2006 228 BULK HEAD COVER

[wavetamer]

was installing new transducer wire back to the helm, pulled off the bulk head cover and it literally crumbled and fell apart , no caulking between floor and removable bulk head cover , any one else had this problem, take very good care of my boat, was a bit disappointed when I found it, looks perfect from the out side but inside the plywood has been wicking up water

 

[Parthery]

I saw this on a 208 that a buddy of mine had. He wound up having to order it direct from GW; they had to make one or pull one off the assembly line, and it was absurdly expensive. Unless you are manufacturing one, you may not have a choice.

 

[wavetamer]

im surprized they wouldn't stand behind there product on this one, clearly no caulking allowed water to wick up into wood

 

[Doc Stressor]

I just replaced mine a month ago. Grady sent me a new one for free after I sent them pictures of the delamination and the lack of any type of sealant around the edges. On the 226, it's 2 pieces of wood (still unsealed) and I needed to use the old plastic corner trim piece and buy more vinyl trim for the rest of the edges.

This is not as simple a job as it would seem. Grady appears to use one size bulkhead rigging box cover for all of their walk around models. So what I received was too big for the 226. I needed to use the old pieces to make a template and cut the new boards to the correct dimensions. After I sealed the edges with dilute epoxy, I found out that the area that fits against the walk around surface carpet needed to be beveled in a certain way in order to fit. Grady told me that their installers custom fit each piece because the shape of each hull is not identical. I have no experience in cabinetry, but I gave it a shot with a router and got lucky. It fit perfectly after re-sealing with epoxy and putting back the vinyl trim. You need to use monel staples for the vinyl trim. After the install, I sealed the deck surface edges with a little silicon to further ensure against water intrusion.

Overall, this job took me more than a month to complete. If I had to do it over I'd have a marine fiberglass shop fab the pieces and do the installation. And I'd have them use starboard. I don't get Grady's obsession with wood.

 

[Parthery]

I found a pic....not great....but you can see the rot at the bottom of the panel where it meets the deck. GW told him that it was out of warranty and there was nothing they could do.
Doc - I'm with you....this is one place that they could have done better and not used unsealed wood.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I haven't had any rot there --- yet. I thought that he was referring to the rigging cover box to the right of the footrest.

Grady actually sent me the replacement boards for the box about 5 years ago. I just got around doing the install now since I was able to clean up the old one and fill it with sealer. That got me another 5 years until the brown stuff started to spread out again.

 

[DennisG01]

Are you guys talking about the bulkhead separating the cabin from the cockpit (where the door is, basically)? I noticed that mine sits about 1/4" off the cockpit floor and had a vinyl strip pushed into that gap. I removed the strip as the cockpit floor, forward of the bulkhead, has a raised ledge to keep water out. With the bulkhead being raised, any water that hits the bulkhead has time to dry out/drip out. I still have the original bulkhead and it's doing fine. The reason I removed the vinyl strip is that it kept coming out, anyways - plus, I think it would only serve to possibly keep water in.

 

[Parthery]

Maybe we ARE talking about 2 different things....you guys may be referring to the L shaped panel that hides the rigging on the Walkarounds....I've seen those crumble too.
The one I was thinking about and the one that GW said tough luck on was the bulkhead that separates the cabin from the cockpit.

 

[Paul_A]

Maybe we ARE talking about 2 different things....you guys may be referring to the L shaped panel that hides the rigging on the Walkarounds....I've seen those crumble too.
The one I was thinking about and the one that GW said tough luck on was the bulkhead that separates the cabin from the cockpit.

Yes. Bulkhead, partition, in my 93 it's a smooth laminate over a piece of half-inch plywood. I'm in the process of doing a bunch of updates on this boat and yesterday discovered the bottom 3-4 inches is totally rotted. Not quite to the point where the footrest will snap off, but close.

Another thing to add to the list. Thankfully my L shaped panel is sound.

 

[wavetamer]

yes that's correct, its the L shape,

 

[wavetamer]

should I contact grady and see what they have to boat is a 2006

 

[UCPA111]

My 1984 seafarer bulkhead (port and starboard one) was shot. I tore it out and made a template. Cut out a new one from marine plywood and then epoxy sealed it. Then laminated over it. Then, installed and caulked it in.

 

[Doc Stressor]

should I contact grady and see what they have to boat is a 2006

It can't hurt to give Grady a call. But they will probably only be able to provide the oversized pieces they sent me. As I said it would be easier to have somebody local for you make one up for you using the old pieces as a template.