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Center Bilge Cover

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GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/22/2011 : 18:41:53

I have a traditional interior. The two strips of wood on the underside of the center bilge cover that help keep it in place have come loose and are slightly twisted.

Any suggestions on how to get the twist out of these strips so I can re-install them?

Since the underside of the cover has some small areas that are slightly decomposing/rotting would it make since to just Gorilla Glue a solid piece of wood say 1/4 - 3/8" thick to the underside of the bilge cover? Obviously I'll need to use some Rid Rot to firm up these small areas first.

Thoughts/suggestions?

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GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

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Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 09/22/2011 : 19:22:23

Do you have some pics? My bilge plates are all plywood with a teak veneer. No lower trim piece to warp.

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rrick
Captain

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USA
261 Posts

Response Posted - 09/22/2011 : 19:49:07

Gorilla glue works well when the mating surfaces are very flat. The foamy action isn't meant to provide structural gap bonding. You are talking about wood to wood, on the cover, and not a bridge across the ports (fiberglass to wood) that you may want to break through one day? My traditional wood bilge access plates fit in a recess of the floor fiberglass mould and I don't even bother screwing them down.

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Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2011 : 04:19:08

rrick,

Why not screw them down? If you sail in anything close to a storm and they move, your crew could be looking at broken ankles when they have to go below.

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dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2011 : 06:42:21

If you are not covering the floor with "wall-to-wall" carpet, screw them down. Personally, I like carpet.

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GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2011 : 13:26:23

Mine sit down in a recess in the fiberglass sole but they had something like 1 X 1 or 1 x 2 strips that were screwed to the bottom of the bilge cover to keep it from slipping out of the recess and also to add some structural stiffness to the cover.

Earle - My thought was to cut a piece of 1/4' or 3'8" plywood out to fit just inside the bilge opening and then glue that piece to the bottom of the bilge cover. This would prevent it from slipping out of the recess and add strength to it so it does break if stepped on.

Chris - I don't have crew. 99.999% of the item I sail solo. Of course the one time I might have crew would be the time they would break an ankle or more likely I will when I'm in a hurry to go below and get back to the cockpit. Thus the reason I'm trying to get this repaired.

It's been out of the boat for probably 2 years and I'm tired of having to watch my step plus the odds of getting hurt are swinging against me since I've already waited too long to repair this issue.

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bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2011 : 06:01:30

I had mine replaced by a local carpenter who used teak veneer plywood. As I recall he charged $50-$75 and did the work at his convenience off season. During that process I had spoken with CD who commented that they had/were looking at offering a plastic version as over the years they have received tons of requests -- you might want to check with them, as well as Catalina Yachts.

In my case, I had de-lamination and a very significant warp on the longer (aft) board -- a combination which is not easy to fix, which led me to replacing it. If you only have the delamination/two strips of wood loose, then the glue/bonding should work well.

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GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2011 : 08:05:39

It's not really delaminating as much as one end got just a little soft and the two strips came loose on that end. I took them both off and removed the whole assembly to my house.

The cover and separated strips stood on end for over a year in the garage and during that time the two strips twisted. The actual cover is still pretty much flat.

I think if I use a good grade of 1/4" plywood and glue it to the cover with Gorilla Glue or Liquid Nails it will keep the cover flat and strengthen it so I can use it again.

I'll post some pictures when I'm done.

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