J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Replacing the aft bulkhead

Hello everybody.

Last year I picked up Vampire (Hull #18), formerly owned by Don Millie in Victoria, BC. I have done a fair amount of work on her, and have a seemingly endless amount left to go. I love the boat so far and have enjoyed the time spent on her.

I noticed my aft bulkhead (the arch under the bridge deck/companionway entrance, over the engine, which supports the steps). I was browsing through some old threads and found this thread. I believe my bulkhead is also rotting out and I will replace it this spring.

Can anybody recommend a material type to use for this bulkhead? I will most likely use a Marine grade plywood, and reuse the same veneer if possible. But should I get the uber-expensive custom stuff (Aquatek, Hydrotek)? Or can I get the marine-grade stuff from the local lumber yard?

I plan to seal the surfaces and edges of the finished plywood before reinstalling it. I may also apply a layer of glass, although that might be overkill.

I will also investigate cracking in the bridge deck, although that may be due to the aft bulkhead failing. Later this spring I plan to replace the nonskid deck (to keep the kids from slipping off the boat), so if I need to take care of deck repairs in this area it will be a good time to fix everything.

Edit: This is what the bulkhead looks like. Mine is identical to the pics from post I listed

The water intrusion probably started above the actual bulkhead. So make sure that you seal the new work from the problems that are above where you are working. My personal opinion is that the marine plywood would be adequate, if it is well sealed with epoxy resin. I have removed a lot of the skin below the waterline and would not even bother with considering to reuse it. Once it is separated from the core it often wants to take on a new shape that just doesn't fit back in the place it came from. That skin is also polyester resin and chopped strand mat, not particularly strong, so the best place for it is in your garbage can. It is also just simpler and faster to reglass any of these areas.

I also highly recommend using a high volume vacuum when you do the new glass work. This can even be a shop vac. Using the vacuum helps with fighting gravity and really helps consolidate the layup. With the high volume setup you can use blue painter tape to seal your plastic to the hull and a simple sink drain as the vacuum port. The low volume high vacuum pumps also work but require much more substantial sealing effort and expensive materials. Here is what this can look like Vacuum Port

My son noticed that the port side of the engine compartment in the quarter berth is de-laminating. We think the water intrusion is from the cockpit locker pan. The edge of the pan has been sealed. I don't have that cockpit opening port luckily but I do have the anti-theft feature where I can't get the upper companionway board out if I stand on the bridge deck.....I wonder what my bulkhead looks like.

I took a closer look at my bulkhead and while it is dry now, it shows signs of having gotten wet and is stained. I don't see any problems in the cockpit pan itself, but there are a ton of holes around the cockpit that have been drilled and filled. Any one of them could be a culprit too. I also wonder if the source of the moisture is traveler track or if it is just rain getting through the companion way? This is not a fun area to work in. Deck work is going to happen down the road on my boat so I will just keep an eye on this area.