In the meantime, I began with a few other projects. There is a bulkhead that is located just aft of the engine that I had known was rotten when I bought Hullabaloo two years ago. I figured it was time to tackle this project.
Removal of the bulkhead began with the removal of a window that is situated in the cockpit.
It appears as though the window was the culprit that led to the rotten bulkhead. After removing the window, it was apparent that the sealant at the bottom edge the window had failed or had not been installed during the original installation. There was plenty of 5200 along the sides and top of the window but a very limited amount of sealant along the bottom edge. The window came loose with a bit of cutting with a utility knife and prying with a screwdriver.
Once the window was removed, the interior trim panel could be removed. The interior panel is a 1/4" piece of mahogany plywood. The plywood was held in by six screws which were easily removed with a screwdriver. The picture below shows 1/2 of the panel and fasteners.
And a picture of the panel after removal...
Once the panel was removed, I could get to the structural portion of the bulkhead.
This piece was at one time a 3/4" piece of plywood attached along the top with four screws and at either side to the hull by a 1" x 1" piece of wood attached to both the plywood bulkhead and fiberglass hull. The bulkhead was completely rotten. The screws along the topside came out with almost no effort and the attachment to the hull had failed long ago. Once the top screws were removed, the plywood came out in two pieces.
The plan for repair is to build a new bulkhead out of either marine plywood or fiberglass and to construct a new mahogany finish panel. The window is still in decent condition so I intend on reusing it, making sure to bed the window properly in sealant so that it does not leak.
