Hey Guys,

Speaking of delamination and repairs, I'd appreciate your advice on
how to proceed on some repairs to my 1979 Catalina 27.

The standing rigging on the boat consists of three stainless cables
on each side, with the middle cable attached to the center bulkhead
and running over a single spreader to the top of the mast. The fore
and aft cables run from an aluminum plate at the bottom of the spreader
to the deck. This is just the rig that keeps the mast from moving side
to side of course.

The problem is that the deck around the aft cables is losing its strength
due to a delamination occuring underneath the side window. The deck is
still very sound to walk on, but no longer has the strength to take the
large tension loads from the rigging. The problem is only with the aft
cables.

We have been sailing the boat this way for years. When you are well
heeled over, the aft cable on the weather side of the boat will be tight, and
the other side will be loose, showing that the deck is giving by 1/2" or
so.

It seems to me that the rigging would be better attached to the hull,
instead of to the deck, and I've seen boats that were built that way.

The boat needs the deck re-gelled, or re-painted anyway, so I could route
out panels around the soft part and relaminate those areas before finishing.
There is a little problem with no-skid pattern in the area of the repair.

Another approach that I've considered is to custom fabricate four stainless
steel plates to throughbolt on either side of the hull. The inner plate
on each side would have an eye for connecting the standing rigging. I would
then run a turnbuckle from the backing plate on the bottom of the deck to
the eye on the inside stainless plate, and tension it such that the deck did
not have any load from the rigging. This would be much stronger
than the original design, although it does also provide a potential leak
source when the boat is heeled way over.

It seems that the deck is strong enough that with the water ingress stopped
(which it is), and the loading removed it would be serviceable for a long time.

What do you think?

Don W.



DSK wrote:
Jere Lull wrote:
Topsides is a little rough as we have some non-structural delamination
that I haven't finished fixing and the previous owner's paint died.
I'd rather sail than work.


For us, seems to come & go in cycles... right now we're in a work cycle,
an apparently endless loop of projects which lead to the boat getting
better & better, eventually one of us gets fed up and says 'Let's go for
a boat ride today.'

The big problem was that I allowed the main bulkhead to rot. Cost me
about US$300 in materials and a couple of weekends' work. Should last
another thirty or so years.


You mean the bulkhead(s) under the chainplates? Not uncommon... try
replacing the aft station bulkhead. Maybe your boat is laid out such
that you don't have to tear out too much of the cabin, which is good.

I've helped replace partial bulkheads under mast steps & chainplates,
usually that's not too big a job.