Bulkhead Install

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JesseP
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:13 am
Location: East Central, AB

Bulkhead Install

Post by JesseP »

Hey Everyone, I've finished glassing both the inside and outside of the hull and am toying with the idea of installing bulkheads to cover the stems.. but, I am not sure how to install them. What keeps these bulkheads in place?, Do I install them before or after I install the inwales?, How do I keep the gaps between the inner hull and the bulkhead water tight?, do they need to be water tight?. I can't find a lot of information on this.

Thanks

JP
I'm up to my torch.
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Patricks Dad
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Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by Patricks Dad »

Yes, they need to be water tight to effective. Install after inwales. Cut fit neatly and install with a layer of glass. Some people install round hatchs in them to allow for a handy storage space. If no hatch, a very small hole to allow air (but not water) to enter and exit as temp changes.
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
JesseP
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:13 am
Location: East Central, AB

Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by JesseP »

Thanks Patricks Dad, When you say use a layer of glass to install, do you mean position the bulkhead in place and glass the bulkhead to the inside hull of the canoe? Or should I glass the bulkhead first and then position it in place and use a strip of glass around the bulkhead to the hull? Doing either of these seems like I might get bubbles or incomplete bonding between where the hull and the bulkhead meet. Any further advice on the matter is appreciated.

Thanks again

JP

It seems the next step is always more frustrating than the last.
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Patricks Dad
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Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by Patricks Dad »

I would glass it first (I'm assuming you will build it with left over scraps of strips). Then trim it and install it. You can either put a strip of glass over the joint or just use thickened (and color matched) epoxy to hold it in place (or both).
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
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Jim Dodd
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Location: Iowa

Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by Jim Dodd »

Hi Jesse

If you do a search, I believe I have a thread that describes how I do it.Image

I install my bulk heads before I install the gunnels. But that might be different in your case. For me it made it easier.
Bulk heads or flotation chambers, as I call them are a great idea !

Good luck !

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
JesseP
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:13 am
Location: East Central, AB

Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by JesseP »

Thanks both Jim and Patricks dad, I am going to give these bulkheads a go over the weekend when I can find the time. Jim, Ive noticed the the bulkhead in the attached pictures angles toward to inner stem, Which is something I hadn't thought about. I was thinking I would install on the vertical using the #6 mold station as a template and use the decks to cover the top.. I might change my ways and do it as you have described. That being said, When I am installing them does it make sense to use thickened epoxy to fill the small gaps between the hull and the bulkhead to both aid in appearance and adhesion? or Just put in place and glass to the hull?

Thanks again!

JP
I'm up to my torch.
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Jim Dodd
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Location: Iowa

Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by Jim Dodd »

Hi Jesse

You will get more flotation with the bulkheads than my flotation chambers. I build almost exclusively solos. And so that might be a consideration you might want to check.

I feather the bottom edge of my blades to blend in with very little gap showing. I fit and then glass over the insert. Most of the time I will glass part of the backside of the blade, just to reinforce it.

The white outline is the edge of the cloth, I glassed the insert with. I feather that with a scraper, and it is invisible when varnished.

Thickened epoxy can be hard to keep in place, and it can also make the joint more noticeable.

Good luck !
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
JesseP
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:13 am
Location: East Central, AB

Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by JesseP »

Thanks! Ill post pictures this weekend if I can remember my photobucket password...

JP
I'm up to my torch.
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Jim Dodd
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Location: Iowa

Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by Jim Dodd »

Speaking of Photo bucket.
I didn't know this but when you post a pic, it allows everyone to go through your album.
Good thing I don't have anything nasty in there. But you are welcome to view mine. There might be something in there you can use.

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
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Patricks Dad
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Re: Bulkhead Install

Post by Patricks Dad »

Thickened epoxy can be hard to keep in place, and it can also make the joint more noticeable.
If it won't stay in place, it's not thickened enough. If it's visible, the clean-up isn't good enough or the color isn't matched well enough.
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
sedges
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Location: georgia

totally different perspective

Post by sedges »

The bulkheads in my boats are removable. They are wedged against a wood cleat on the bottom of the breastplate and are held in place at the end of the stem with a screw into a small block glued to the top of the end of the stem. I use my boats hard and occasionally have a repair to tend to in the stem area. The removable bulkhead makes that easy. It is there simply because it is hard to get the finish I would like in the ends of the hull and it moves air through the hull better going down the road at 70mph.

There is really no need for additional flotation in most woodstrip canoes. The exceptions would be if you used thinner strips so the wood to glass ratio is lower or you really went overboard with the glassing schedule. If your boat was built with 1/4 inch strips and weighs in the normal range it will float with the gunnels out of water when swamped. The whole core of the boat is flotation, much like a royalex canoe.

I know its hard to believe, but packs that you put in your canoe on a canoe trip will float if they have a sealed liner bag or if the contents of the pack are in dry bags. If the packs are fastened to the thwarts they actually add flotation to the swamped canoe. People float, too, so there is real no need for additional flotation.
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