Advice For Cabin Sole & Compression Post Needed

[gusgroove]

Hello,

My 1980 Cal 2 25 may need some help. She’s got some stress cracks with slight sagging of the cabin sole aft of the compression post, however, there are no stress cracks or detectable deformation on deck around the mast step.

In the cabin sole photo a U shaped crossbeam can be seen that runs athwart ships between the salon and V berth with an island that the compression post sits on. The bilge photo reveals unsupported areas between the cabin sole, crossbeam, and hull as well as a 2x that is glassed into the island.

I’m puzzled as to how the cabin sole has obvious signs of stress but the mast step doesn’t. The tabbing on the bulkheads appears to be sturdy, the chainplates look good and there are no stress cracks where the aft lower shrouds attach to the cabin. I have not removed any support from the bilge and am hesitant about adding any, which would just move the problem (stress) to an area that wasn’t designed for it. Additionally, with no deck sag I’m hesitant to jack up the cabin sole which would raise a deck that hasn’t compressed.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

gus

[Faster]

We were in a similar conundrum on our boat. We had cracking and settling at the mast step area with no evidence of cabin top stresses or depressions... keel stepped but still the deck stay area would have been expected to show signs of strain.

In the end our fix was a substantial rebuild of the floors and stringers (you can see the details here: Stringer/Floors rebuild - DIY

That visible bit of wood in your first picture is odd.. can you tell if it's managed to push its way out of that bit of glasswork, or if it's always been there? The cracking on your sole pan is pretty plain evidence of some persistent downward stress in that area.

Our boat was stick-built which meant we didn't have to disturb any molded liners.. you're not so lucky. But you've also got a smaller boat with lower stresses so maybe there's going to be a less heavy-duty solution.

Hopefully another owner who's run into this will respond...

[gusgroove]

Ran across your rebuild post a few weeks ago Faster while researching my issue. Nice work!

As far as I can tell the 2x hasn't moved.

gus

[Lake Superior Sailor]

Maybe its not the post cracking it ! I bet it's cracked on the walk side and not the other? Heavy feet maybe?...Dale

[ambianceack]

Is it possible the standing rigging was too tight or loose causing stress where the crack is at the bottom of the post? Perhaps there is enough flex in the deck so the stress is transfered to the bottom of the post? I agree with your thought about not adding support, perhaps rebuild the area with a heavier fiberglass cloth blending in a larger/wider area on the sole.

[Minnewaska]

My first thought seeing the crack was twisting, but that's only a guess.

Before I went crazy with this, I would confirm that the post is properly aligned and that all rig tensions and dimensions are balanced. Then I would repair the floor and see what happens.

[Faster]

Dale (LSS) may well be on to something.. maybe the pan is too light and it's stressing from the traffic on the walk side. That would explain it nicely along with the lack of other evidence of issues.

Looks like you might relatively easily epoxy a reinforcement panel into place under the pan.

[gusgroove]

The rig was really tight when I got the boat and I was thinking of reinforcing the sole, then wait and see what happens.

Thanks everyone!