CH18 aft bulkhead fit

Hi all. I picked up my CH18 kit around the end of August and have it wired up and ready for bulkheads. The forward bulkhead fit real nicely. The aft bulkhead seems too short from the inside chine to the bottom of the shear clamp. I have about a 1/4 inch gap along the bottom between the bulkhead and the bottom panels. Per the plan, the shear clamps are glued 1/4 proud of the top of the side panel so not sure where I went wrong. The bulkhead is too wide, also, at the shear clamp(but ok near the chine). When positioned per the manual, it spreads the beam to around 25 inches from the 24 1/2 inches specified in the manual. There was really no location in the boat where the bulkhead would fit properly, so I drew a cut line on the bulkhead from the inside chine to the top of the bulkhead under the shear clamp (about 3/16 inch in from the side panels) on both sides. That slanted cut brought the beam back to ~ 24 1/2 inch, but still have the gap at the bottom of the bulkhead. I'm just adding spacers to prevent warping the bottom panels when I wire in the bulkhead. Anyone else have this problem? Otherwise, the rest of the hull fit perfectly. Every thing is straight and true. The bow and stern are plump and the side panels and bottom panels aligned spot on. Just wondering what went wrong with the aft bulkhead.  


3 replies:

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RE: CH18 aft bulkhead fit

My Aft bulkhead was not a perfect fit anywhere either. 

Just put it within about 1" of the recommended placement and get the best fit you can.  I had to apply packing between the bulkhead and the bottom of mine - Just pack, and tack-fillet it in place, then complete fillet and tape the back of it.

I think mine ended up abopt 25 1/4" at the widest point - and it goes just fine.  Don't sweat it too much, just as long as it is true it will all work out fine.

RE: CH18 aft bulkhead fit

I had the exact same thing happen with my Chesapeake. In the end I just let the bulkheads fit where they wanted and went from there. I didn't want to spread the beam further because all my joints were nice and tight. The boat will see the water for the first time in the next week or two.

 

RE: CH18 aft bulkhead fit

Thanks Bob and Mike. That puts my mind at ease...being first boat building project and all. Think I'm going to start tightening up all the wires tonight and tack my aft bulkhead spacers in place. Maybe fillet the hull this weekend. I've done a lot of wood working over the years, but this is all new to me, so just taking my sweet time! Dave

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