My anchor locker pan stiffening project continues to grow more complicated. Removal of the anchor locker pan yielded great access to the chain locker and the underside of the deck hardware. It also allowed a good inspection of the bulkhead dividing the v-berth from the chain locker. An obvious leak in the port-aft bow pulpit stanchion has caused some softening of the top 3 inches of the bulkhead where it tabs into the port side hull. That same side of the bulkhead is discolored but appears firm as it works its way down to the chain locker floor. This doesn't appear to be a serious structural problem, but hey, what do I know?! I'm thinking of using git rot to repair the damage to the existing bulkhead and then, of creating a marine plywood patch running from the top to the bottom of the bulkhead and about 7" wide to overlap with undamaged bulkhead. I would bond this to the bulkhead with thickened west system. I would then tab the patch to the hull and bring the glass tabbing out beyond the edge of the patch so that it bonds to the original bulkhead. How does this sound? Thanks in advance!
Problem With Anchor Locker Bulkhead
Check the wiring/passthrough
Laura -
You also want to check the bow stanchions there - the aft one on the port side - where the wires feed down from your bow light. The base was a pretty bad design - a cup-style base without any weep hole whatsoever.
The water just runs in, onto your wiring, through the hole and down into the boat.... Stick your head in there, and look at the wiring bundle hanging down - you should see it (unless your PO fixed it)
I always hated those stanchion mounts...was item #1761-i to be fixed...
//sse
Laura -
You also want to check the bow stanchions there - the aft one on the port side - where the wires feed down from your bow light. The base was a pretty bad design - a cup-style base without any weep hole whatsoever.
The water just runs in, onto your wiring, through the hole and down into the boat.... Stick your head in there, and look at the wiring bundle hanging down - you should see it (unless your PO fixed it)
I always hated those stanchion mounts...was item #1761-i to be fixed...
//sse
Pulpits and Lights and Leaks, oh my
As faithful readers know, I rebedded pulpits last year. The factory wire routing for the red/green combo on the bow pulpit was down the aft leg and thru a half inch hole. By 1988 they must have decided to be really sure that no water would ever leak. Besides the thin layer of sealant under the foot, there just have been three inches of it up inside the tubing around those two wires.
Getting it off the boat was not too hard, as I can get at the underside on our model due to having a shallow anchor locker pan.
Problem was that I could *not* get the plug of sealant out of the port side tube! I picked at it with needle nose pliers and every kind of slender instrument in the tool box. finally pulled the wires thru and out -- then could *not* thread the new wires back through.
Ended up drilling a new hole throught the starboard base and running the new boatcable quality duplex wiring down that side! I did re-seal that side when reinstalling the pulpit, but with enough sealant and not a lot more than enough. The hole in the front loop where the wire enters at the Aquasignal bow light is now sealed around the wires as well.
No leaks and no problems since.
Sidebar: not to make you feel bad, but the pulpits on an Olson are mounted through molded-in uncored places in the deck, so no rot to worry about, and this is not right over the foreward bulkhead. While spending some quality time on my back (ick...) inside that narrow forepeak, I did note that they had tabbed in the small bulkhead at the foot of the V berth, on the foreward side as well as the backside. I do think that Ericson used much smaller workers than me...
Best of luck on the repair.
Loren in PDX
'88 Olson 34
As faithful readers know, I rebedded pulpits last year. The factory wire routing for the red/green combo on the bow pulpit was down the aft leg and thru a half inch hole. By 1988 they must have decided to be really sure that no water would ever leak. Besides the thin layer of sealant under the foot, there just have been three inches of it up inside the tubing around those two wires.
Getting it off the boat was not too hard, as I can get at the underside on our model due to having a shallow anchor locker pan.
Problem was that I could *not* get the plug of sealant out of the port side tube! I picked at it with needle nose pliers and every kind of slender instrument in the tool box. finally pulled the wires thru and out -- then could *not* thread the new wires back through.
Ended up drilling a new hole throught the starboard base and running the new boatcable quality duplex wiring down that side! I did re-seal that side when reinstalling the pulpit, but with enough sealant and not a lot more than enough. The hole in the front loop where the wire enters at the Aquasignal bow light is now sealed around the wires as well.
No leaks and no problems since.
Sidebar: not to make you feel bad, but the pulpits on an Olson are mounted through molded-in uncored places in the deck, so no rot to worry about, and this is not right over the foreward bulkhead. While spending some quality time on my back (ick...) inside that narrow forepeak, I did note that they had tabbed in the small bulkhead at the foot of the V berth, on the foreward side as well as the backside. I do think that Ericson used much smaller workers than me...
Best of luck on the repair.
Loren in PDX
'88 Olson 34
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ted_reshetiloff
Contributing Partner
Laura I think your approach to the bulkhead repair sounds fine. I would use some of the cloth I gave you to tab in with as it is great for that type of work. You may also find using the foam instead of plywood a good rounte to go as well, although plywood would be fine here. I would advise coating the plywood with resin on all sides prior to bonding it in and tabbing to ensure it is sealed and cannot absorb any moisture. The resin will also give you a good bonding surface. I personally try to avoid using plywood on repairs whenever closed cell coring foam can be used simply for a number of reasons. The foam is a lot easier to cut, bend, shape etc. It will never absorb water. It is lighter and canbe made as strong as any plywood. There are time however, and this may be one, where plywood is more practical. Your decision and either material would be a good fit.
Thanks, Ted
I was actually wondering about using the foam but wasn't sure it would be strong enough in that application. I think it would be easier to work with than the plywood I was suggesting, so I will definitely go that route. I intend to seal the holy heck out of that whole bulkhead. It's very vulnerable to leaks in that location. I'm confident that my rebedding project will eliminate the leaks, but I want to make triple sure that bulkhead isn't compromised any further. Thanks again for the materials and, most of all, for sharing your experience.
I was actually wondering about using the foam but wasn't sure it would be strong enough in that application. I think it would be easier to work with than the plywood I was suggesting, so I will definitely go that route. I intend to seal the holy heck out of that whole bulkhead. It's very vulnerable to leaks in that location. I'm confident that my rebedding project will eliminate the leaks, but I want to make triple sure that bulkhead isn't compromised any further. Thanks again for the materials and, most of all, for sharing your experience.