I remember being surprised when I received a call back from Catalina. The day before I left a message stating that I was looking for information on how to remove the bulkhead. I was told that someone would call me back. The very next day I received a phone call from Gerry Douglas, vice president and head engineer of Catalina. He was very nice and answered every question I had. You have to raise the ceiling more than you would think. If I remember right it was around 2-3 inches. The compression post needs to clear the recesses on the ceiling. Once it was clear, I tilted the top of the post out and lifted the bottom out. Neither the compression post nor the bulkhead was fastened to anything else or each other. Everything just fit tightly together. When removing the compression post, the small panel next to the head door also just slips in and out. Sort of like fitting a puzzle together. You just sort of have to figure the best way as you go along. At the time, the only teak plywood that I could get was imported from Greece and was metric. It seemed bigger that 1/2 inch but smaller than 3/4. Looking back, I'm still am amazed at the procedure and how much the boat actually flexed. I can't emphasize enough about the care you must take around the jack and the 2X4's. While under that much pressure, resting on a curved floor, propped on a slippery top, when they slipped, they flew. Be careful and take your time. The foam rubber in between sounds like a good idea. Good Luck. John Wamboldt C27 #6287 ZuZu's Petals Lake Michigan In a message dated 5/19/2010 9:11:54 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
John, Funny, I talked to Catalina today and the tech I spoke to didn't have a clue. His suggestion was to pose the question on this forum. How much room did it require to slip the compression post out. Are we talking an inch, 1/2" or less. It's hard to tell how much the recess is in the top and bottom pockets. Did you lift up and out or simply pull it out once the cabin ceiling was clear? I mentioned the bungs on the table side of the compression post. Are there screws anchoring the bulkhead inside the channel of the compression post? Does the small panel attached 90 degrees to the comp. post get removed separately. Talking about the side the head door closes to. 1/2" plywood is the correct thickness? Thank you for the information. Steve --- In [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) , jwambo8...@... wrote: > > I did this job about 10 years ago on my 1986 C27. I spoke to Catalina how > to remove the bulkhead and followed their directions even though it sounded > crazy, and dangerous. > > The mast must be down. > Remove everything that attaches to both sides of the bulkhead. Table, > shroud plates, medicine cabinet; everything. Then comes the scary part. Using a > 2X4 placed on top of a small hydraulic jack, placed near the compression > post, slowly jack up the cabin top, I placed a small piece of wood under > the jack to spread out the load on he floor. When jacking, be very careful > because the 2X4 or the jack can slip very easily and it fly's out with a lot > of force. Trust me, it happened a couple of times until I got it positioned > just right. While jacking, the boat creeks and groans something fierce. > Keep jacking until the fiberglass around the compression post is just high > enough to tilt the top of the compression post out. Once the post is out, you > can then slide the entire bulkhead out. Again, use a lot of care not to jar > the 2X4 while removing the bulkhead. Once the bulkhead is out, you can let > the jack down until the new bulkhead is ready to be put back in place. > I took a piece of marine grade teak plywood and the old bulkhead to the > cabinet maker that made my kitchen cabinets. He was able to cut the new > bulkhead using the old one as a template. He also was able to match and apply the > laminate to the head side of the bulkhead. He matched it perfectly. He > told me that the bulkhead has seven different compound miter cuts. That alone > made it worthwhile having him fabricate it. Very minor sanding made it fit > perfectly. You just jack up the cabin top and install everything in > reverse. By the way, I used Cetol on the cabin side of the bulkhead and it matched > almost perfectly to the rest of the factory stained wood. Also, it's a > good time to run any new wires you need up the compression post and out the > top. > > I know this whole thing sounds crazy, but trust me, it just took a lot of > guts, planning and care. I gave you the real quick explanation, let me know > if you need any more detail. > > > John Wamboldt > C27 #6287 > ZuZu's Petals > Lake Michigan > > > > > In a message dated 5/19/2010 4:10:04 P.M. Central Daylight Time, > scant...@... writes: > > > > > I've search archives for information related to replacing the starboard > bulkhead on a mid eighties catalina 27. > I have an 87' that needs a new bulkhead. > Has anyone documented their effort to replace a late model 27's starboard > bulkhead? > I don't want to quess and start removing parts randomly. > It appears that a least a portion of the compression post might have to be > removed in order to slide the bulkhead out. > The post looks to be four pieces of solid wood lamenated together. There > are four bungs visible on the side of the post next to the drop down table. > I'm assuming these hide the screws that anchor the bulkhead to the post. > Can the post be removed to allow access to the bulkhead? Looking for some > help! > > Steve >
