# Updating the interior with wood



## byrondv (Jan 6, 2007)

I have gotten to the point where I am sick of the fabric glued to various parts of my boat. The cushions have been updated, and while the colors don’t clash as bad as my normal fashion choices – I would like to have a bit more of a warm feel to the interior.

I was wondering if there were suggestions for a reasonable wood that can bend to the slight curve of the hull. I would like to lay (almost) vertical strips, roughly 2 inches wide, and about as thin as possible. Some level of water resistance, or the ability to treat for water resistance while maintaining a nice look would be good.


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## Gary M (May 9, 2006)

One option might be to paint the wall with a single part epoxy paint and then install varnished strips of ash or cedar. The strips are maybe 2 inches wide by 1/4" thick and with one inch between them. This looks very nice and the strips are flexible. 

Some builders do this in some ares of their boats. Check some sites and you may see it. Most common in the V berth area. 

There is also the option of the various foam or vinyl fabris that glue on. 

Gary


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I would use cedar. Cedar is light enough that it won't add too much weight and light enough in color that it won't make the interior too dark. It is moderately rot resistant. 

I would seal the strakes with a penetrating epoxy (I like MAS for this purpose), which will also make the somewhat soft cedar a little les prone to damage and then varnish them. For what it is worth, ceilings (which is what wood linings on the interior of the topsides are called) typically are run horizontally. I would also be concerned about how you would attach the ceilings to the hull. Typically screw strips are glassed to the hull and the ceilings are then screwed to them so that they can be removed for repair or to run wires. If you go that route, you probably should consider something closer to 3/8" thickness. 

Doing this right is a whole lot of trouble, and expensive but it sure looks nice. Doing it poorly doesn't even look nice. 

Jeff


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## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

We have some carpet material glued to the hull as well and I find it hard to clean, it seems to gather and hold dust and would like to replace it. Wifey seems to feel that we should preserve the original boat... but I've done a lot of interior as well exterior upgrades.

Of course the hull has some complex curves and so I can see why this material was originally chosen. I was thinking of using think Teak plywood of some think strip planks.. perhaps something to match the Holly in the sole... Maybe maple.

I would need to glue it directly to the interior of the hull too and that might be yet another problem

Do any of you know a source for this type of material? Have any of you done such a project and can you provide any heads up on it? Did you plank horizontally or vertically? Vertical seems to make the most sense for any number of reasons.

jef
sv shiva


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

The interior finish planking Gary describes is very common in boat interiors - solid wood planks are usually found in high end boats, milled plywood in others. Other wood species typically found are cherry, mahogany or oak.

Typically, when used decoratively (non structural) the strips are no more than 3/8" - 5/16" thick and a relatively thin width between 2"-2 1/2" wide. The long edges are reverse rabbetted (male up, female down) to allow for a shiplap joint with the mating strip.

The traditional method of fastening to GRP hulls, is to first secure vertical battens to the hull interior with a waterproof mastic, spaced about 12" - 16" OC. The teak strips are then laid horizontally and secured by stainless steel screws to the vertical battens. The screws are countersunk into the planking with a counterbore to receive 3/8" wood bungs. The end joints are always staggered with upper & lower planks.

The exact term used to describe this paneling, escapes me at the moment, but here's a photo of a portion of the aft cabin woodwork on my boat, showing the horizontal planking. Similar treatment is used at the V-berth.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Ragtime is an Endeavor 37,A plan interior. If you look at the interior of Endeavour 37's from the 80's, you will find that the walls are covered with whitew vinyl fabric set off with 1" teak strips horizontally set 2" apart. Ragtime, however, had the walls behind the setees covered with 3/8 ash in 2 inch wide horizontal strips, beveled edges butted up to each other with nothing showing between. This looked so nice that after we purchased her, I installed the same wall covering in both quarter berths (the only other interior space not covered with cabinetry.) As to water resistance, a couple good coats of polyurethane varnish has enough water resistance for any interior space on a well maintained sailboat. The walls get washed down each spring (the admiral is what we fondly call scrubby Dutch) and monthly coated with Pledge furniture polish. If you rebed your deck hardware and ports frequently enough to keep the rain out, wood is a wonderfully warm wall and/or floor covering, and your sailboat should be just as dry as your house. We have teak parquet floors and mahogany cabinetry and bulkheads, and they look better at 25 years old, IMHO, than any of the floating bleach bottles made by beneteau, hunter and catalina this year!


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

As a correction to my fastening description above, I do have a section of the vertical fastening strips exposed within the aft steering compartment (below the hinged teak access door in the counter to the right - shown above). The strips are actually glassed to the hull - not secured by mastic. But mastic of course is the easiest method.


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## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

Thanks TB.

In my case I have a panel which has ports and is from the ceiling down to a shelf... about 18"..plus the walls of the V against the hull. The first area is of course tapered and I cannot install furring because it would project past the ports. I can remove the port trim and replace it over the paneling perhaps up to 3/8". Vertical strips here would certainly be an easier install... I suspect thin veneer plywd might work here as well as the form is not seriously complex curvey. But strips would be easier.

The V can be done horizontal, but it can get whacky looking because equal width planking will go off level pretty quickly in continuous curves as in a hull form. I think vertical can conceal this better.

jef
sv shiva


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## byrondv (Jan 6, 2007)

TrueBlue said:


> As a correction to my fastening description above, I do have a section of the vertical fastening strips exposed within the aft steering compartment (below the hinged teak access door in the counter to the right - shown above). The strips are actually glassed to the hull - not secured by mastic. But mastic of course is the easiest method.


Is there a reason to use the mastic on only the vertical fastening strips? Or, really, is there a reason not to use mastic on all the strips and forego the fastening strips?

I like the idea of having all vertical strips in the V-berth and having fastening strips run horizontally just seems painful (the area below the side shelves being only ~2 feet high and quite long).


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

> Is there a reason to use the mastic on only the vertical fastening strips? Or, really, is there a reason not to use mastic on all the strips and forego the fastening strips?


The glassed in vertical strips allow for chases to expel any moisture which would condensate between the GRP and finish paneling - subsequently draining down into the bilge. The amount of condensate would increase of course, during periods when the temperature coeffiecient becomes more extreme. Otherwise, cold exterior air (& water) against the heated interior air, would make the interior finish surfaces sweat. During new construction, builders sometimes utilize these spaces for wire chases as well.


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

*ash is very*

traditional, Mahogany, teak, are too.

red cedar is brittle and splits easy, white cedar isn't

ash, white oak, cedar are easy woods to steam bend, and you can also soak them in hot water for easy bends. (red oak rots easy)

red cedar and mahogany will "bleed" red stains when wet.

you can buy a vinyl beadboard paneling at a home center. it won't delaminate like wood paneling.

I've seen a trend getting away from teak even in high end boats. Personally I love the brighter look they have! I love teak but it is dark and gloomy if used in excess like in older boats. I would feel like a sinner if I were to paint it white though!

I most likely will use ash somday in my boat. Maybe for the table, Nav table, white plastic beadboard on the bunk sides and maybe the galley fronts while keeping the teak doors and trim.

Ports can be a problem because they are set from inside out with the trim ring on the outside. I suppose a new wood port frame could be overlaid on the inside though it may affect the hardware.

Ceilings in boats can really get wet when the weather changes! Like rain even! I'd opt for headliner or insulation behind the strip planks.

when doing wood projects like this I try to create a "theme" for example: white beadboard for vertical surfaces, ash for horizontal, teak for trim and doors, it gives the overall look a well put together and thought out appearance.

Lots of polished brass helps too!! hinges, clocks, meters, lamps, etc

on finishes: true varnish will get dark with age, urethanes will not. any kind of oils will also get dark eventually. epoxy needs UV protection even indoors.

darn.. Now I'm yearning for a wooden sailboat again! (at least I still have my wooden canoes  )

hope this helps

Denise


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

> I would need to glue it directly to the interior of the hull too and that might be yet another problem


It will work loose quite quickly as the fibreglass and the wood have different expansion rates, the hull flexes, and it will be almost impossible to ensure that there are no voids behind the wood, hence condensation will occur and rot will set in.

Also - what happens if/when you need to make a hull repair ?

You're going to find it difficult to source an adhesive that will hold the wood along the curve of the hull. The only thing that I can think of that MIGHT do it is contact cement...but if it doesn't hold then you're just going to end up with some ruined wood and a messy interior.

As Jeff mentioned, if you are going to do it - do it properly. Take the time to cut the furring strips to the shape of the hull and epoxy them in place (vertically), and then take your time cutting and fitting the ceiling pieces.

This will allow for some ventilation behind them, and also make it convenient to run wires and hide money from your kids. If you decide to sell in the future, a warm, wooden cabin will add dollars to value.

Otherwise, when it comes time to sell your boat, you're going to have to convince a lot of would-be buyers that the stuff in the cabin really isn't a structural issue and it will only take a few short minutes of their time to clean it up ....


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