This week we repaired the last two problematic bulkheads. In the pic below you can see the triangular missing shape from the back bulkhead in the closet through the hole of the missing bulkhead (which is now replaced with fiberglass board). AJ cut out the portion of the plywood bulkhead that had rotted.
To prep the area for a new plywood piece, we sanded back the paint where fiberglass tape would be laid, down to wood or gel coat, then cleaned it with acetone. Pics are not of final prep ;) I bet even my non boater friends know this drill now, but I just can't think of anything else to say about it. This was glued to that, that was bolted to this...and so on and so forth until I'm boring myself to death. And probably you too, faithful readers. My life amounts to little more than nuts and bolts and glues and screws right now. Unlike AJ, these things fail to illicit the poet within me.
We decided to use fiberglass tape this time with lovely selvage edges, instead of cutting strips out of our biax, which leaves sharp shards sticking out everywhere that you have to fight to smush down, then cuts you after it cures. Yay tape!
We laid two layers of tape over every seam. The two triangular sections of the V berth you can see in a pic above were slathered with thickened epoxy and chop strand glass before the new plywood piece was wedged in.
The other problematic bulkhead was the plywood bottom of the non structural bulkhead that separates the galley from the cabin. This one was removed via punching. Pow pow! And it fell to pieces. The old fiberglass tape along it's edges had to be chiseled off then sanded down.
New plywood panel dry fit:
The veneer on the top of the bulkhead isn't doing so hot...but it's veneer on fiberglass so no problemo!
Same story, and voila, another fixed bulkhead.
We've also been working on the chain plate fin areas. Removing the fins left a gouge. The area was ground, sanded, and scrubbed clean. We filled and smoothed the gouge with thickened epoxy with chop strand fiberglass. Then covered it with fiberglass cloth. 2 down, 4 to go. 2 of them will serve as the location for our new chain plates, and receive 2 layers of heavy biax fiberglass. The chainplates can be installed after that, then the mast support, then the mast!
After all of this glass work, we'll get to do tons more sanding! of fiberglass! Ahhhh!
Then we can cover it all up with paint and forget it ever happened. Try to forget, try very hard.
Next up, a sneak peak!
Full report coming soon.
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