Bulkhead Veneer Delamination

[dvolkman]

I recently purchased a 350Mk I and found that the veneer on the curved bulkhead has pulled away from the fiberglass in the middle section and towards the port side hull. Is this common? Is there an easy fix? I was thinking of injecting glue using a syringe behind the veneer.

Thanks,
Dave V.

[KenKrawford]

Dave,

I think most Mark I's have some degree of separation of the seam on the port side bulkhead. I got a piece of teak about 1/4" thick and 1 1/2" wide from Catalina and applied it over the seam with Liquid Nails. Out of sight, out of mind.

[Richard Ad]

2010-04-16 Dave, my C-350's bulkhead veneer is pulled away too. I have a bubble approx 10" to 12" diameter in the upper left corner of my bulkhead. It is not located near the seam which does not have molding over it. As a matter of fact you have to really look hard to find the vertical seam. The bubble was worse this winter when it was on land; I'm guessing the jack stands put enough pressure on the hull to flex things differently than when it's in the water. Now that it's back in the water the bubble (delamination) is much less but I'd still like to address it. I'm meeting with my boatbuilder friend this weekend (builds high end sport fishing boats) and I'll see what he recommends. EOM.

I recently purchased a 350Mk I and found that the veneer on the curved bulkhead has pulled away from the fiberglass in the middle section and towards the port side hull. Is this common? Is there an easy fix? I was thinking of injecting glue using a syringe behind the veneer.

Thanks,
Dave V.

[Richard Ad]

Simple answer from my boatbuilder friend.... drill a very small hole, inject compatible adhesive, place a short piece of 2x4 over the delamination area, "T" brace the first 2x4 with a long 2x4 against an opposing wall/chart table/or whatever best provides the best support. Give it extra time to cure. Remove the 2x4's. The small hole will look better than the bubble and if you want you can repair it with wood filler. You can find a syringe for adhesive at your hardware store. Good luck.

[dvolkman]

To all who read my previous post...here's an update. Warren Pandy suggested a hot iron (with a towel between it and the bulkhead) to heat up and re-activate the adheasive. He said it is not a problem in the warmer climates, only up north.

In addition, I found out from an engineer that there is a difference in the coefficient of expansion between the natural wood and the fiberglass (which is much denser and doesn't expand and contract with moisture and temperature change). Drilling holes and adding more adheasive will likely cause cracks in the veneer making matters worse.

I was surprised to find when the weather warmed up a few weeks ago, that the veneer had already flatten out again and seemed to be solid against the fiberglass bulkhead before I ever pulled out the iron. Unfortunately, as the temperature dropped again in the past two weeks, the veneer was buckled out again.

So, while the cabin of the 350, with the rounded bulkhead looks great...it appears there are some design flaws with the materials used. Again, this may be more of a problem for those of us who live in climates that have dramatic temperature variations during the year. I am curious how many other 350's owners in the Northeast have noticed this problem.

Dave
#261

[KenKrawford]

Dave,

I disagree with the notion that the problem is primarily in the north. I've had issues with the seam separating on my bulkhead and a friend's 350 has had major problems with the veneer bubbling up. We're both in Atlanta, GA. My opinion is that there is a problem with the adhesive. Think about how many things (furniture, etc) that are made with veneer and yet you don't have to get out your iron every time it gets cold! Just my opinion.

[dvolkman]

Hi Ken. I agree with you...and I am curious to find out if Richard's solution works well.

[Richard Ad]

2011-04-25. Okay, so I took an electric heater and warmed my veneer where it's bubbled to re-activate the adhesive. The veneer was hot but I could hold my hand on it. You don't want to heat so high that you bake the finish. Then I braced boards from the opposite bulk head (at nav station) and I'm leaving them there for a week. Adhesive needs to cure for at least 24 hours. I'll let you know how it holds later this season. I attempted to attach a photo but the file was too large.

My next fix if this is not successful is to do the same heating process but then screw some decorative teak board to the bulkhead and mount some gauges (clock, humidity, weather, etc..) on the decorative teak board.

[Triumph]

I have a small bubble too in the upper left hand portion of the teak bulkhead. This isn't that noticeable. The teak has opened up a small gap about in the center where the two sheets of veneer meet towards the top. There is white fiberglass behind this and it's noticeable. Not a good look at all.

I bought Minwax Woodputty, American Oak color. Filled the crack, cleaned up afterword, then from the galley I looked at the wall, and by god, I kid you not, I couldn't tell where the crack had been. I had to get up close to see the repair. Because the crack runs in the same direction as the grain, it blends right in.
(Pics avail)

Bill on TRIUMPH

[BillBerner]

I was planning on writing to ask exactly the same question.
Mine is separating from the bulkhead along both sides of the vertical seam.
Gonna try Warren's hot iron first once the weather warms up.

BillBerner
#66

[colmitch]

I am so glad to see this discussion. I've been ruminating about what to do. My situation is a bit different in that I have both a "popped" seam and a bubble that won't allow the veneer to lay flat. That is, press on it here, and it pops out there. I can see how to glue the seem back in place, but how to make the entire thing flat. I'm considering cuttin a small piece off the top but hesitate to do that!
Greig Mitchell
C-350 2005
HN: 330

[Pgtjs]

Hi friends,

I have two bubbles - a large one (4"x3") above and to the right of the front cabiin door extending up to the liner and a small one on the curve of the bulkhead also at the top. There is a black sealant between the bulkhead and the liner. Can anyone update us on the results of the various heating attempts and or other methods used to mitigate the bubbles? From the previous submissions it would seem several are trying different approaches.

In the light of various comments on another topic with regard to "water in the bilge", I have determined that this only happens in my case when there is heavy rain - we had two months of no rain this summer and there was no mositure in the bilge. Since then it has rained for 10 days and now there is a little water down there. The boat has not been moved. I am thus curious as to whether there is some run off down the inside of the mast and through the mast cables inlet at the base step and which somehow then spreads around the inner lining and permeates onto the top of the bulkhead and thus causes the delamination. I cant see where I can get at the cable inlet without unstepping the mast or how such water could disapate if it does enter above the liner. Any ideas or thoughts short of unstepping? Incidentally I did not see the mast being stepped when the boat was first commissioned in 2006 so perhaps the cables "hole" was not completely sealed at the point of entry?

Cheers, Geoff. C350 # 392, Taeko 1V, Blaine WA.

[KenKrawford]

Geoff, it is my understanding that there was a quality control issue at the factory when the veneer was glued to the bulkhead. After trying many of the "fixes" suggested on the forum without success, a friend of mine finally convinced Catalina to replace all the veneer.
Perhaps others will chime in regarding what worked and didn't work for them.

[Richard Ad]

Ken; I now have a very serious delamination problem. My previous attempt to repair per Waren Pandy/Catalina Yachts did not work. Would you be willing to share with me how your friend went about getting Catalina to help with the repair?
You can email me at richardadlesic@verizon.net
Thanks.

[Aussie Mate]

Pictures of before and after veneer replacement are attached.

[Aussie Mate]

Another as can only upload one at a time.

[Richard Ad]

2012-11-28: I talked to Catalina Yachts and they are going to send me their repair document that shows how to repair the bulkhead delamination. I believe its going to be the "heat the veneer to reactivate the glue and reapply". I tried this a few years ago with temporary success. You can push it back in place with as much force as you can possibly apply and there will still be a bubble..... it doesn't fit. The veneer (as is) no longer fits.

My boat is 7 years old now so I'm not sure if I'll get too much more support from Catalina Yachts; therefore, if I'm not satisfied with CY's suggestion I will venture into a suggestion from some boating & wood experts that I recently met with. These experts believe the wood bulkhead has changed in size (some shrinking) and that the veneer did not shrink. The veneer should have, in the original boat construction been sized to allow for the shrinkage. Their suggestion, use lacquer thinner and a putty knife to remove the one veneer panel, trim the veneer edges, apply 3M Spray 90, and reapply. I will apply blue paint-trim tape on the veneer where I plan to cut, mark the cut line on the tape, and carefully cut (trim the edges) with a razor knife. I believe I'll be able to slide the edges back into the deck gap so I hope I will not need crown molding or base molding. And hopefully I will not need the wood trim on the vertical seam. This will be a winter project, except for gluing and reapplying; I'll wait until spring when the temperature is favorable for the glue.

I'll report my progress.

[markws1852]

I had a similar delamination issue on my 2005 350 two years ago. I first noticed a bubble in the bulkhead panel following my annual hauling out for the winter. There was no separation at the seams only a bubble. At first I was going to hide the issue with some sort of decoration (clock, shelf, etc) but decided to have my yard look at the problem and provide me with a solution. The yard ordered a new piece of veneer from Catalina (slightly lighter color than the adjoining piece) and replaced the entire veneer panel on the left side of the bulkhead. Looks like new - except for the slight color difference. Of course, this solution ended up being much more costly than Catalina's suggestion of heating up the contact cement or just covering the bubble. Hopefully, the repair will last!

Legal Tender III
Mark Schlussel
C300

[Aussie Mate]

Good luck. We used acetone to dissolve the previous glue which worked really well. The contact glue we used from 3M (sorry cannot remember if it was 90) worked too well. Once applied to both surfaces it stuck and would not allow any movement. Hence we could not slide the panel into the grooves at the top or bottom of the bulkhead, so be ready for that. Similarly we could not slide the panel in front of the chain plate at the outer end of the bulkhead and had to trim it. Not ideal but it looks just fine.

[Richard Ad]

December 10, 2012. Here's a WORK IN PROGRESS report. Since it was 65F here in Annapolis I decided to start the removal of the veneer. I started by removing the caulk around the deck (ceiling). Catalina Yachts told me there is a depth of 1 1/2 inch gap in the deck that the bulkhead sits in. I took a cotter pin puller (basically an ice pick with a bent point) and scrapped out the caulk that seats the bulk head to the deck. Then I slid a putty knife between the veneer and the deck gap. There was one section (12" in length) at the center of the port side veneer sheet that was very tight and was difficult to get a putty knife in between the deck and veneer but I did get the putty knife to slide the entire length between the veneer and deck. Once I did this the bulge in the veneer seemed to diminish slightly, as though the veneer had a place to stretch out and flatten out. I used a ceramic heater and heated the veneer in locations where I believed it needed to move and it seemed to flatten out even more; as though the soft glue allowed the veneer to slide. I will probably let it sit for the winter to see how it fairs with time. From what I saw today I believe the vertical seam may overlap some because the veneer sheet has to move somewhere and the vertical seam has the least resistance. The vertical seam will be easy to trim, glue back in place, and cover it with a piece of teak trim.

I'm hoping this will be the final fix because it will be a lot easier than completely removing the veneer, trimming, and re-installing. I'll make sure I submit the end result once the job is complete, probably around March 2013.