| Circe
| Wednesday, September 2, 2009 I spent the day on the new bulkhead installation. I began by washing and sanding the epoxy that I applied on Monday to prepare it for the new installation. After cleaning up, I made some additional reference marks to signify the thickness of the bulkhead, using my initial lines as a guide, and then hot-glued some alignment and clamping blocks to the hull and deck along this line. These blocks held the bulkheads in the proper place, and gave me a way to temporarily clamp it in place during installation. |
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With the bulkheads thusly secured, I checked with a level to ensure that the bulkheads were plumb, and also properly aligned with each other across the opening. Note that for the moment, I left additional plywood in the passageway; I planned to mark and cut a wider passageway once the bulkheads were permanently installed to ensure that the opening was perfectly plumb on each side. |
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Satisfied with the fit, I used a scrap of Corecell foam to mark a line on the bulkhead along the hull, in the area where the bulkhead rested against the topsides. With the bulkhead blanks down on my bench, I cut along this line to remove a bit of the plywood, into which space I'd insert the Corecell in an effort to prevent a hard spot from the bulkhead. I cut strips of the foam to fit and set them aside for later installation. |
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I scribed some marks on the bulkhead along the edges to be tabbed so that I could mask off the area to keep the epoxy confined during the process, and then, just at the end of the morning work session, I coated the plywood edges with epoxy to help seal the edge grain. I left this to tack up during lunch. |
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I clamped the bulkheads in place and checked the positioning once more. In the gaps I'd created, I inserted the Corecell strips between the bulkhead and hull, and then installed epoxy fillets along the aft side of the bulkhead where it met the hull and deck. I knew I'd only have time to tab the aft face of the bulkheads this day, so I didn't install the fillets on the forward side at this time. |
 
 
 
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While I allowed the fillets time to partially cure, I cut enough fiberglass for the tabbing job ahead, with three layers (up to 12" in width) for the hull portion, and two layers (up to 6" width) to secure the bulkhead to the underside of the deck. Once the cutting was complete, it was time to begin wetting out and installing the tabbing along the bulkheads' edges, which consumed the remainder of the day. |
 
 
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