Helm Bulkhead Cutaway on the 25

Kudos to you David and Pat for getting out the tools on this project. I used my chainsaw oops , I mean my laser-guided sabre saw cutting ours out . I went through 2 blades on it, just as you used 2 cutters on yours. It was tought stuff, but well worth the effort. The results are as you say excellent , and Admiral Laurie likes it!
 
MercerDye":y7ehasve said:
I am a new (4 weeks) owner of a 2007 25 Cruiser. The bulkhead cutaway looks like a great idea. Question: Is this not a structural bulkhead? Looks like if it is that the boat would lose some designed in rigidity. I am a reformed sail boater. Most of the bulkheads in my boats were pretty important. Just asking.

Cheers
Click to expand...

There have been several threads discussing the bulkhead removal projects, and that question always comes up.

The general consensus is that the bulkhead is only pop riveted in place at the top and sides, and can easily be removed as desired without adversely affecting the structural integrity of the boat. If it were structurally important, it would be glassed in place, with fiberglass tabs spreading the loading out to the surfaces to which it is attached.

Also, only the top and possibly part of the side section are usually removed, and boat is inherently very strong up there due to the deck section forward and the prisimatic / triangular nature of the design. The cabin structure above and to the sides also adds to the rigidity, of course.

To my knowledge, no one who has removed the bulkhead has suffered any adverse effects.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
I own a 2006 C-Dory 25 cruiser. We made our cut today using a jigsaw with a 30 tooth metal cutting blade. As others have said, be prepared to wear out multiple blades during the cut. We cut 22 inches horizontally from the original opening keeping the top cut 3 inches below & parallel to the height of the dash convexity. The 3 inches matched the distance that the top of original opening had from the dash over the opening and gave some uniformity in appearance. Dropped a vertical that paralleled the original opening and cut the lower horizontal just above the bunk cushion. We wanted this lower lip to prevent the lower cushion from moving aft. We kept the lip at or above the top of the cushion because we felt the copilot might have a tendency to put their feet up on the lip and we wanted their feet on the lip rather than on the cushion. The trade off to keeping the lip that high is that there is a minor hard lip present when scrambling out of the berth. The 22 inch top horizontal cut left us with 12 inches of bulkhead intact at the top of the cut and 13 inches of intact bulkhead at the bottom horizontal cut. We did radius the corners. An orbital sander was used to smooth the cuts and blend the transition from the top of the enlargement with the original opening. The bulkhead thickness was 9/16 thick, so we are going to look into the discussed 1/2 inch trim. The alternative is to seal the minor voids in the bulkhead with West Systems and paint the edge of the cut.
 
MercerDye,
As Jim notes these bulk heads are basically floating. Remember that the hull to deck joint is glassed in, so the boat is a Monique structure. Fwd bulkheads in sail boats take the the load of mast and shrouds. There is a molded in/ glassed in pan by the way of the bunks & floor.

Welcome aboard. Many of us are ex-Sailers.
 
I cut away the bulkhead on our C-Dory 25 a couple of weeks ago. This is an "almost finished" photo. The teak trim is now sanded, filled, and oiled -- and the one sharp corner is sufficiently rounded not to pose a danger.

The V-berth is no longer clostrophobic. :)

Molding_Applied_Unfinished.sized.jpg

As I'd noted in a previous post I used a Bosch multitool to make all the cuts. It's MUCH more effective than a sabre saw or a drillbit saw. My cuts were much cleaner than the factory-made cuts.
 
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