hull repair and bulkhead removal

A friend and I recently bought a 1967 Pearson Commander (hull #303) in need of a LOT of TLC – it’s been sitting in the boat yard for a little over 2 years without any attention.

For starters, we have to remove a rotting bulkhead (port side) due to heavily delaminated fiberglass along the hull due to an impact – the damage goes behind the bulkhead and just below the port berth. As the bulkhead is rotting anyway, it makes sense to just knock it all out at once.

Does anyone know what’s the best way to remove the bulkhead? Should we worry about the cradle supports warping the hull somehow without the bulkhead in place? Is there any chance that this could misshape the hull somehow while we're working on it?

Also - does anyone think we can we keep the mast up while doing this? If we leave the other stays in place, I think the mast will have enough support, even though we’re detaching the port chainplate.

BTW, thanks Commander Pete - your work has been pretty insiprational and very encouraging.

Wonderful you guys goning to fix the old girl up.
There is a very vocal Commander contingent here who will respond to your post.

To start off: why not take the mast down? There's probably some close inspection and work that could be done on it. And to avoid the yard charge, couldn't you guys lower it using the boom and some more guys with steady lines? The mast and rigging is too heavy to leave in place while you are working on the bulkhead below. The deck will certainly deflect, and you may have some work you should do in that area anyway.

The bulkhead, once the pressure is off, is a matter of disassembling the bracing, which on the Ariel 338 was put in by Pearson without glue, just screws. However the screws were under the micarta woodgrain covering on the bulkhead. You're going to need a bracr & bit to back those screws out. A heatgun will help removing that stuff. The bracing was held on by woodscrews thru the plywood.

When it is just plywood there, it is sawsall time. I would proceed by cutting out the stuff that has to be replaced. Then decide the next step.

The jackstands should be bracing a balanced boat on a well supported keel. The keel supports have to be on solid ground so that they can't sink or move which would put unfair stress on the hull by the jackstands.
It's too easy to screw the pads in and bend the hull. Good luck!

[Unstepping the mast.
I completely missed it by not thinking that you obviously don't have a hinged mast. So you have to get it lifted out. Or you can jerry an A-frame or a tripod, rig a strap at the spreaders and haul away. Mast weighs something over 100# with the rigging. Procedure is in the Manual on page 19. And a check list for inspecting the mast and rigging - which you have to do anyway:) ]

The lower shrouds will hold the mast up. I would also shackle some part of the middle turnbuckle to one of the other ones.

The jackstands hold little weight. Its a stiff boat. I don't think you'll have a problem when you remove the bulkhead. The only alternative would be to fashion some temporary braces for the interior, which would make the work more inconvenient.

My Sawzall and I would be happy to pop over to Brooklyn and poke around :eek:

Tony G performed a Double Bulkheadectomy on his Ariel. Check out "Fruits of My Labor" in the Gallery section.

Cheers
http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/a...s=&postid=4975

Wow - thanks for the offer to come to Brooklyn with the sawzall, but the boat is actually moored in City Island, the Bronx. If you came up that way, there'd surely be a lobster dinner at the local Crab Shanty in it for you. Of course, I get out to your neck of the woods a lot - I grew up in West Islip and my parents still live there. Maybe we could discuss our woes over a beer at the Jon Thomas.

I think we really want to avoid taking down the mast if we can. It seemed like a very stiff boat to me with a lot of secondary supports. Somehow, taking down the mast is maybe just a bridge too far right now - we just got started here. It might also be a little tougher to lower the mast because the boom came off in my friend's hands the other day - that eyehole problem that's been discussed on the board. Snapped like nothing.

We have a laundry list of things to do on this boat, but this seems like the best place to get started. If we try and tackle it all at once, this just isn't going to happen.

I'm a West Islip/Babylon kid myself,
but a long time ago.

C'mon back Ebb. The girls still miss you.

Let me know when you're coming to town Cap'n, we'll go out for a spin.

You can rest assured that Grace will continue to patrol the waters off of West Islip and Babylon, searching for any suspicious activity. We'll keep a sharp lookout, assist if possible, and report any sightings to the United States Coast Guard.

OUT