Bulkhead removal

OK, I just went down to check the battery water in Journey On. We don't remove the batteries for the winter in SoCal. and I found the last remnant of the summer cruise. The cardboard from a 6 pack of "Pacific Pilsner Beer, the Coast Champ." Judy spent her hard earned money on that to keep me happy whilst we were in Refuge Cove. Pacific Beer in Canada, Pacifico Beer in Mexico. Both cheap.

OK, and what does this have to with widening a C-Dory bulkhead? Well, while I was in the boat, I looked at the bulkhead between the V-berth and the cabin. I'm going to offer a different view from what Bob gave as to the importance of that panel. Understand, I only speak for the 25; Bob has experience with the Tomcat, the 25 and the 22.

That bulkhead is fastened with 2 ea 1/4" bolts/lag screws on each side of the cabin, into the v-berth structure, which in itself is bonded to the inside of the hull. That's the only place in a C-Dory 25 those bolts are used. The hull and deck are held together by pop rivets (and adhesive,) not bolts. I don't know if they're bolts or lag screws, because I can't remove them, those suckers are in to stay. So the bottom is secure.

Now the top. The top of that bulkhead forms the shelf just below the forward windows. So that angle stiffens the bulkhead and allows higher loads to be transferred across the hull. There are 10 ea pop rivets holding that top shelf to the cabin molding, so it's there to stay also.

And the bulkhead's vertical section is plywood, covered with fiberglass. So that's not trivial. Bob's correct in saying there is no bonding at the sides.

My contention is that bulkhead, intended or not, adds a significant amount of stiffness to the structure, both in torsion and lateral movement. And I wouldn't want to do that. Removing it or cutting a significant amount from it has to reduce the boats structural stiffness. The original cutout is bridged by the top shelf, allowing loads to be carried across.

Of course, the flip side is that access to the v-berth sucks. I finally surrendered and cut out about 6" horizontally. That's about 25% of the original opening and was well worth it.

Boris
 
Borris, the hull and deck are glassed together. This is a feature of the C Dory which has a strong hull to deck joint, rather than the more common joint with only adhesive and rivets. The pop rivets are just to hold the rub rail, which covers the hull to deck joint in place. The rivets are placed after the hull to deck joint is glassed in place.

I have seen the pop rivets on forweard edge of the shelf to the deck come loose--so those are not there to stay. Pop rivets into thin fiberglass are not good fastening methods. I have seen the weak "Bostik" sealant used here.

As to the lower part--there are lag screws--and they go into..about 3/16 to 1/4" fiberglass--and into the ..foam. Again, I have seen a number of boats where these have worked loose, or the glass around them has worked and enlarged.

The right angle, of the shelf, is a very weak structural element. There is plywood in the center of the shelf, and on the flat of the bulkhead to stiffen it.

If C Dory wanted to make this bulkhead structural, they would have glassed it in, as they did with the aft cabin bulkhead....and as they did with the hull to deck joint.
 
I'll chime in;

-I have thought about cutting it open, but have not brought myself to actually do it
-Getting in/out sucks, especially as I "grow older"
-We have already had two of the lag bolts come out from vibration etc. The core of the berth is not strong enough to hold them. I am going to replace them w/ lock nuts and bolts
-Not worried about ventilation, at least up here in the PNW
-Would love the openness to make crawling in/out easier
-Often wondered if I would lose my pillow once it's done (while I sleep)
-If I did cut it, I'd have a new "privacy curtain" sewn
-I would much rather have the ability to "open" the top shelf, just above the factory opening. I bang my head on that thing once a trip


In short, it's one of those "I'm not 100% sure I really wanna do this" things....
 
In my experience "living with" a bulkhead that's be removed (on a CD25) is that:

>Would love the openness to make crawling in/out easier

It ain't just YOU getting in and out; a great benefit is the ease with which one can get gear (duffle bags, bedding, knapsacks, fishing rods) in and out.

> Often wondered if I would lose my pillow once it's done (while I sleep)

My wife sleeps on the "wire panel" side; she is not so tall and totally misses the electric area. I sleep on the other side. We are both feet to the bow. I find that there is enough bulkhead left (or be sure that there is) to support pillows such that I can sit up and read properly. Not a lot of room, mind you, but adequate.

Yes, I do tend to lose the pillow a bit in the night. Perhaps once or twice it has ended up on the floor board (but within easy reach). I tend to wake up a lot during the night; so reaching over to re-arrange the pillow has not been a problem for me.
 
Just a few more comments since I did cut out the bulkhead. So far I am glad I did.

I agree with localboy in that it makes it really easier to get in an out.....for my wife, as I sleep on the wire side. Great idea on the privacy curtain. As for losing your pillow, if you build aplatform to place in the footwell, you will still have the galley seat behind you to contain the pillow. I was thinking about hinging the short legs so it will fold down flat.....maybe store it between the galley seat and the hull.

I looked at some of the pictures of CBrats that did cut out their bulkhead and saw that some left the shelf in place. I removed the shelf also. The shelf is what you hit your head on, not the bulkhead. Removing the shelf allows someone to sit up and get out.

Thanks for all your comments.
 
Gene&Mary":3b6h70pt said:
Just a few more comments since I did cut out the bulkhead. So far I am glad I did.

I agree with localboy in that it makes it really easier to get in an out.....for my wife, as I sleep on the wire side. Great idea on the privacy curtain. As for losing your pillow, if you build aplatform to place in the footwell, you will still have the galley seat behind you to contain the pillow. I was thinking about hinging the short legs so it will fold down flat.....maybe store it between the galley seat and the hull.

I looked at some of the pictures of CBrats that did cut out their bulkhead and saw that some left the shelf in place. I removed the shelf also. The shelf is what you hit your head on, not the bulkhead. Removing the shelf allows someone to sit up and get out.

Thanks for all your comments.
Click to expand...
I'm sure many would be interested in seeing pictures of what you did.
 
Patty here. Did it. Love it. Extended privacy curtain to hide the "stuff." Lets the heater air flow to all areas of the V-berth. Way easier entrance and exit. We read in the cabin so the backrest is not an issue. When we go to bed, we...go to bed.
 
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