Replacing Cal 34 Bulkheads

Hi all, We are in the process of moving up from our dearly beloved but small Cal 2-27 to a 1976 Cal 34 Mark II as we approach retirement and the prospect of taking longer voyages. The 34 we have our eyes on is badly neglected but mostly structurally sound EXCEPT for the bulkheads where the chain plates are fastened below decks (between the main salon and the head). if anyone on the list has experience replacing this bulkhead it would be helpful to hear how the process went for them. We are quite comfortable doing most of our own work and brought our current boat back from a state of woeful neglect but have never tackled anything quite this major. We also are aware of the dreaded beam issue and aren't able to find out for sure if this particular make and model of Cal has issues with the beam?? There are two tabs at the base of aforementioned bulkhead coming up from the fiberglass step that show a very minor amount of corrosion. Thanks for any words of advice and experience! Nancy and John Williams Vashon, WA

What is the "dreaded beam issue"? Chris Cal31 Santa Cruz

Is your galley ice box located next to the mast bulkhead? If so that could be a problem as they put the drainhose so it dripped on the beam. Some 34s had icebox aft , not problem. But the shower drain and forward water runs back under the beam, and maybe deck leaks from bad seals. If you have a floor plate to lift, use a strong flashlight and large mirror, point flashlight at beam, look in mirror. You might even be able to touch it. Lots of work. There could be an already nice one out there. The list has done several I know of, Mariposa being one of the best examples. (A 29).HH Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android On Sat, Apr 30, 2016 at 9:50 AM, Chris ch… [at] yahoo.com [Cal_Boats]<Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> wrote: What is the "dreaded beam issue"? ChrisCal31Santa Cruz

I have a 1976 Cal 2-34 as well. The beam issue you are refering to i believe, does not exist on your boat. As far as the bulkhead, that is a common place for the bulkhead to get dry rot, right around the chain plates, leaking in from above. The mast, deck stepped or keel stepped? That should answer the question about the beam. Deck stepped, no beam. Not to talk bad about our boat at all, the Cal, this year, amazing boats. I love mine. They go fairly cheap right now, if you can find one. Make sure it is not too much of a price tag you are paying for your return. Get a survey if in question. As a buyer, you will be plesntly seprised in the price diffrence. Just my .02 cents worth. I have not responded to much but, these were things i found last year when i got mine. To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2016 09:34:58 -0700 Subject: [Cal_Boats] Replacing Cal 34 Bulkheads Hi all, We are in the process of moving up from our dearly beloved but small Cal 2-27 to a 1976 Cal 34 Mark II as we approach retirement and the prospect of taking longer voyages. The 34 we have our eyes on is badly neglected but mostly structurally sound EXCEPT for the bulkheads where the chain plates are fastened below decks (between the main salon and the head). if anyone on the list has experience replacing this bulkhead it would be helpful to hear how the process went for them. We are quite comfortable doing most of our own work and brought our current boat back from a state of woeful neglect but have never tackled anything quite this major. We also are aware of the dreaded beam issue and aren't able to find out for sure if this particular make and model of Cal has issues with the beam?? There are two tabs at the base of aforementioned bulkhead coming up from the fiberglass step that show a very minor amount of corrosion. Thanks for any words of advice and experience! Nancy and John Williams Vashon, WA

I replaced the bulkheads in my cal 29 in addition to recoring all of the deck. On my project, I thought I had just one bulkhead to replace and as I got into it, I found just about all of them were rotten underneath the fiberglass tabbing. I used teak plywood and replaced everything except drawers. First thing I would do is assuming the boat is on the hard when you do this, set the boat on the stands to you can establish level in both directions(fore/Aft, Port /Starboard). A sawzaw does great cutting the bulkhead out. Take your time cutting it out, being as smooth as you can. If you do a clean cut, what comes out is a great template. If your cut wanders and you are not sure you have a good template, you can use a piece of Luann plywood to fit things and make a template, then use that for your ply. If you want to go the extra mile, seal the end grain of the new bulkhead w epoxy, it will take a few coats. tab in w epoxy, it adhears better then polyester. I would make sure the old tabbing is either ground off or pulled off. I was able to remove some w a chisel and some I had to grind. Dust will get everywhere. The 3m full face mask w the respirator is the best piece of safety equip you can own if grinding glass in a confined space. No better feeling then being able to look directly at your work, hearing the fiberglass hitting the face shield and you have no worries. Good luck, hope some of this is helpful. East coast cal 29 sailor On Sat, Apr 30, 2016 at 12:34 PM, jn… [at] juno.com [Cal_Boats] < Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > We are in the process of moving up from our dearly beloved but small Cal > 2-27 to a 1976 Cal 34 Mark II as we approach retirement and the prospect > of taking longer voyages. The 34 we have our eyes on is badly neglected > but mostly structurally sound EXCEPT for the bulkheads where the chain > plates are fastened below decks (between the main salon and the head). > > if anyone on the list has experience replacing this bulkhead it would be > helpful to hear how the process went for them. We are quite comfortable > doing most of our own work and brought our current boat back from a state > of woeful neglect but have never tackled anything quite this major. > > We also are aware of the dreaded beam issue and aren't able to find out > for sure if this particular make and model of Cal has issues with the > beam?? There are two tabs at the base of aforementioned bulkhead coming up > from the fiberglass step that show a very minor amount of corrosion. > > > Thanks for any words of advice and experience! > > Nancy and John Williams > > Vashon, WA > > >