[sailingdog]

The bulkhead is THREE INCHES THICK. These holes will be relatively small, say under 1/4" in diameter. Drilling the four holes you'd need to mount the diaphragm pump shouldn't weaken the bulkhead significantly, especially if it is THREE INCHES THICK.

If you're really worried about it... epoxy a block of teak to the bulkhead and use screws to hold the pump to the block of teak.

Hi there,

The chain plates on my New York 36 are currently bolted to a 3 inch thick fiberglass bulkhead. I'm considering mounting a diaphragm pump for head discharge behind the head using this bulkhead as a mounting location. The positioning of the pump would be 5 inches away from where the chain plate is attached.

When the chain plate is under load, would the bulkhead's strength be compromised by having holes drilled into it?

Mike

 

[sailingdog]

Dog - would I be wise to fill the old hole with thickened epoxy to restore some integrity at that point?

Yes, and adding a couple of layers of glass over each side wouldn't hurt either.