Aug 2011 Newsletter - Boat Maintenance
Boat Maintenance - Notes from The King - Denny Dieball
Iʼve been retired for boat repair and maintenance for a little more than 10 years. Iʼd hardly call the time since I closed Dieball Boat Works “downtime” as I have been busy with home projects and making sure that the boysʼ boats are always ready for battle.
Early this year I was asked to contribute to this newsletter and give some tips and techniques in an effort to help you all keep your boats ready for the type of sailing you enjoy. This newsletter, I am going to focus on the “strength” of the boat and give some tips on being aware of core damage and also give a few tips on how to confirm there is a problem.
The most extreme example of maintenance gone bad has to be Skipʼs J22. He bought it and towed it home from Annapolis as a project. The previous owner had a catastrophic failure with the chainplate ripping out from the bulkhead and the subsequent damage. With a little attention and some poking around, this likely could have been avoided. Looking for problems is half the battle, however. If you arenʼt aware or curious, itʼll likely go neglected for months or years. Then problems occur.
With the J22 (like most boats), the bulkhead is a piece of marine plywood that is fit in place and then glassed to the hull. The “end grain” of the plywood is sometimes sealed, but many times it is not. Even if it is sealed, moisture can creep into the end grain and saturate the wood, creating a significantly weaker attachment for the chainplate. The bad news is that you likely canʼt see this happening over time, unless the plate/bolts show some outer staining on the bulkhead. What you should do, in the absence of a moisture meter (which I find inconsistent at times) is grab a small hammer and start tapping it around the chainplate. Slowly tap the hammer lower throughout the bulkhead and listen. If there is a drastic change in the “sound” the hammer makes, youʼll want to pay attention. Lower in the bulkhead, the noise should be “solid”. If it sounds less solid as you approach the chainplate, thereʼs a chance you have moisture damage. I would, at this point, take the chainplate bolts out and try to inspect the core of the bulkhead.
The above process can be repeated if you have core in the hull or deck. Skipʼs J22 hood (over the companionway) was soaked as well. I took the hammer and knew within 5 seconds that the core was bad.
Hope this helps. If you have questions, you can track me down most mornings at the sail loft. Otherwise, Iʼm likely doing home projects....and yes, Iʼm retired from doing boat work. Iʼm happy to talk about this stuff though.
