Hi Joe,

Like Jay says, it's more of a concern in glass boats. It is something I would actually be concerned about in Kevlar boats. Wood boats are so darn stiff, I wouldn't worry a bit about stress risers. I'm not exactly kind to my boat, and have seen no signs of stress risers around my solid bulkheads. I'd say I'm harder on my boat than 95% of the people here--no worries, mon!

Shawn

: I have heard this factor brought up by others lots of times and yesterday was
: at a major manufacturer who states he only installs foam bulkheads because
: solid bulkheads from stress points. This is true, but I think solid
: bulkheads are better. Still I would like to address the stress build up at
: these points. I am considering adding a SMALL keel strip of fine grained
: strongest redwood size 3/8" x 5/8' with dbl 1/4 round over top. Lay
: this with epoxy end to end and cover with a strip of 9 oz. tape before
: glassing the interior. And or add a "rib" (3/4" x 3/4"
: cut out "ring" of ply, like a "form" with the center
: cut out). I would install one "rib" half way between the front
: bulkhead and the bow and one behind the rear bulkhead 1/2 way to the
: stern. This cuts the "unsupported" span of the boat at any one
: place down in half (think increase of stress relief will be better if it
: is more spread out this way). Even with both keel and ribs the weight gain
: is very low. Any builders have an opinion on this being a net gain by
: distributing stresses more evenly over the surface of the hull ?

: Joe