Rot

I need the input of the collective wisdom of the group. I have discovered mild to severe rot at the chainplates on the starboard side of my 29. Is there an easy way to fix this problem that does not involve gutting my boat to remove the bulkheads? I am good with electrical, mechanical, and fiberglass. I am crap with woodworking, so keep the instructions simple. :) Thanks in advance, Rick Lobb Cal 2-29 "Rebecca Shea" Bellingham, WA

If you want to arrest the damage, try taking off the chainplate cover on the deck and inject as much of Smith's penetrating epoxy as it will absorb. Then if the area on deck looks intact, you can dish(countersink sort of so the caulk has a place to bed) the screwholes a little and put caulk like lifecaulk under the plate and replace screws. Do a little google research on different caulks to be sure you're getting the correct one for any application. Then, you can unbolt each bolt one at a time and inject more smith's epoxy until it ceases to absorb. This stuff soaks into rot and displaces water somewhat. Replace the bolt and do the next one. If you don't have a backing plate on each side of the bulkhead , or even if you do and it's the same size and shape, you could make a larger one with the same bolt configuration that spreads out to (hopefully) the unaffected wood in that bulkhead. Then add more bolts around the edges of the big plate and a backing like washers or a another piece of metal near the lowest end. Be sure your shroud will not be so tight as to pull the whole mess out during repair. But I've seen whole chunks of rotten bulkheads pulled out and through the deck (not on my boat however)so don't delay repairs. Also look closely at your bulkheads near the tabbing. You also might check the stanchions and treat them with the same system and then add backing plates even if you don't have a problem. You want to tape very tightly on the underside to keep it from running into the interior. I did this to the stanchions on my 29 last haulout when I found one leaking after a stanchion got bent at the dock (crew missed a dockline on the way to a beercan). I found some backing plates in a pile of hardware at Minneys in Newport Beach Ca. You can also have them machined from stainless to match the stanchion foot. Hope this is useful to you. Helen From: Rick Lobb <lr… [at] qwest.net> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Fri, June 4, 2010 2:50:20 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Rot I need the input of the collective wisdom of the group. I have discovered mild to severe rot at the chainplates on the starboard side of my 29. Is there an easy way to fix this problem that does not involve gutting my boat to remove the bulkheads? I am good with electrical, mechanical, and fiberglass. I am crap with woodworking, so keep the instructions simple. :) Thanks in advance, Rick Lobb Cal 2-29 "Rebecca Shea" Bellingham, WA

Helen, I spent all last summer rebuilding a trellis which supported a heavy solar water heater. West Systems will work well for rebuilding rotted wood too, but they suggest heating the substrate so the resin will penetrate, and they say penetrating epoxies are basically diluted, therefore weaker and inferior. In any case, there is NO substitute for having a good solid piece of plywood for the chainplate. The chainplate system and the "dreaded beam" which links the bulkheads on both sides, is so essential to the structural integrity of the Cal 29 and it's similar permutations (eg. Cal 25, Cal 34, 36, 40 etc). that half way measures simply tempting the devil and Davy Jones. I refer back to our resident Cal 29 Guru in Santa Barbara, and other factory technicians who have discussed this in detail in the past. Penetrating epoxy repairs are more cosmetic than structural. More later, I'm sure other members will be happy to chime in on this subject. In sum, it the bulkhead is rotted it needs to be replaced. Jerry Sobel --- On Sun, 6/6/10, Helen Horn <he… [at] sbcglobal.net> wrote: From: Helen Horn <he… [at] sbcglobal.net> Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Rot To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, June 6, 2010, 12:38 AM If you want to arrest the damage, try taking off the chainplate cover on the deck and inject as much of Smith's penetrating epoxy as it will absorb. Then if the area on deck looks intact, you can dish(countersink sort of so the caulk has a place to bed) the screwholes a little and put caulk like lifecaulk under the plate and replace screws. Do a little google research on different caulks to be sure you're getting the correct one for any application. Then, you can unbolt each bolt one at a time and inject more smith's epoxy until it ceases to absorb. This stuff soaks into rot and displaces water somewhat. Replace the bolt and do the next one. If you don't have a backing plate on each side of the bulkhead , or even if you do and it's the same size and shape, you could make a larger one with the same bolt configuration that spreads out to (hopefully) the unaffected wood in that bulkhead. Then add more bolts around the edges of the big plate and a backing like washers or a another piece of metal near the lowest end. Be sure your shroud will not be so tight as to pull the whole mess out during repair. But I've seen whole chunks of rotten bulkheads pulled out and through the deck (not on my boat however)so don't delay repairs. Also look closely at your bulkheads near the tabbing. You also might check the stanchions and treat them with the same system and then add backing plates even if you don't have a problem. You want to tape very tightly on the underside to keep it from running into the interior. I did this to the stanchions on my 29 last haulout when I found one leaking after a stanchion got bent at the dock (crew missed a dockline on the way to a beercan). I found some backing plates in a pile of hardware at Minneys in Newport Beach Ca. You can also have them machined from stainless to match the stanchion foot. Hope this is useful to you. Helen From: Rick Lobb <lrichard7@qwest. net> To: Cal_Boats@yahoogrou ps.com Sent: Fri, June 4, 2010 2:50:20 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Rot I need the input of the collective wisdom of the group. I have discovered mild to severe rot at the chainplates on the starboard side of my 29. Is there an easy way to fix this problem that does not involve gutting my boat to remove the bulkheads? I am good with electrical, mechanical, and fiberglass. I am crap with woodworking, so keep the instructions simple. :) Thanks in advance, Rick Lobb Cal 2-29 "Rebecca Shea" Bellingham, WA

I totally agree as it could be the bulkhead by the icebox drain and the damage could be compounded up from the beam and it's hard to tell how much is rotten. I use west system for all my fiberglass work. I just really like smith's P.E. as I've used it to repair some home stuff under a deck, a rafter in a floating home (I am a woodworker, glasser, etc.) but it goes to areas by wicking into where you can't reach unless you demolish). It has no uv protection but when overcoated with varnishes or west system it can extend the life of exterior wood, even swim steps, toe rails, etc. The stuff can make paints such as easypoxy much tougher by painting the first coat into it after it gets tacky. Anyway, my chainplate repair idea was for a temporary solution because it must be fixed before anybody gets hurt but the thought was to allow some sailing time then do the work off season. I closely followed the Mariposa's beam repairs and then others. Perhaps the initial poster could also see the most recent bulkhead replacement photos that this group produced. He made the repair look easy without rebuilding the entire boat.HH From: Gerald Sobel <so… [at] yahoo.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, June 6, 2010 12:59:58 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Rot Helen, I spent all last summer rebuilding a trellis which supported a heavy solar water heater. West Systems will work well for rebuilding rotted wood too, but they suggest heating the substrate so the resin will penetrate, and they say penetrating epoxies are basically diluted, therefore weaker and inferior. In any case, there is NO substitute for having a good solid piece of plywood for the chainplate. The chainplate system and the "dreaded beam" which links the bulkheads on both sides, is so essential to the structural integrity of the Cal 29 and it's similar permutations (eg. Cal 25, Cal 34, 36, 40 etc). that half way measures simply tempting the devil and Davy Jones. I refer back to our resident Cal 29 Guru in Santa Barbara, and other factory technicians who have discussed this in detail in the past. Penetrating epoxy repairs are more cosmetic than structural. More later, I'm sure other members will be happy to chime in on this subject. In sum, it the bulkhead is rotted it needs to be replaced. Jerry Sobel --- On Sun, 6/6/10, Helen Horn <helenhorn@sbcglobal .net> wrote: >From: Helen Horn <helenhorn@sbcglobal .net> >Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Rot >To: Cal_Boats@yahoogrou ps.com >Date: Sunday, June 6, 2010, 12:38 AM > > >> > > > > > > > >> > >If you want to arrest the damage, try taking off the chainplate cover on the deck and inject as much of Smith's penetrating epoxy as it will absorb. Then if the area on deck looks intact, you can dish(countersink sort of so the caulk has a place to bed) the screwholes a little and put caulk like lifecaulk under the plate and replace screws. Do a little google research on different caulks to be sure you're getting the correct one for any application. Then, you can unbolt each bolt one at a time and inject more smith's epoxy until it ceases to absorb. This stuff soaks into rot and displaces water somewhat. Replace the bolt and do the next one. If you don't have a backing plate on each side of the bulkhead , or even if you do and it's the same size and shape, you could make a larger one with the same > bolt configuration that spreads out to (hopefully) the unaffected wood in that bulkhead. Then add more bolts around the edges of the big plate and a backing like washers or a another piece of metal near the lowest end. Be sure your shroud will not be so tight as to pull the whole mess out during repair. But I've seen whole chunks of rotten bulkheads pulled out and through the deck (not on my boat however)so don't delay repairs. Also look closely at your bulkheads near the tabbing. You also might check the stanchions and treat them with the same system and then add backing plates even if you don't have a problem. You want to tape very tightly on the underside to keep it from running into the interior. I did this to the stanchions on my 29 last haulout when I found one leaking after a stanchion got bent at the dock (crew missed a dockline on the way to a beercan). I found some backing plates in a pile of hardware at Minneys in Newport Beach > Ca. You can also have them machined from stainless to match the stanchion foot. Hope this is useful to you. Helen > > > > > > From: Rick Lobb <lrichard7@qwest. net> >To: Cal_Boats@yahoogrou ps.com >Sent: Fri, June 4, 2010 2:50:20 PM >Subject: [Cal_Boats] Rot > > > > > >> > >I need the input of the collective wisdom of the group. I have discovered >>mild to severe rot at the chainplates on the starboard side of my 29. Is >>there an easy way to fix this problem that does not involve gutting my boat >>to remove the bulkheads? I am good with electrical, mechanical, and >>fiberglass. I am crap with woodworking, so keep the instructions simple. >>:) > >>Thanks in advance, > >>Rick Lobb >>Cal 2-29 "Rebecca Shea" >>Bellingham, WA > >

I had the same problem with my Cal 31.Every few years the chainplates would leak. Had a lot of space on the deck where the chainplates pass thru. I finally calked around the opening with butyl calk that is used for windshields on cars. Got it at NAPA store. It is messy to use since it is so sticky, but it never hardens and gives with the flexing. I have not had a leak in 8 years so far. I highly recommend it. Good luck. --- On Fri, 6/4/10, Rick Lobb <lr… [at] qwest.net> wrote: From: Rick Lobb <lr… [at] qwest.net> Subject: [Cal_Boats] Rot To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, June 4, 2010, 9:50 PM I need the input of the collective wisdom of the group. I have discovered mild to severe rot at the chainplates on the starboard side of my 29. Is there an easy way to fix this problem that does not involve gutting my boat to remove the bulkheads? I am good with electrical, mechanical, and fiberglass. I am crap with woodworking, so keep the instructions simple. :) Thanks in advance, Rick Lobb Cal 2-29 "Rebecca Shea" Bellingham, WA

I really like this stuff http://www.sikaindustry.com/tds-ipd-sikaflex291lot-us.pdf <http://www.sikaindustry.com/tds-ipd-sikaflex291lot-us.pdf>Allen On Tue, Jun 8, 2010 at 10:29 AM, Robert Weiss <ly… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: > > > I had the same problem with my Cal 31.Every few years the chainplates would > leak. > Had a lot of space on the deck where the chainplates pass thru. > > I finally calked around the opening with butyl calk that is used for > windshields on cars. > Got it at NAPA store. It is messy to use since it is so sticky, but it > never hardens and gives with the flexing. I have not had a leak in 8 years > so far. I highly recommend it. > > Good luck. > > > --- On *Fri, 6/4/10, Rick Lobb <lr… [at] qwest.net>* wrote: > > > From: Rick Lobb <lr… [at] qwest.net> > Subject: [Cal_Boats] Rot > > To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > Date: Friday, June 4, 2010, 9:50 PM > > > I need the input of the collective wisdom of the group. I have discovered > mild to severe rot at the chainplates on the starboard side of my 29. Is > there an easy way to fix this problem that does not involve gutting my boat > to remove the bulkheads? I am good with electrical, mechanical, and > fiberglass. I am crap with woodworking, so keep the instructions simple. > :) > > Thanks in advance, > > Rick Lobb > Cal 2-29 "Rebecca Shea" > Bellingham, WA > > > >