by GreenLake » Tue Jun 21, 2016 10:12 pm
Make sure you do not compromise the support for the CB trunk. I believe the bottom part of the bulkhead may serve to stiffen the trunk (keeping it upright). For the top part of the bulkhead, the old DS1's literally had a piece of rebar glassed in to help support the deck spanning the wider opening. You could substitute a hollow fiberglass tube, perhaps 1.5 to 2" in diameter, usually realized as a "hat" profile (square U shape). For example, cut the new opening, then take a strip of foam and glass it over several layers deep, so it forms a hollow profile along the edge, going all the way across. That should go a long way towards supporting the deck. If you can further back it up by attaching the deck to the mast post, to substitute for the forward bulkhead that the DS1's have in the middle of the cuddy, then you may be adequately covered from a support/stiffness perspective. Without, not so much.
Resale value is perhaps not the guiding factor, given the moderate prices for used DS boats unless they are in very excellent condition.
Would I recommend this project? Not without understanding that it addresses an important need - and even then, why not get a DS1?
~ green ~ lake ~ ~