TOPIC: Wood Bulkhead in Fiberglass hull

I have several vintage cuddy cabins in which I want to replace the cabin bulkhead with one of mahogany. I can't figure out how to attach these- obviously I don't want to tab them in with fiberglass as it won't look right. Does anyone have any suggestions/procedures that I can follow?

what model are you referring to specifically. i have a 67 dorsett catalina that the bulkhead is originally fiberglass. older did have wood. mine would be hard to convert and i have no interest. in fact I want to do the doors in fiberglass and the original were wood. pictures are even better.

Thanks for your response. I have several cuddy's, a Catalina, a San Juan, a Farallon, Club Mariner, Bell Boy Express, and a Wizard.
I think the wood bulkheads give an added touch of class to an already classy boat, just like the high end sailboats that have nice mahogany interiors. Here are some photos that I got online that sort of show what I'm after.

With the new glues that are on the market I would actually try that route if you don't want to put in angle brackets. My first bet would be 3M 5200. That will pull the wood apart before it lets loose from anything. I see flex seal is introducing a new glue also that says it's good for marine use. www.flexsealproducts.com/product/flex-glue/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1tPG4u722AIVG7XACh1EkAQ_EAAYASAAEgK8GPD_BwE

I have a glasspar Seafair sedan and the bulkhead is attached to the floor and hull with fiberglass. If you did not want to use that method I would suggest fiberglassing a cleat on the inside of the cabin and then screwing, or trim mailing the bulkhead to that or as Cal mentioned using a modern glue.

You need a 1" x 1" varnished mahogany "nailer" on the inside, screwed to the floor. Screw the bottom of the bulkhead to that nailer and then cover the heads of the screws on the outside with a piece of mahogany trim.

Thanks folks- all great suggestions. That gives me something to go on when I start restoring.

Jan forgot to mention how he screwed the "nailer" to the floor.

I love the cuddy cruisers.
Are they all functional or in process? Can you post a picture of the Farallon? I have been on the watch for one. The wife would not be happy but it might be worth the fight.

The photo above is exactly why I am sort of a procrastinator instead of a jump in and do it sort of guy. It usually takes a lot longer to fix the screw up then it does to do it right the first time...
Are all of my boats functional? Well I guess if the purpose of a boat is to float, then I'd have to say they are. LOL But they do all need complete restoration. I love the late 1950's and early 60's cuddy's and now they are at rock bottom prices and are being scrapped. I am trying to save some of them and have amassed a small collection. I can restore them in the future but may not be able to buy them in 5 or 10 years. Here is my Farallon. I drove 350 miles to Tacoma to buy it and had to install an axle on the trailer besides. But I've only seen 2 Farallons for sale in the last 15 years. And strangely enough, one just showed up near me, along with a Catalina. They are wrecks but the old lady wanted $2000 for the pair. The Farallon has two 90 HP Johnson's hanging on the back- I'm sure they would take the transom with it. I'm waiting for her to come to her senses and accept a reasonable offer.
I still want to find a circa 1959 20' Skagit and Bell Boy express.

Ahhhh...the old "drywall screws through the bottom" approach. Very interesting but not as much as the "cut out the flooring with a Skil saw set at full depth" method.

"Consider how stupid the average person is and then realize that half of them are stupider than that!" - George Carlin

Great thread offering options for success. I must say that I had to pass on a boat with a Merc 85xs because it had 2 layers of rotten floor and then they screwed the new seating right through both and out the bottom with lots of screws like Cal showed. Too much work for the dime a dozen 70’s square nose open bow when I could find a nicely kept example for same price. The good options here are what makes this site valuable to me, so thanks all.