NUTS & BOATS
The twice monthly newsletter for to-be and already-are cruisers Volume 2, Issue #11 - June 1, 2004
Publisher: Trish Lambert
www.takehersailing.com
(C) P. Lambert 2004
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ASK CAP'N PAULEY
Replacing Bulkheads by Paul Esterle Paul, I have an Irwin 23. The Port and Starboard bulkheads need to be replaced. Can you give me any information on this project? The boat is on jackstands in a boatyard. Can this project be done without taking down the mast? What is the proper way and material to rebed the chainplates and toe-rails? Thank you for any information that you can give. Don Hi Don, I'm not familiar with the Irwin 23, so I did a little research on the Internet; I found that the I-23 has a deck-stepped mast. A deck stepped mast may well rely on the bulkheads to support the mast step on the cabin top. Boats may also have a wood or metal compression post on the inside of the cabin to support the bottom of the mast. If the bulkheads do not act as a support for the mast, you may be able to do the job without taking the mast down. You will need to take into account a couple of other things. You may have a problem if the hull is distorted from sitting on the jackstands and installing new bulkheads will make that distortion permanent. Some boats may have a molded inner liner that will make bulkhead removal and replacement more difficult. I replaced a main cabin bulkhead on my boat. I don't have an interior liner and have a keel-stepped mast, all of which made the job easier. Overall, especially since the boat is just 23 feet long, I would recommend taking down the mast to do this job. Many boats used plywood made from tropical woods. Even though the plywood is produced according to marine specifications, the wood itself isn't very rot-resistant. Actually, my bulkhead rotted from the inside out due to wicking up water from the leaks. Even more reason for sealing all leaks. I used 3/4” MDO plywood for my bulkhead replacement material. MDO stands for “Medium Density Overlay”. This plywood was developed for use in outdoor signs. The construction of the plywood is very similar to marine plywood: no core voids and waterproof adhesive. It differs in having a phenolic resin paper bonded to one or both sides. This surface is extremely smooth and is an ideal surface for epoxy; painting or applying veneers or laminates. It is also less expensive than marine plywood. You can find it a good lumberyard. Call a sign shop and see where they purchase theirs. The actual process of replacing the bulkhead is roughly as follows: 1. Make a pattern of the existing bulkhead. If you can get the old bulkhead out in one piece, use that as a pattern; otherwise make the pattern in place before removing the remains of the old bulkhead. I use artist's foam board as it is stiff, easy to work with and cuts with a standard hobby knife. Tape pieces of foam board together to get large enough pieces. 2. Remove the old bulkhead. The bulkhead is most likely fastened to the hull and deck with something called “tabbing”. Tabbing consists of pieces of fiberglass cloth or tape bonded to both the bulkhead and the hull/deck. This is how the bulkhead is structurally fastened in place. The tabbing can be broken loose with a hammer and a sharp chisel. You will need to grind off the old tabbing around the area of the old tabbing on the hull in preparation for installing the new bulkhead. 3. Cut out new bulkhead. By this time, you will know if the entire bulkhead is small enough to fit down the companionway. Mine wasn't and I had to do it in two pieces with a splice in it. The bulkhead does not need to fit extremely tight, a quarter inch or more leeway is fine and makes putting the bulkhead in easier. You can buy expensive teak or mahogany ply if you want. I used MDO as noted above. BE CAREFUL, there is also an MDO product used for concrete forms that is wax coated - you don't want this! I sealed my MDO against any water intrusion by coating the wood, especially the edges, with several coats of epoxy resin. This is one job you don't want to do over again, so seal the wood properly! 4. You can apply some sort of finish to the bulkhead now or after it has been installed. Some choices are: paint, wood veneer or Formica. The surface of the MDO will accept any of the above very well. If you use a wood veneer, you may need to stain the new veneer to match the older wood. I used a combination of stains to get the color I wanted. Leave the edges of the bulkhead bare where the new tabbing will go (See Drawing #1). 
5. Put the bulkhead in place. If it is a loose fit, use some shims or wedges to keep it centered and in the right location. You can use small pieces of foam with tapered edges and just leave them in place. 6. Tab the bulkhead in place. I used epoxy and 6 to 8 layers of fiberglass cloth tape. Half the width of the tape goes on the bulkhead and the other half on the hull. The tabbing is applied to both sides of the bulkhead (See Drawing #2). Do a thorough job, as the tabbing is the structural element that keeps the bulkhead in close company with the hull. You will have to leave the tabbing of the area where the chainplate goes through the deck. 
7. If you haven’t already done so, finish the bulkhead now. My wife, Pat, put eight coats of satin varnish on the new bulkhead I installed. 8. Re-assemble any other furniture (lockers, settees, etc.) displaced by the repair. Chainplates
I prefer to remove the chainplates, one at a time, and inspect them. I chained the loose shroud to my toerail with a couple of shackles and a short length of chain. My chainplates were very corroded and needed replacing. Most decks are made with a wood core, either balsa or plywood, with fiberglass on top and bottom. If you can see this wood core when you remove your chainplate, you need to inspect this wood to see if it is wet. If it is, it needs to be dug out and replaced with epoxy filler. If it isn't wet, you are very lucky. In that case, just cut back the wood a half inch or so and fill with epoxy. This will seal the edges of the chainplate opening and prevent any further leaks from damaging the core of your deck. There should be about an eighth of an inch gap around the chainplate where it passes through the deck. This space is needed to allow a generous layer of sealant around the chainplate. The chainplate and fiberglass deck have different rates of expansion and contraction and a thicker layer of sealant better accommodates this movement between the two. Rebed the chainplates using a sealant like 3M101, 3M4200 or LifeCaulk. Avoid 3M5200, as it is extremely difficult to remove when you need to rebed the chainplates. Tape around the opening and the chainplate and use plenty of sealant to ensure a good seal (See Drawing #3). The sealant should squeeze out around the chainplate and from under the chainplate cover. 
Cleanup with disposable plastic putty knives or tongue depressors and remove the tape. Properly re-bedded, the job should last for a couple of years at least. Toerails
This project can be a real can of worms. There are almost as many ways of making and installing toerails as there are boats. You can usually tell a leaking toerail from a distance by spotting the globs of silicone sealant plastered around the toerail. Needless to say, this solution seldom works.Many boats are built using aluminum “H” channel. The top deck fits into the upper slot of the “H”. The hull molding slips into the lower slot of the “H”. The respective legs of the hull are pop-riveted to the deck or hull. The sealant in the “H” channel slots can leak as can the pop rivets themselves. Some people have drilled out the pop rivets and; lifted the deck off the hull to reseal it. In addition, they have immediately run into problems. The hull and deck were assembled at the factory using some sort of alignment fixture or jig. Without that support, the hull is usually pretty floppy and trying to get the deck back on the hull is like trying to get toothpaste back into the tube. Don’t do it. Some have had success using a thin sealer like “Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Filler”. Most have resealed the pop rivets with a dab of sealant over the head of the rivet. Applying a thick bead of silicone sealant to the top of the channel usually doesn’t work. Some boats have a wooden toerail, often teak and often bolted to the deck or hull. In a case like this, the bolts need to be removed and the old sealant cleaned out from behind or underneath the toerail. New sealant is applied and the bolts started back into their holes. Put a dab of sealant under the head of the bolt just before pushing it all the way in. This will seal the fastener without getting sealant all over the person tightening the nut below. In many cases, you can do a section of toerail at a time, removing a few fasteners and springing the toerail out far enough to tackle the sealant. Well, that’s a quick rundown on some of the processes involved in replacing bulkheads and sealing chainplates and toerail. Contact Paul at pesterle@preferred.com if you have any questions!
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CRUISER’S EYE VIEW
Dealing with the Ocean’s Motion, Part 1 by Trish Lambert I was sick about a week ago. Stomach virus. I spent the better part of a day and half “worshipping the porcelain goddess.” Not fun, not fun at all. Unable to do anything else between sessions except lay down and wish myself well again, I had lots of time to think. Thinking in context, I began musing on the topic of seasickness—and eventually came to the conclusion that this was “Nuts & Boats” material! I don’t get seasick in the way we usually think of that particular malady. I have never tossed my cookies over the lee rail of a moving boat. Still, I do get queasy in certain conditions. I remember feeling pretty green once when I was trying to work at the nav table while we were motoring downwind; the diesel fumes coming over the stern combined with the movement of the hull made it hard for my brain to make sense of the chart, and I didn’t stay below for long. I always feel “punky” for the first three days of an offshore trip. Not necessarily nauseous—but definitely below par. This is pretty common; pretty much every sailor I of my acquaintance knows that it takes three days to get into the groove of ocean motion. Even folks who suffer from full-on seasickness get over it once their bodies have acclimated, which takes—you guessed it—about three days. [An aside: This is the main reason I dread short offshore hops, and is also why many folks dislike open water voyaging. If two- or three-day trips are the only experiences a crew has had on the open ocean, it isn’t surprising if they think of “offshore” as a form of torture to be avoided whenever possible. There isn’t enough time get out of that initial low.] I find it interesting that many cruisers of my acquaintance get seasick, and that the malady has not stopped them. The call of the sea is strong enough for them to medicate themselves, go through whatever discomforts they experience, and plan passages to allow their subpar performance for the first few days. Frankly, if I suffered the full green-ness of motion sickness, I don’t know if the siren song of the sea would be even remotely irresistible. So my sunhat is off to my cruising friends who sail in spite of the ailment. Even if, like me, you don’t get seasick, you have most likely entertained guests on board who did. Therefore, it’s a good idea for any of us who like to be aboard boats to know the best strategies for fending off or at least minimizing the discomfort for our guests if not for ourselves. Here, then, are some tips for dealing with boat-related tummy rumblings. These are by no means scientific—more like rules of thumb. In the next issue of “Nuts & Boats” Skip will medical-based tips that pertain to the treatment of seasickness. Prepare meals in advance for whatever length of time is appropriate. Have sandwiches, drinks, and finger foods readily available so that you don’t spend much time in the galley.
As a preventive measure, think ginger. The stuff really does help with seasickness. Pick your favorite: ginger ale or beer, ginger snaps, crystallized ginger, pickled ginger or (for the strong of heart) a slice of fresh ginger under the tongue. Start eating it the night before you set sail.
Accupressure bands? I don’t know. Perhaps there are Nuts & Boats readers who have used these successfully. Or not successfully. I’d like to hear from anyone who has tried these.
Stay on deck. It may seem like a good idea to go below and curl up on a bunk, but this is the worst thing to do. Stay outside, and, if possible, sit or stand where you can get the wind in your face and where you can focus on the horizon.
Better yet, take the helm. Not only will you get the wind in your face, and have to focus on the horizon, you will have something to do to keep your mind off your stomach.
Make an effort to delay the initial “tossing of cookies” as long as possible. Once begun, the body has a tendency to continue.
Keep yourself hydrated. Though the idea of ingesting anything might be extremely unattractive, you need to avoid adding dehydration to your problems. Drink small amounts of water regularly to offset loss of fluids.
Of course, drugs figure prominently in the seasickness equation, whether for prevention or treatment. Rather than tackle that topic myself, I am leaving it to Skip and his medical expertise to outline the choices available for mal de mer in Part 2 of this article. | 
