Question re: Bulkhead Impact Damage

[JohnV8r]

Hey Everybody,

I have finally begun the big project that includes the interior upgrade, the rewire, and the repower. I came out of the water at the end of June. I spent the weekend getting the last of the brown Formica out of the boat and prepping for the rest of the teak veneer to be installed.

There is an area of damage on the bulkhead between the v-berth and the salon. I made a really stupid mistake in 2004 trying to beat a storm to pull some crab pots. The storm won; I got stuck in some really large tight interval waves. Shambala got launched off of one wave and right into the face of another. The impact was so hard I thought the windows were likely all shattered. As it turned out, the hull flexed during the impact and caused some damage to the bulkhead. Here is a photo:



The damage is to the middle piece of the bulkhead and the port side of the bulkhead where the were jammed into each other. I was shocked at how bent the screws were in the mahogany reinforcement pieces.

My question is this: Do I need to cut the damaged areas out and replace them, or can I fill the plywood with thinned epoxy and clamp it with a large C clamp to try to return the pieces to their original shape? The middle piece has vertical cuts that appear to have been made at the factory. That piece would be fairly easy to remove and glass in a replacement. The port side piece would be a little more complicated, but still doable.

Let me know what the protocol is here please.

Thanks in advance.

John Vietor

[Tony Meola]

John

That was some hit.

Not sure how much trouble it would be, but just for peace of mind I would either replace it or perhaps you can fill it and clamp it as you said, but I would reinforce it with another piece of plywood cut to fit right behind it and glass them together.

I think the Capt. Would be the best one to answer this.

[JohnV8r]

My only concern about making this piece beefier was that it would either cause worse damage to the port & starboard side bulkheads, or could have prevented the hull from flexing. It would have been much worse if a stiffened bulkhead caused damage to the hull itself. The cuts between the center, port, and starboard sides almost seemed to indicate it was designed to sacrificial - or at least flex - in the event of extreme hull flexing.

I certainly hope I'm never in seas like that again. I thought I had seriously screwed the pooch when it happened.

[Kevin]

I think someone posted not too long ago that the wood part of the bulkheads that is tabbed in with fiberglass does not go all the way to the hull. Probably for the reason you mentioned, flexibility and prevent direct load to hull causing cracks in hull. I know the side of my bulkheads in V berth do not touch the hull. The wood is 1/4 to 1/2 inch away and held in place with glass strips.
The photos do not look that bad. I would clamp them back together with thickened resin or epoxy and throw some glass over it. That's just me though. Been 10 years like that so it can't be that bad.

[John F.]

What Kevin said. My 2 cents

[JohnV8r]

I'm going to give the epoxy infusion/clamping a try first. If it comes out solid I'll probably leave it. The point about the time since it happened and not much else occurring was well made.