No more creaky v-berth...

[Cathy Monaghan]

We sleep in the v-berth when moored. Everytime somebody moved or rolled over the thing squeeked and creaked. I'm a very light sleeper, so I wanted to put an end to the noise.

We removed the top of the v-berth, which on our CD32 is 2 pieces plus two access covers. This was easy enough since it's just screwed down. (Have a cup handy so you don't lose any of the screws.)

We decided to add a cross-member half-way between the forward bulkhead and the bulkhead just aft of the water tank. That was a long stretch without any support and the reason for all of the creaks.

We attached a wooden block, fashioned from 2x4 stock, to each side of the hull. The blocks were shaped to match the contour of the hull and glassed in place with epoxy and fiberglass. We used a West System Repair Kit.

<a href="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 302531.jpg" target="_blank"><img width="500" src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 1.jpg"></a>
Fig. 1 - Here you can see one of the newly glassed in blocks as well as the new cross-member. We were in the process of refinishing all of the boat's interior wood. That's why the blue tape is there. Obviously, the tape was applied after the blocks were in place.


The new cross-member was cut from 1/2" plywood and either side was fastened to the new blocks. The top was then resecured to the v-berth and voila, no more creaks.

<a href="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 302528.jpg" target="_blank"><img width="500" src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 8.jpg"></a>
Fig. 2 - Not only did we refinish all of the interior teak, we repainted many of the storage compartments. Since we're dealing with the v-berth, I thought I'd throw in this photo too. It shows some of the repainted compartments.


<a href="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 302530.jpg" target="_blank"><img width="500" src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 0.jpg"></a>
Fig. 3 - Here you can see the new cross-member in place, just how much of the v-berth bed had been unsupported, and the freshly painted compartments.

Cathy
CD32 Realization #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay