I am thinking of making the bulkhead between the cockpit and the engine compartment removable on my Scarab. It would really make simple maintenance tasks so much easier. Right now I pull the engines if I need to do any work which is a PITA. I would glass in a channel that a new bulkhead would slide into and be secured in place with through bolts but I would be able to remove the seat and the bulkhead if necessary. Thoughts??

Right now I don't think the bulkhead adds much structural integrity to the boat but I am concerned about this top cap which ties directly into the sides! It can be seen in the attached photo just behind the set back!

Thanks
Jim

Hard to tell much from that pic...

You could always cut out some access holes that could be covered with new panels, without removing the entire bulkhead.

The problem with access panels is by the time you cut the panel below where te seat back is you end up with only an 18" tall hole. Kind of difficult to make use of such a mall hole. My thought is to make piece I remove have the new seat back full integrated into it?

If the new panel is rigidly bolted in I am not sure why it would be a problem?

The Bulkhead adds more strucural rigidity than you think. More so for sides of hull.

You can do it, no prob.

Wannabe

Hey 502ss, I just did this on my Baja. The rear bench on the Baja was a total bolt in affair and was not structural. Like you, in order to gain any reasonable access to the engine the rear bench had to come out. This is a big job and requires not only removing the seat back and seat base (seperate items) but also the hatch actuator, battery selector, fire extenguisher and disconnecting the rear speakers and amp. It was a thankless multi hour job.

I removed all that, reconfigured my hatch actuators, relocated my battery switch and extenguisher and will put in a new sound system in the near future. It actually sounds better now just running off the head unit than it did before with the 10 year old clarion amp but that is another story.

What I did was fabricate a starboard firewall to go in place of the rear bench seat. This is not stiff enough by itself so I used some 1 1/4 inch square aluminum tubing to help out in that regard. This new firewall is not secured by any fasteners. It is a 5 second lift out affair that is held in place by starboard guide tracks on the gunwale's and closed hatch. I plan on going to a three or four bolster setup at some point but right now the extra cockpit space is really the ticket. I am really pleased with the way this worked out and now the maintenance access is wonderful. It is not a very expensive proposition and I believe you will enjoy it if you do your own maintenance. I still have some upholstery work to do to make it look finished, but you wil get the idea from these pictures.

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I would not do it. (I did think about doing it years ago) You will lose a lot of side wall support. I know my boat flexes pretty good in big waves and I could not imagine if that bulkhead was removed. Glassing my deck to my hull for more rigidity is next winters project.

edit: I just read your part of bolting structural support back in.

Definetly bolting something in is a must and if done right it should be as strong if not stronger than the original! It is well worth the effort to spend 20 minutes unbolting the bulkhead if it saves the hassle and time of either pulling the engines or hanging over the back of the seat and trying to do what you need!

So after you saw the bolting in portion do you have a different opinion?

That's what I am talking about!!

I bet your hull was constructed a bit differently with the knowledge that the bulkhead was not providing much structural integrity but if I rigidly bolt mine in I am not sure why it would behave any different!!

Thanks for the photos, it was a huge help!

Not really. More hassle and time removing the bulkhead and then supporting it properly than the time I actually spend in the bilge with when the engines are in. The only thing I need to be in that part of the bilge is for impellers and mine are pretty easy to get to. Also the bulkhead is where my drive and trim pumps, hatch mount, air pump and relays are mounted.

Yes, relocating all the accessories that are connected to the bulkhead (in my case rear seat) was the hard part. But doing that once was a better option for me than removing them every time I needed engine access. It was a good opportunity to clean up a bunch of wiring also. Not for everyone, but a good thing for me and perhaps you 502ss. Good luck.

Dan