Bulkhead under V berth tabbing separating from hull

K

Karl Konecny

Member
My 22' cruiser has 3 hatches in the V berth. When I inspect inside the forward compartment, the fiberglass tape used to 'tab' the bulkhead to the hull has separated from the hull. It appears to me (with little expertise in this area) that the factory did not adequately prep/clean the hull before tabbing in the bulkhead. The off-white paint covering everything did not adhere to the hull well either.
Has anyone seen this problem?
My plan is to take a Dremel and care]fully cut back the non-adhered tape, re-prep all surfaces and reapply fiberglass tape as needed.
Any ideas or comments on that?
 
Is this the bulkhead which forms the aft end of the anchor locker?

cutting with a Dremel is a good way to go--maybe even using a flexible shaft, will give a little easier access--I suspect it will be partly "blind"...Not sure how big the hatch on the top of your V Berth is.

I would take a grinder and rough up the area where the old glass delaminate. Hopefully you can pull most the old glass out. Clean this well wipe it down with acetone after washing with soap and water. I would then use epoxy two layers of 4" and 6" wide glass tape to the hull and bulkhead. Are both sides delaminating? The epoxy gives a far better secondary bond. Plus you will be painting this anyway. It would help if you laid down a fillet at the intersection of the bulkhead and the hull. I use a tongue blade as the "tool" to give the correct radius of the fillet. Material can be epoxy and micro balloons, Cabosil or Low density filler. The idea is to have as smooth a transition between the hull and bulkhead--and avoid a hard spot where the bulkhead meets the hull.

Take some photos and put in your album to decument what you have to do.
 
Karl Konecny":2lvxhzo5 said:
.. The off-white paint covering everything did not adhere to the hull well either.
Has anyone seen this problem?
...
Click to expand...

The coating on the insides of the compartments on my boat both under the V-berth and in the main cabin had not set (was still tacky) after about 5 years when I bought the boat. I suspect that it was brushed or sprayed on gelcoat that wasn't mixed right and never set up. I painted over it with latex paint which seems to have solved the problem.

I have not noticed any problem with the tabbing of the joints.
 
Often wax is added to the laminating resin that rises to the surface and seals the final fiberglass surface so it will cure without being tacky. Usually it is in the final gellcoat after all laminating is finished so it leaves a nice glossy, smooth surface. If the laminate is waxed before tabbing it has to be sanded off and cleaned with acetone during production or tabbing will look good but will easily delaminate.
Bob gave you the best way to fix it.
I'm glad you are willing to tackle the job, it should be fairly easy, wear a good rated mask as it will be dusty and fummey.
 
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