Islander 34 chain plates

[Blue Stocking]

Depending on the thickness of the bulkhead, if using plywood, you might consider tapering the thickness back thru a few veneers each side. This allows the resin to attach with greater penetration into the wood, and allows you to build out the tabbing to be flush with the surface of the remainder of the ply. Makes veneering simpler as well.

[spason]

UPDATE:

Not sure if anyone is still viewing this thread, but I finally got around to this terrible, terrible task. After a few days of fun with chisel and prybars, followed by a delightful 10 hours with the flap wheel, I am ready to put the new piece back in. So, I am going to butt joint the new ply to the old, and fiberglass those together, then with West System 105/205 and 6oz cloth, I am going to tab 8", 6", 4" in that order the whole length of where the bulkhead meets the hull. (Leaving, of course, the space between hull and bulkhead). Stop me before it's too late if there is anything wrong with my plan! I have read so many differing views regarding the mat/cloth etc, I bought both but am going with just straight cloth.

[Freerider]

Its nice to see my boat isn't the only one that looks like this... I did a similar job last summer except I had to replace the entire bulkhead.

I think your plan sounds good, but I'd go with 10oz cloth instead of 6oz for the added rigidity. I went with 4 layers of 10oz - 12", 10", 8", 6", it might have been over kill but it doesn't take much more effort so i figured why not.

[spason]

I was going to replace the whole bulkhead, as is the most popular advice, but it wouldn't have fit down the companionway in one piece anyway, so I left the sturdy portion in place (which is attached to the post, handy) and am going this route. If it had fit, I would have replaced the whole thing. Everyone has been advising me to go easy with the tearout, but the deeper I got, I just couldn't abide leaving things imperfect. Now I've got a clean slate, and feel good about it even though it means a LOT more work.

[spason]

So.....I've fiberglassed the new bulkhead in place with an 8" and 6" strip of 6 oz cloth and West System epoxy from the deck to the bilge, on both sides. I am tempted to fiberglass the top of the bulkhead to the deck, even though it wasn't that way from the factory. Is there any problem with doing this? It seems like it will tie it all together nicely, and make it strong, but I don't want it to cause some structural problem that I don't know about.

Any thoughts?