J

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Blogs Author
Thanks for the G-10 suggestion. Does anyone have a good source that won't break the bank?

I'm also a little concerned about how to jack up the cabin top and what kind of jack to use. If I place the jack on top of the keel, I won't have access to the compression post base, and if I place it on top of the liner I'll be fighting myself unless I find a spot where the liner is directly glued to the hull. Does anyone know where the liner is glued to hull?
 

davisr

Member III
A lot of owners have used McMaster-Carr, but Defender now sells G-10. It's not that expensive (relatively speaking) if you get a small piece, e.g., 12 in x 12 in, and cut it into smaller pieces - smaller pieces that you then glue together to achieve the desired height.

http://www.defender.com/category.jsp?path=-1|10918|2303341&id=2303346

Instead of trying to jack up the overhead, which might not do anything but damage both your overhead and your sole (where the jack would sit), it might be worth it to drop the mast. Without the weight of the mast you might be able to remove the block manually with a dead blow hammer or something similar. If it's stubborn, you could cut it out with an oscillating tool. Others might have other techniques, but this is what I would try before trying to jack up the deck.

Roscoe
 

Nick J

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Blogs Author
Compression Post Update

After a lot of head scratching, I finally came up with a solution to my rotten compression post base problem. The original plan was to buy some G10 and rebuild the block but I ran into a few problems:
  1. Cost, the block had to be 10"x10"x4" which was a little expensive for what I got
  2. Jacking up the cabin top after loosing the rig didn't go as well as I had planned. The top lifted off of the bulkhead and compression post, but the post didn't lift up with the top and relieve the pressure on the cabin sole. although the base of the jack stand was placed as close to the contact point between the sole and hull, I'm thinking a little of the pressure is still be transferred to pushing the sole down. There could also be some friction between the bulkhead and compression post adding to the problem. At any rate, the only solution that I could think of would be to jack up the post directly under the post, but then I would have a jack in the way of where the block would go. I could have built up the block and hammered a wedge between the block and the bottom of the sole to lift everything into place, but I opted for another solution.
  3. contouring the bottom of the block to fit the hull shape. The center of the post fell further forward than what I had anticipated which would require some complex shaping of the block. I also have a speed transducer in the way, so I have some limited space to get the block in there.

The final solution: a stainless steel jack screw placed on an epoxy bed with bolts holding it in place. This will allow me to jack everything in place, apply the required support, and it should last longer than the original piece of wood. It also turned out to be a little cheaper and easier than the G10 solution. I still have to build up the epoxy bed and install it, but I think I'm finally on the right track. Thanks to the guys at OnlineMetals and McMaster Carr for the material and Everett Engineering for the welding and machining.
 

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Alan Gomes

Sustaining Partner
After a lot of head scratching, I finally came up with a solution to my rotten compression post base problem. The original plan was to buy some G10 and rebuild the block but I ran into a few problems:
<snip>
The final solution: a stainless steel jack screw placed on an epoxy bed with bolts holding it in place. This will allow me to jack everything in place, apply the required support, and it should last longer than the original piece of wood. It also turned out to be a little cheaper and easier than the G10 solution. I still have to build up the epoxy bed and install it, but I think I'm finally on the right track. Thanks to the guys at OnlineMetals and McMaster Carr for the material and Everett Engineering for the welding and machining.
I like it! That looks like it will be a really sturdy fix.</snip>
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
That's a beautiful fabrication but I'm not seeing how it solves the problem. Isn't it pushing up on the rotted block from the bottom while the compression post pushes down from the top? A rotted-block sandwich, so to speak.
 

Nick J

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Blogs Author
Solution is solid do far

I completely removed the block and build up a bed of thickened epoxy directly on top of the keel. It's rock solid at the base. I will probably need to rebuild the mast step at the top of the post in the not so distant future (no visable damage, but it's almost 40 years old), but at least I have a solid base.
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
So if the block is out and the epoxy replaces the block and goes down to the keel...where does your stainless part go? Or was that just a temporary jack as the epoxy was curing?

Sorry for being so dull.

I might be able to offer perspective on the deck repair below the mast. I did that last year, but haven't remounted the mast yet. (Involved job, but I also had a lot of other happy distractions going on last season.)

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...?13256-Seeking-advice-on-E32-mast-step-repair
 

Nick J

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Blogs Author
Here's a quick sketch of a cross section. The new Jack screw / compression post base goes in the bildge between the keel and the hull liner directly below the compression post.
14587469271661973279825.jpg
 

Nick J

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Blogs Author
Final Instal pic

I just reread this thread and realized I never posted a picture of the jack screw in place. This pic was taken before I actually turned the nuts and jacked the post up, but hopefully it will clear things up even more
attachment.php

Thanks for sharing your mast step rebuild post. I've read it a few times along with about a dozen other stories of similar repairs. It's really nice to have people who've been there before and done what seems daunting or almost imposable.
 

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Nick J

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Blogs Author
For the most part, yes. This picture was before I started turning the jack screw. If I removed the mast I would have lifted it further but I sold the boat and I'm not sure if the new owner has done it yet.
 

Cnieto77

Junior Member
For the most part, yes. This picture was before I started turning the jack screw. If I removed the mast I would have lifted it further but I sold the boat and I'm not sure if the new owner has done it yet.
Could you share a drawing with the measurements for the screw jack?
 

Nick J

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Blogs Author
Could you share a drawing with the measurements for the screw jack?

Sorry Cnieto, I lost the file when my home computer crashed. I covered it in post 7 of this related thread:


I haven't heard from @gargrag to see how his project turned out, but he might be a good resource as well.

 

Cnieto77

Junior Member
Sorry Cnieto, I lost the file when my home computer crashed. I covered it in post 7 of this related thread:


I haven't heard from @gargrag to see how his project turned out, but he might be a good resource as well.

Just saw your post thank I'll check it out, this is definitely on my to do list now.
 
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