Creaking forward Bulkhead in C34 MKII

[Allatsea]

Hi all,
I have a 2005 C34 MKII and lately been bugged by the creaking of the forward bulkhead caused by movement between the top of the bulkhead and the ceiling.

Close inspection reveals that the retaining screws along the outer edge of the bulkhead have been cut to length such that they only protrude around 5mm beyond the thickness of the bulkhead ply.
This seems to suggest the screws are cosmetic and the top of the bulkhead is intended to be floating.

So, to my questions.
Is the top of the bulkhead intended to be floating?
If so, any suggestions to resolve the creaking issue?
Why shouldn't I (by appropriate means) permanently attach the bulkhead to the ceiling?

Best regards,
Allan

[Dale Stone]

Hi Allen,
I have a 2001 MKII. I'm not sure what you mean by retaining screws being cut. I assume the bulkhead should be fixed.
I will take a look at mine tonight.

[Allatsea]

Hi Dale,
Thanks for the reply.
Re the cut retaining screws - either they were intentionally cut during manufacture to limit the distance (about 5mm) the screw penetrated the fibreglass flange, or by the previous owner.

I can't think of a reason why this was done except, maybe, just shoddy workmanship?
Anyway, I'd be interested to know if full length screws were employed on your boat.
regards,
Allan

[Dale Stone]

Hi Allen,
I was not able get on the boat last night. Weather here was yuck. I plan getting on it Thursday night and will report back Friday morning. I will take pictures and post them if I figure out how to do that.

[Dave Spencer]

Hi Allan,
I'm aboard my boat now and checked my bulkhead screws. I removed 2 and both were 1 1/4" long and were firmly threaded into the flange in the headliner.  My bulkhead is 7/16" thick so the protrusion is far more than you are seeing on your boat. Mine is a 1994 Mk 1.5 so it isn't necessarily identical to your boat but it seems unlikely to me that this element of the boat's construction would change.
I've never heard creaking from my forward bulkhead. Hope this helps.

[Allatsea]

Thanks Dave - that does help.
It's now occurred to me that maybe the bulkhead was fixed by design and a previous owner had a creaking problem - couldn't fix it, so decided to convert into a floating bulkhead by shortening the screws and leaving them installed for the cosmetics.
regards,
Allan

[Allatsea]

Hi Allen,
I was not able get on the boat last night. Weather here was yuck. I plan getting on it Thursday night and will report back Friday morning. I will take pictures and post them if I figure out how to do that.

Hi Dale, thanks for that - much appreciated.
Looks like Dave Spencer's 1994 C34 definitely has a fixed bulkhead, so it will be interesting to see what the setup is on your later model.
regards,
Allan

[Dale Stone]

Hi Allen
I was there at night and took pictures. Hopefully I can insert them. The forward bulkheads are firmly screwed into the head liner. The screws are all tight and the one I removed is 1.25" long.

[Jim Hardesty]

Allen,
By any chance, are you missing the trim beading. May be the wrong name, don't know what it's called, the fabric/rope piece shown on the above pictures at where the bulkhead meets the ceiling.
FWIW   Shamrock is a 2001 MKll and has no creaking.
Jim

[Allatsea]

Hi Dale,
Thanks so much for your help - you've confirmed for me the bulkhead should be fixed.
So it's academic who or why mine was modified to floating.
I will now revert it to fixed.

Hi Jim,
Re the trim beading, it's there on my boat but I will verify it is doing what it should and replace it if necessary.

Thanks all for your help guys - I'm on the right track now 

Allan