tricabin help with aft deck, wall and helm floor repair

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:28 am

as usaul i end up with the boats that are too much work for others..lol well i just got a 73 tricabin and love the layout... i have water coming in buckets above the aft beds, the back wall is rotted and the aft teck deck and helm teak deck has been unsealed and is squishy. also an ac was installedon the wall the is near the helm..all rotted too...im going to take on this project with limited money( if i had money i would have bought one in better shape, LOL)..i am posting in hopes that i might get suggestions, advice, pictures etc before i just start hacking at this and make more work for myself trying to figure out how to do it..thanks.. ps i still have the f36 as well..it is still sitting covered...i have done some work to that but still need alot of love..i came across the tricabin for free and i couldnt pass her up..

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 1:09 pm

oh and does anyone know what is under the teak deck floor slats? nothing? plywood?

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 3:43 pm

Would it be possible for you to post the pics of your boat on here rather than just list a link to your photobucket account? You have a lot of photos on your photobucket account and finding the ones that you want us to look at is not evident - at least to me. It is very simple to copy and paste the links from the individual photos (photobucket labels the link "IMG code") to a post here and then they will appear here.

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 3:46 pm

i dont have any pictures of the new tricabin yet i will get on it today...thanks

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:52 pm

hi kevin, aaron in baltimore here. let me try to lend some insight to you on the design of the 1972 to 1977 cockpit version of the tri cabin. i grew up with the first generation of this model and i have some experience in what you are going through. first, the back deck is teak over marine plywood. often, as in the case of the boat i grew up on, the caulking between the teak planks would work loose and even at the microscopic level, water will intrude into the space between the teak and plywood. dad had bubala 3's aft deck rebuilt and totally fiberglassed in 2005 because of rot. the aft bulkheads where notorious for rotting out, and dad had them rebuilt not once, but 3 times during the time we owned her (1972-2008). the aft bulkheads are formica inside and out, with a marine plywood sandwich. often the teak trim above and below would loosen and cause water to intrude in between the laminate.
also, the aft square windows would cause this too.
hope this helps.
tri cabin aaron, baltimore, md

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:30 pm

thanks for the reply. i need to get some pics going..the more i look at the boat the more it needs lol...but she is a beauty. the onan looked like years ago the exhaust manifold split.the engines are 275hp fresh water cooled and were winterized and covered. i havent tried to run them yet.. ..ill try them this week and it almost looks like the top cover on one of the vdrives is split. the top deck. aft door wall and back deck is rotted..this week im gonna just have at it..it is a shame sort of bc the teaks boards are good it is the plywood underneath that is bad...im not going to put the teak back..im going 3/4 plwood then a light layer of glass...im too poor to do it right..the interior is in great shape and the decks would too i think except is was uncovered sitting in a storage yard for 10 years

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:37 am

hi kevin. let me know if i can be of further assistance. i even have knowledge of the v-drives. i grew up with the model that you have and know the tri cabin inside and out. when dad had the aft deck rebuilt, he did the exact same thing you are thinking about. glassing the aft deck and putting some over lap up part of the aft bulkhead. the aft bulkheads and rear deck were done in coosa board. slightly more expensive than most mediums, but, coosa has a unique property to absorb resin when it's infused.
for the aft windows, he had diamond seaglaze make rounded edge frames and safety glass. again, let me know if i can help. i'll be off work for almost two months for radiation and chemo, so, i'll have time...... that is if my own projects don't distract me.

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:47 am

im a mechanical guy..not so much with the carpentry/fiberglass etc.but it has to be done...a carpentry friend is like "np problem we will just rip all this out and replace it..couple hundred in materials" im thinking..ya right lol..thanks for the offer to help ill need it ..wish you success with the treatments..

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:53 am

kevin babineau wrote:im a mechanical guy..not so much with the carpentry/fiberglass etc.but it has to be done...a carpentry friend is like "np problem we will just rip all this out and replace it..couple hundred in materials" im thinking..ya right lol..thanks for the offer to help ill need it ..wish you success with the treatments..

no worries. when i'm back flying, and i have a boston layover, let's meetup. besides, i'd love to look over your tri cabin, reconstruction and all.....

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:11 am

Sounds good would love to have some first hand suggestion! More I look into it. Find more issues..lol. the mcck exhaust manifold is split..almost finished first round of cleaning interior..Monday ill start the tear down. I hope to remove the aft cabin headliner intact and see what itlooks like up there.. I have a fiberglass helm hardtop I'm going to put on so during the helm deck rebuild I have to make some designs to support it and also make it on a hinge to drop down into the aft deck area during transport. It sucks that the team isn't rotted just the plywood under neath it. I'm tempted to just cut out rot from underneath and replace subfloor . I found the culprit.. in the storage box has rotten and let the water get doesn't behind every and get it rotting..also a bow light was missing and water got in there and caused some damage..jez stirring a novel.

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:12 am

Sounds good would love to have some first hand suggestion! More I look into it. Find more issues..lol. the mcck exhaust manifold is split..almost finished first round of cleaning interior..Monday ill start the tear down. I hope to remove the aft cabin headliner intact and see what itlooks like up there.. I have a fiberglass helm hardtop I'm going to put on so during the helm deck rebuild I have to make some designs to support it and also make it on a hinge to drop down into the aft deck area during transport. It sucks that the teak isn't rotted just the plywood under neath it. I'm tempted to just cut out rot from underneath and replace subfloor . I found the culprit.. in the storage box has rotten and let the water get doesn't behind every and get it rotting..also a bow light was missing and water got in there and caused some damage..jez writing a novel.

Bob Giaier · Post by **Bob Giaier** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:45 pm

Hello Kevin, You're in great hands with Aaron. He is the Tri cabin master. I also have a 73 tri cabin. I have 280hp Chryslers in mine. I redid my aft deck and aft walls and windows as well as many other areas and items. I'd be happy to help you too with pitcures and places to get stuff when you get to that point. Show us some pics when you get them.

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:42 pm

update, removed ac, aft bulk head window door and rails, aft cabin headliner,all deck joists and headers that connect to the aft bulk head are rotted off. port motor has 60 pounds per cylinder all around and getting green antifreeze in it. havent checked starboard..a friend showed up and wanted to help so i changed up working on the motors to work on something together. looking at the aft ceiling rafters they have been sistered before but some are reusable and all are good enough for templets. my idea of the hard top is becoming a challenge because of the strength of the helm deck but since ill have it all apart ill figure something out.

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:06 am

kevin babineau wrote:update, removed ac, aft bulk head window door and rails, aft cabin headliner,all deck joists and headers that connect to the aft bulk head are rotted off. port motor has 60 pounds per cylinder all around and getting green antifreeze in it. havent checked starboard..a friend showed up and wanted to help so i changed up working on the motors to work on something together. looking at the aft ceiling rafters they have been sistered before but some are reusable and all are good enough for templets. my idea of the hard top is becoming a challenge because of the strength of the helm deck but since ill have it all apart ill figure something out.

keep us posted and pics (properly sized of course) would be great. always interested in looking in other peoples rebuilds. you would be amazed how much it helps the rest of us. like i said, once i'm back flying, i'd love to venture up your way. how close are you to logan?
tri cabin aaron baltimore, md

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:53 am

im about 25 minutes north of boston depending on the time of day (traffic)