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Jeez....now ya tell me. My sole cleat which is epoxied onto the lower aft side of bulkhead cleat #2 is 5/8" to high! Crrrrap. (I checked and rechecked the plans against the current placement of this cleat - I think the plans are in error here!) Of course, I just finished my fillets throughout the entire boat so both bulkhead #2 and this sole cleat are epoxied in hard. I brainstormed solutions with a friend....

The (tentative) plan to correct this is to put an oscillating blade on my Fein and cut off the entire cleat where it meets the bulkhead in a downward vertical motion; sand the outsides where the cleat is epoxied in; install a new (and wider) cleat in the proper position.

Crazy? Got a better way?? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated........

Thanks
Jimmy V

Check this out. Looks like he just put another cleat on the bulkhead without removing the other one. https://www.flickr.com/photos/35243545@ ... /lightbox/

Hi John:

Hmmm. Thanks. Hadn't thought of that....quite interesting and creative. Not sure if I like the look after floor is installed but this would certainly save a lot of time vs removing the existing cleat. Will consider. Thanks again.

Jimmy Vitale

Here is another picture with the floor installed. It looked nice. It just left a piece of "trim". I found out about mine when the bulkhead was only wired in place and was able to take it out without much trouble. Later I found out I would have been better off leaving the cleat until after glassing for easier sanding.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/35243545@N02/4096912100/lightbox/

That extra cleat on top of the floorboards looks like it is supposed to be there. A lot better than trying to cut it out and risk damage to the bulkhead, or worse--the hull! I'm lucky I forgot to mount the cleat on bulkhead 2 before I installed it. All I haad to do then was run a straitedge across the tops of the other floor cleats and mark where the bh2 cleat goes, then glue it in. I think this turned out to be the best method. The only hard part was getting the length and angles right on the cleat. Involved a lot of climbing in and out to test & re-cut.

John and Dana:

Many thanks! Yes, the picture sold me; decision made; gonna get on it today. Hope I can return the favor....

Jimmy V

Just to clarify, I noticed this statement in one of the posts, "The manual isn't clear on this, but it does say to epoxy and sand all the bulkheads (in addition to the floors) prior to installation, which I definitely recommend. Sanding things in the boat is such a pain." I think there were one or two other references to epoxying the bulkheads first--definitely a good idea and definitely not clear in the manual. I studied the manual and finally found that on page 57 it says to "brush on at least two coats of epoxy to seal these parts," but that is right after they are talking about the floors and all they show in the picture is the floors. The bulkheads are mentioned two paragraphs above, so I now I see "these parts" refers to them also.

I really wish I had figured this out, because now I have to epoxy and sand the bulkheads after they are already mounted in the boat. This is not a complaint about the manual. Those things are really hard to write and it is impossible to get everything exactly right (if you have ever tried it you will know what I am talking about) and they have done a superb job. But, like all manuals it is not perfect. The forum has been extremely helpful in keeping me from making all the mistakes that others had to learn from the hard way. (Except I missed this one.)

Everyone please keep up the good work! Maybe one day soon some glutton for punishment will go through the forum and put all the corrections together in one place.

Hi all PS builders,

Regarding bulkheads and floors:

(1) Is there a reason to wire these into the hull only after the side panels are wired to the bottom panels? Wiring these to the bottom panels before attaching the side panels would seem to allow easier access to the bottom panels of the developing hull; once those wires are in, then the side panels could be attached with subsequent wiring of bulkheads and floors to the side panels as well.

(2) I'm confused as to whether builders are 'glassing all or some of the bulkheads / floors or just applying coats of un-thickened epoxy (followed by sanding) before installation. It would seem easy to apply fiberglass to the bulkheads and floors when they're on the bench, then sand, then install into the hull, and then attach the cleats per others' advice. Then, after fillets are applied joining bulkheads / floors to hull panels, fiberglass would extend up 2+" onto the floors in each bay per the manual.

Thanks for your advice,
Mark

Sounds like a plan, although it's been quite a while since I was at that step. I don't recall fiberglassing any of the bulkheads or floors--what would be the point? Did 'glass the transom though--mostly because it says to. And I made sure to wrap around the bulkhead-to-hull junction. Not much else holding in place besides a good fillet. I think I even put a strip of FG tape along that junction.

BTW, if you apply a subsequent coat of epoxy after thin film set but before full cure, you don't have to sand between coats.

Hi Dana (and others),

Wouldn't fiberglass applied to the forward bulkhead (#2) strengthen the foundation for the tabernacle?

Thanks,
Mark