My surveyor was pretty blunt: “That forward bulkhead is so waterlogged it’s horribly rotten.” The paint was actually falling off, revealing bare wood that was black with rot. Knocking on it even sounded soft. I had hired him to look for problems in preparation for more ambitious cruising, and yeah, this was definitely a problem.
On my 29 year old Catalina 400, there has been a “mystery deck leak” revealing itself under the anchor locker. Water pools up in the bow forward of a small bulkhead at the forward end of a storage area under the vberth, then freezes in winter, cracking the plywood bulkhead and soaking into the wood. I’m sure this had been going on for years before I even bought the boat 13 years ago. The previous owner even repurposed a washdown pump to empty this compartment.
Other C400 owners have reported deck leaks from the stemhead area where the forestay chainplate passes through the bow roller… but it’s been difficult for many of us to track it down exactly or seal it. Some caught it early and drilled limber holes in a few bulkheads to drain it into the bilge.
The anchor locker drain hose passes through this bulkhead, too, and was also suspect. It drains just above the waterline, and is subject to sunlight reflecting off the water. It was original, and 29 years of UV exposure left it looking a little weary. The outer thru hull appeared to have some tiny cracks, too. Being a 1 ¼” hose only inches above the waterline and near the bow meant a failure here could at least be very inconvenient at sea, or much much worse.
Since I didn’t have THAT many other projects this spring, and the boat was still on the hard, I decided now was the time to open the can of worms.
I spent much of the winter developing my plan for the project. At first I couldn’t figure out how to access the upper end of the anchor locker drain hose, but learned through the C400 online forum that most later 400s have a deck plate at the front end of the vberth for access. That could work. Also, the bulkhead isn’t that big, and the smallest size of marine plywood I could realistically find was too big to easily get home in my car. A quick call to a friend at a local charity boatbuilding shop procured what I needed (much thanks to All Hands Boatworks!).
Before diving in, I made a pattern of the old bulkhead so cutting the new one would be easier.
As I attempted to remove the old anchor locker drain hose, the thru hull disintegrated completely as I pulled on the hose. Good thing the boat was out of the water, as it left a 1 ¾” hole just above the waterline! Removing the hose clamps at the upper end resulted in lots of cursing due to difficult access. They obviously had been installed before the factory joined the deck to the hull.
Removing the old bulkhead was easy with an oscillating tool. The old bulkhead was merely held in place with a thin layer of fiberglass on the aft side. The wood edges were at least ¼” or more from the hull, and didn’t have any waterproofing on the forward side. It was heavy, soaked, rotten, smelly wood.
Both anchor locker drain thru hulls were replaced with new Marelon fittings, and I cut a new hose to fit.
For better bonding, I scraped off the old bilge paint from the hull using a rasp attachment on my oscillating tool.
The new bulkhead is a quality marine plywood that I waterproofed with two coats of West System epoxy (on both sides!). It’s attached with an epoxy fillet joint that is covered with fiberglass tape on the aft side. I then painted everything with some TotalBoat Bilge Paint.
I drilled a limber hole (also waterproofed) at the low end of the new bulkhead, so hopefully ice won’t put large stresses on the new bulkhead. Other owners have drilled limber holes in the next bulkhead aft, too, but I think I want to compartmentalize any leaks especially in the event of a collision.
I considered adding a seacock for the anchor locker drain. Even though it’s above the waterline, a failure here could let in a lot of water when underway. Unfortunately, access isn’t good enough for the install, but there is room for a plug or bung if it ever leaks.
Up at deck level, I filled a suspect joint with butyl tape that should flex with the chainplate. It has slowed the deck leak but not eliminated it, so that needs more fussing.
The new bulkhead looks fresh and new, but time (especially winters) will tell if my repairs will last. I hope the new bulkhead isn’t too rigid or too strong, which could create some weird fiberglass problems in this high stress area. I also need to continue troubleshooting my “mystery deck leak” some more, too.
