# Galley idea.. a bit of input is hoped for



## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

OK. So it's rebuild parts of the boat season now and I've made it down to the boat to check it out and take measurements and pictures and all that. One of the things that I've been looking to do for a while now is get the galley a bit more usable. Here is a picture of it currently:










and another angle:










A couple of items that I really want are:

1. A cooler/fridge/icebox. Essentially I need something that will keep my milk, meat and juice cold for more than a day or two. My idea here is to build something into the boat so I don't have to worry about a portable cooler moving around a lot and all that. All I should have to do is stick a big huge block of ice in it and then all my stuff. Nothing too fancy. Walls will be 2 inch thick urethane foam with a wrapping on the outside of that of the shiny heat radiant protector (kind of like you would have on your car windshield on a sunny day to keep the heat out).

2. More space under the stove and sink area.

So this is a crude rendering of my idea:










There will be a piece that will go over the stove so that I'll regain some counter space for dishes or whatever. I'm unsure yet how to close up the bottom area. Doors seem like they might have to be made somewhat big, I thought about sliding doors on two tracks.

Anyways, I'm also going to rebuild the shelving in the back and I'm hoping to take a lot of measurements and build most of this in the garage and then just cart it over. The thing on the right is the cooler and that will extend down lower than the rest as the part that I have there is just the area that will sit on the already built in seating area kind of thing. Hard to explain for me..

Any thoughts? Ideas? Pictures I could take reference from? I'm hoping to just get other's insight as I'm sure many have done this kind of work or refit before and whatever pitfalls or afterthoughts might be there would be very helpful.

Thanks
Graeme


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Oh my goodness, the 1lb propane bottle police are going to be all over you. There was a thread here where some swore they are a complete hazard. We were discussing there use for BBQs.

In your case, you have them down below. If you are leaving them connected, you don't seem to have any of the modern safety devices, such as a shut off at the tank (not possible with these tanks) or a solenoid to shut off flow in case of fire, which would be possible to retrofit. You could and probably should add a sniffer, if you don't already have one.

While I was not able to find a single boat fire caused by these bottles, they are not as secure as a tank with a valve. They only have a ball on a spring inside. I did purchase and have already received some brass caps with a washer inside that are made to screw down on the bottle threads when not in use. Seems prudent.

Amazon.com: Mac Coupler Propane Bottle Cap 2 pack $2.99 shipping.: Sports & Outdoors

As for design, I would raise the height of the fridge top to match the rest and create even more counter space. You can always remove what you need to cook and the fridge top become counter for the entire meal prep. Once you are using your stove, you have none, it seems.

Good luck with the project.


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## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

Graeme,

I like your idea, and I like the rendering. That's pretty cool. The only thing I'd change, is shucking the propane stove for an Origo _un-pressurized_ alcohol stove.

Very safe, you can douse the flame with water in an emergency. No valves, piping or seals to fail. No crazy jets of flame when something goes wrong. The only trade off is that it takes just a couple more minutes to boil water. Their BTU's are competitive with other types of stoves.

When you build your icebox, I've found that putting your food in one of those insulated grocery bags and then putting the bag in the icebox keeps everything cold even longer than just putting it in the icebox alone.


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## flyingwelshman (Aug 5, 2007)

We have an ice box and use it more as a pantry.

We plan our menus to reduce the amount of stuff that needs to be refrigerated.

For the things that need to be cold, I have a 3-way cooler (Mobicool) We run it from shore power when possible. We can run it through the batteries if we are doing a lot of motoring (it was left plugged in the first time we used it and it drained our house battery in one night.) You can run it with propane, but, as the cooler is in the cabin we don't do this.

Once de-powered the cooler keeps things cool for at least 2 days (if you plan your opening/closings well).

For our weekend getaways we find this cooler to be more than adequate. When I go off for three or four days by myself the cooler keeps my Guinness at a good temperature.

We bungy the cooler at the end of the quarter birth opposite the galley. One heavy duty shock cord into two eye-hooks keeps the cooler secure. The bungy is placed horizontally to allow access to the cooler without having to mess around with it. We have been out in some pretty big waves (3 metre) and have had some pretty big heels (45 degrees) and the cooler has remained secure.

We have used this cooler for two seasons now and still think it was a great, inexpensive, low PITA solution to keeping food cool.

For longer trips (over 3 days) we use a 5-day cooler with dry ice. With food packed strategically we have kept steaks and shrimp etc. frozen solid for over 5 days.

One of the things about the ice box is that the ice block takes up quite a bit of your storage space. You also have to drain the box into your bilge.

I hope this helps.

Dave


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

BubbleheadMd said:


> ....The only thing I'd change, is shucking the propane stove for an Origo _un-pressurized_ alcohol stove.
> 
> Very safe, you can douse the flame with water in an emergency. No valves, piping or seals to fail. No crazy jets of flame when something goes wrong. The only trade off is that it takes just a couple more minutes to boil water......


The other trade-off is that it can be difficult to tell that you've actually ignited alcohol, which has caused people to burn themselves, or worse, light things on fire. Propane is only marginally better, but I find the heat distortion from propane set to high to be visible, more that the flame itself.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Those are excellent suggestions, thank you very much everybody.

I'm not sure about what to do with the stove but I definitely appreciate the feedback on it. I always disconnect the propane tank when not in use so I've never worried about it leaking off all over the place. The setup came with the boat 4 years ago when I got it and I haven't had an issue with it so didn't put anymore thought into it really. 

The idea to have the cooler a bit lower is to have a spot to put a drink or an elbow when sitting next to it there. I do like the idea of having more counter space though when cooking. Right behind me is the table so I've always used that until now. I somewhat liked the staggered look of the lower cooler, but for practical use it may be better to be level with the counter. Thank you for the suggestion, I'll definitely think on that one further.

For the portable cooler idea, I've done that and I didn't like it much. Combined with the fact that the cooler didn't keep everything cool for so long (being the crap that they sell nowadays.. I guess you get what you pay for), it just looked disjointed and I always felt there was a risk of it coming undone or something and falling over in rocky waters (like going through a rough pass). In the end I thought a built in cooler would be great. The boat is only 25 feet long, so there's not that much space but it isn't bad I think.

For drainage for the cooler, I won't be putting in ice that isn't in a closed container like a milk jug. The plan is to freeze a 4 liter block of ice (or 2 depending on the trip) and as it melts I can the just pour it out to drink or whatever. With that I should only have to worry about condensation, I'll just sponge that out and leave it open to dry when the trip is over. My bilge is only 2 inches deep anyways.. not so useful for draining anything into.

Grocery bag idea is neat. Never thought of that.

Any thoughts on the type of doors or sliding doors for that large opening where I plan to store pots, dishes, food etc under the sink and stove?

I'm also going to replace the shelving behind it all, still thinking on the best layout for that too. Any suggestions for a good depth and height etc?


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## HPLou (Feb 25, 2002)

Just my $0.02 worth. You have some good ideas there. However, I would never store propane in the cabin areas for obvious reasons. All it takes is one defective can or valve and you have propane in the bilge. As for the cooler idea, I would run a small drain hose to the bilge area just in case an ice bag leaked. The size of sliding doors should be determined after you know the size of the largest item(s) you want to store in the space. Don't forget to post progress pics.


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## justified (Jun 14, 2007)

My .02 cents. I think you have a good start and ideas and I have always found it helpful to talk to others....so here goes.
1. I would agree with the Origo stove they work great and I have never had a problem knowing if it is lit. They also mount flush in the counter top with a cutting board that covers it when not in use.
2. raise the fridge section up you need the counter space, you can never have enough.
3. What is the space to the left of the sink? could you also redesign that area for more counter or for your frig. or stove area with a cabinet under.
4. doors I would stay with a traditional style unless you don't have room to swing them open. sliders are good IMHO only if you don't have the swing room.
5. Fridge - where does your sink drain to? Why not run the fridge drain into it. You probably will want to seal the interior walls with something...maybe FG.
6. Shelves - doesn't look like there is a lot of space in the depth. you could lower/ scollop the front edge in the middle and it might make getting things out easier. bungees to hold things in place?
Will be interested in how things come out, post some pics of the finish work.
Peter


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## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

*What you don't find*



Minnewaska said:


> .
> While I was not able to find a single boat fire caused by these bottles, they are not as secure as a tank with a valve. They only have a ball on a spring inside. I did purchase and have already received some brass caps with a washer inside that are made to screw down on the bottle threads when not in use. Seems prudent.


There aren't going to be any fires from camping stoves being used on boats. The gas, when it leaks, simply fills the bilge and the boat blows up when a spark sets it off. There is no fire.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

A new rough render (I'll be adding to this as I have time to get more detail):










Some answers to some great questions there from justified:

1. I'm definitely going to look into it. As long as it's easy for the admiral, I don't see why I can't replace it. I don't like propane as it is, works out well.

2. Shown in render

3. It's a water tank actually, I put that in last year. Hold about 16 gallons of water. I do plan on putting a bit of counter in there too actually, it'll lift up to reveal the water tank opening and a bit of a cubby area there for stuff

4. Interesting. I put sliders in the render there for now. Semi clear so I can see inside. Not sure about it though.. just testing right now

5. Sink drains to just underneath it. The fridge would sit too low for it unfortunately. Fridge will be water tight, I'll sponge it if need be I think.

6. I have no idea what that means to scallop something. I like to eat scallops.. with butter and some garlic maybe  Do you have an example to look at?

I'll definitely be posting how it goes, for now I'm in planning. I am hoping to build the whole thing in my garage as I will be doing fiberglass work too and that is just plain stinky and messy. I hated doing that for the water tank in the boat. Painting is easier on sawhorses too.


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## ftldiver (Sep 9, 2002)

you can store those 1# bottles in a length of 4" pvc with screw on caps, and hang it on the lifeline. 

what about putting a small 10# fiberglass LP tank on the stern rail, and making a longer line.

you could also enclose those existing shelves and add sliding openings, and/or extend the shelf into over the counter area for more storage. 

any task lighting? led strips under the shelf ?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

GraemeInCanada said:


> ......I always disconnect the propane tank when not in use so I've never worried about it leaking off all over the place. The setup came with the boat 4 years ago when I got it and I haven't had an issue with it so didn't put anymore thought into it really......


I'm not the zealot on this topic, but the argument is that they are more prone to leak when you put them on and take them off. The disposable plunger inside is argued to get stuck, loose, etc, from repeated use. Leaving them connected, puts you at risk for a charged system leaking. If you just buy the inexpensive caps that I linked, the issue seems to disappear to me.


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## rmeador (Jan 16, 2010)

Just my $0.02: it would annoy me to have that bar (piece of counter top) across the front of the stove. It looks like it would make me reach down at a uncomfortable angle to turn the knobs on the stove, and it would also prevent me from looking at the position of the knobs while standing in front of it. Hard to tell if this is accurate from the render, though. Other than that detail, I like it.


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

FWIW I have had a problem with a 1 Lb. disposable bottle, it was an offname brand from a discount store. It didn't reseal when removed from device, this was 1 out of probably a thousand, but very disconcerting to hold a spewing bottle of gas in your hand.
Also, about that cutout, there's is never enough counter space in a galley of any size boat, think of making a salad.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Ok, new render here. Slowly coming along with a bit more detail and textures in place. I actually can't decide if I want a wood finish for the counter or just use some arborite on plywood:










Still unsure what to do about the shelves. Gotta fit in a paper towel dispenser too. Any other things to think about?


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## serenespeed (Apr 6, 2010)

Ice tip: I don't use bags of ice unless I'm away for a while. I freeze 4L or 10L water jugs (let a bit of water out first). That way when it melts you have the water contained in the jug, not the bottom of the cooler. Works perfect for (long) weekends.


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## Redfin (Feb 20, 2011)

Just a suggestion but what I have found to be the most efficient `cupboard' is actually a very deep sliding draw. With cupboards you can never get to the back to easily retrieve that pot. With a large draw it is all acesible. They make good quality slides nowadays that can take the weight.

The cooler could also be on a sliding platform to enable easy access and to relieve you of having to clear the top counter every time you needed to access it. Coolers should be the biggest you can get away with. The more ice you can put into it the longer they keep the food cool. I would not recommend draining the melt water until absolutely necessary. The water contains great cooling potential as it should be close to zero degrees celcius and you would be throwing away a lot of cooling time. 

If you plan on more than a couple of days away you will probably have to resort to purchasing block ice then you will have the hassle of water in the cooler. Having a raised compartment to keep the food out of the water would be a good feature. Big problem with ice coolers is when you have some meat that leaches blood and **** into the water. You are faced with a major cleanup and sterilistion (bleach) job ahead of you so you must figure on how to safely dispose of the drain water so it doesn't get into the bilge.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Excellent suggestions. I can't do a sliding drawer there though because I want to get below that area too and the drawer would cover the access panel. Good idea though, I had thought on something like that in the past.

Agreed on the ice items.

Thanks for the input, this is where I've gotten to so far (not sure how much I like the look so far though)










Not entirely sure if I should go for sliding doors on the bottom part or proper doors. I know there was a good suggestion to put doors on if there is space available. I think there is.. for the upper area I'm still on the fence to close off that area behind the stove or leave it open like the upper shelf. I can't find very many images on the internet to give me an ideas of what looks good or practical.

Lots of thinking..


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

GraemeInCanada said:


> .....I actually can't decide if I want a wood finish for the counter or just use some arborite on plywood.....


Either are probably going to take some more abuse than you will want to see after all this work. You don't need much counter top. I would check with a local counter top company or even your local Home Depot or Lowes, to see if they have corian scraps cut down from a recent install. They all do, its just a question of size and you may pay a very small fee. You could work with two separate pieces, one over the ice box and other over the rest. With the same pattern, corian can be seemed together to make a larger piece as well.


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## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

Graeme,

I think that final rendering looks great! I'd roll with it. Go online and get the dimensions of some alcohol stoves though, and see if you can make the stove cut-out accomodate them in case you want to change over in the future.


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## captflood (Jan 1, 2011)

Greetings; I have great service from kroseane two burner primus stove light with metolated spirits no gas to worry about and secured by just two bolts in the gimble Main frame secure by four bolts to worktop so it is very easey to take ashore on bbqs and campning I would reconsider the gas bottle . The heat from the stove would boil a large ketle in 12 mins from cold in the winter a pice of 1/2 inch steel plate over one of the rings acts as a heater (Dad worked in Ship Biulding) Go Safe


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Great idea on the countertop. I don't need much, that's for sure. Would put up with a lot more abuse than wood. Maybe a granite like finish would be interesting..

For stoves, are we all talking about this one? Steveston Marine: marine, boating, and fishing supplies

That's pricey.. seems to have very high reviews though.

Excellent suggestions, this is really helping a lot. I'm still on the fence here and there but at least it's coming together a bit.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

What about the cookmate one? comparable size and BTU's to the Origo Steveston Marine: marine, boating, and fishing supplies (it'll show up as the same title here on sailnet unfortunately)

Anybody have any issues or thoughts. That local marine store actually doesn't carry Origo any longer. It's nice that this stove is a bit cheaper in price. Not sure on quality.


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## justified (Jun 14, 2007)

Graeme
Well the design is looking great, I'd say you are just about ready to start building. Thought on upper slide doors I have the same type of layout the doors are framed and panel, the panel is a cane material like they use on chairs, gives a nice contrast.
I had a Cookmate 4200 2 burner flush mount in my old boat loved it. That looks to be a good price from the site you linked. It will also maximize the storage under neither.
Counter material: Formica is very inexpensive and easy to make up or you can get pre-made at HD or Lowes.
I agree with Redfin on the issue with block ice. how about a small transfer pump with a float that would go to your sink tankage. just a thought.
Guess its time to get busy spring is on its way!!!!
Peter


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## bradandjaya (Nov 12, 2008)

*Insert for the sink?*

Graeme,

I haven't seen mention of an insert to cover the sink. It would increase your counter space, but then you have to have stowage for it when using the sink. If you go with the idea, you probably should caulk the joint between the sink and the counter, as the sink would now sit under the counter instead of on top of it. The sink mounting might be a little tricky, but I'm sure I've seen this on other boats, so it is possible.

Love the renderings.

Brad


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

After some looking around I found this style: COOKMATE 4200 DOUBLE BURNER STOVE - DROP-IN Binnacle.com

Can anybody comment on what would be better/easier to use/put in etc based on thoughts or actual experience?

I'm thinking I like this one but it doesn't go with my clean look that I was hoping to have. Not a big deal, will resemble the sink and ease of install is there. Controls are on top so I can close up the hole in the front there to get to the controls which is an issue for another person here and I agree with.

I'll put up another render in the case that others may be interested in chiming in.


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## GaryHLucas (Mar 24, 2008)

I think your plan of recessing a table top stove is hazardous. Flames hit a pot on the stove and travel horizontally, and will likely heat the edge of your counter top dangerously.

Gary H. Lucas


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

I actually posted about that 4200 before I saw your post there Peter! What a fluke. I think I'm going to get that this weekend after I confirm that I can fit it in just fine. I tried a cane material on the panels there, I can't find a good texture out there to use in my 3D app.. gives the idea I think..

Now that I'm going to go for a flush mount stove I think I'll leave the sink as is. I thought on the same item but I would need to get real granite in place to do that and I don't think I'll bother with that kind of effort. Great idea though and it would allow me to have an insert in the sink. Although I do keep either the kettle or a water jug in there while underway for convenience. I may still come up with something for the sink though. It tapers in if I remember correctly.

You're right Gary, I'm not keen on the idea either. New render here:










Not convinced yet on the countertop colouring. I think I should do something darker, brownish... or grey with some kind of brown in it? Any thoughts?


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## nightowle (Aug 2, 2006)

I had sliding doors like your design for my pots and pans cupboard...what a pain. Never enough room to get to what you need with only one side open at a time. I converted the doors last year to a hinge opening, just like regular kitchen cabinets. works much better! Just make sure you use secure latches. I have a counter cover that goes over my Origo alcohol stove; I like that it gives extra counter space when the stove isn't in use. Mine drops back vertically into a slot at the back end of the counter so it's out of the way when the stove is used. I like a lighter color counter top if the salon is small like my boat. Keeps it more open looking. You're on the right track though.


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## justified (Jun 14, 2007)

WOW Look at that Galley......two days of talk with sailors you have never met and you have a galley that you and the admiral can be very proud of. Nice job.
Peter


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

I'd relocate the paper towel holder. we have ours mounted to the overhead, that way it clears space on the countertop, and also the paper towels dont get wet from sink splashback. That space would be perfect for hooks to hang mugs.

To increase counterspace, building a folding counter extension at the settee end of the galley. Flip up to use, when not in use it takes up virtually no space.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Great comment nightowle and a very good point. I've changed up my design to go with that idea. The stove I'm going to get comes with a bamboo cutting board cover (I'll probably just cover it with the countertop material), so that's handy. Changed the colour of the top too.

Thanks Peter, it's getting there. Everybody keeps coming up with a new good idea that try to implement. I'm hoping to make the perfect galley here, takes time it seems..

Thanks jones, got the paper towels moved and I like the idea for the cups hanger. As I look at it, won't they clank around a lot? Am I missing something there? a piece of wood between each cup perhaps?

I thought about a folding countertop space but I'm not sure I need it anymore. The area above the water tank will also have a removable/hinge based piece, so that will help. I'll have to get that in the next render.

Here's how far I've gotten so far. I changed the slides behind the stove. Put in some spices, changed the sliding doors below the stove and sink and adjusted the countertop to be lighter. Moved the paper towels and added a container of soap


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Looking at that quickly I decided to get rid of the little handles on the bottom doors. I can picture catching my pants or something on those..










Just in case anybody is curious, I thought I'd post up a screenshot of the 3D workspace I'm in. It's kinda neat
http://www.periwinklecatboat.com/sailnet_images/Galley_screen_shot.png


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## rmeador (Jan 16, 2010)

That is neat. What software are you using? Is it free and/or open source? How much time has it taken you to create these renders thus far (don't count the discussion time, just how long to create the model). Also, how accurate are the measurements in your images? It looks like it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to completely model the interior of your boat. I can think of a few things I would like to have a complete model of my boat for...


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

I'm using a program called Swift 3D (www.erain.com). I've been using it since v3 so I'm used to it. Thinking of switching to Blender though (it's free and very powerful) as Swift can get finicky when you get to a high amount of objects in the scene. I've got a lot of textures in there too so it's quite slow to some things sometimes.

My measurements are not accurate at all.. More of an eyeball than anything. I've spent a lot of time on the boat and I have a lot of pictures. So I've just tried to match up with the pics more than anything. From there everything just kind of took shape. Looks about right to me, give or take a few inches here or there.

As for time to create.. hrmm.. I've probably put about 6 hours into it maybe? hard to say, been working on it over the last few days.. maybe 2 hours on and off each day. Lots of thinking too..

I have actually thought to model the whole interior. Just because I like 3D modeling more than anything else. We'll see. I'll keep posting renders as long as people are interested and hopefully give me some feedback and ideas. Everybody has a different look on things and what they like, I'm really keen to hear about those and very appreciative of any thoughts that can be posted.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Here's my latest so far:










The main thing I've changed is the ceiling behind the water tank and v-berth.

After reading through the great posts on the subject and seeing what others did I thought about a suggestion to go with cedar. I really like the smell of cedar and of course it's a very rot resistant wood that should last quite a while.

So, my idea is to grab some lathe, sand it down smooth and round the edges, put it in with an 1/8th inch gap in between each piece and staple them to fiberglassed pieces on the hull.

My questions on this process:

1. Staples. Should I be concerned about them rusting and creating rust marks in the cedar? These staples are the same as used for making lathe fencing I would assume and I don't see those rusting a particular amount. Put in with an air compressor staple gun it should be a simple process rather than drilling and then putting stainless screws in. Should be less obvious too. Is it worth it?

2. Staining or protecting the cedar. I like the smell of cedar and I like the natural colour. Is it worth doing or can I just leave it?

3. Does it appeal to others from the visual perspective. My plan is to do the head back wall too which is right across from the water tank, everything aft of those items will be a white vinyl fabric over plywood I think. Keeps it bright, but I don't mind the forward part looking a bit more woody. Should help the boat smell nicer too. Thoughts?

Thanks again everybody for the input so far. I'm really close to getting started.

On a related note, I'm picking up my new stove tomorrow. Thanks to those who suggested an alcohol based stove would be better. Excellent idea.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

GraemeInCanada said:


> Here's my latest so far:
> 
> The main thing I've changed is the ceiling behind the water tank and v-berth.
> 
> ...


Very classic look. Cedar should resist rot well, but it a relatively soft wood, so I would expect it to dent or scratch easily. May not be the best choice.



> 1. Staples. Should I be concerned about them rusting and creating rust marks in the cedar? These staples are the same as used for making lathe fencing I would assume and I don't see those rusting a particular amount. Put in with an air compressor staple gun it should be a simple process rather than drilling and then putting stainless screws in. Should be less obvious too. Is it worth it?


I'm sure that regular staples would stain, even rust. I suppose you could use stainless steel staples. I would buy a countersink bit, drill holes and use small brass screws. Would look very nice. (You may have to glue down a substrate or tack strips to drill into)



> 2. Staining or protecting the cedar. I like the smell of cedar and I like the natural colour. Is it worth doing or can I just leave it?


I would protect it from staining.



> 3. Does it appeal to others from the visual perspective. My plan is to do the head back wall too which is right across from the water tank, everything aft of those items will be a white vinyl fabric over plywood I think. Keeps it bright, but I don't mind the forward part looking a bit more woody. Should help the boat smell nicer too. Thoughts?


I can't picture your boat well enough to comment on the mixture of finishes.


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## BentSailor (Nov 10, 2010)

GraemeInCanada said:


> I'm using a program called Swift 3D (www.erain.com). I've been using it since v3 so I'm used to it. Thinking of switching to Blender though (it's free and very powerful) as Swift can get finicky when you get to a high amount of objects in the scene. I've got a lot of textures in there too so it's quite slow to some things sometimes.


I'm a big fan of Blender having paid for, and contributed my own code to, new features. That said, I would suggest it will be a large change for you, in terms of user interface, moving from Swift to Blender (well, anything to Blender really).

On the other hand, you'll be able to use correct units (metric or imperial) and it has been used in some of the most gorgeous architectural renders I've seen. It also is able to handle a serious amount of detail when required (see their Sintel and Big Buck Bunny movies made using it).

Shutting up about 3D software now...


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

After a general thought process and pondering the advice given, I've decided I'm not going with staples or finishing nails or whatever. Stainless or brass screws all the way. I'll explain exactly why below. So thank you for those thoughts.

BentSailor, yup, Blender rocks. Been working slowly through the tutorials for the latest version. Much nicer to look at then 2.49 etc. Works well, got a hull put together but it's tough to get just right. Will take a lot more time to get that all together.

Anyways, on to the big news. Demolition has begun! Made it down to the boat for a few hours and got to this point:









This picture shows how far down the counter and cooler will make it. There should be about 20 inches of space to stick your legs out to sit next to it. About 6 good feet to sleep there if need be too. I never sleep there.. but somebody might.










and one more from another angle:










As you can see, the PO decided to paint and didn't remove anything. It was a horrible paint job anyways, they even painted a brass lamp half way around, see this post: The Periwinkle and Stargazer Blog: Restoring the brass reading light on Stargazer

Anyways, when taking out all the god awful shelving in place I discovered many finishing nails and a few long staples holding parts of it together. Rusted of course.. so that's one of my main decisions to just not go with them and use stainless throughout. All the brackets holding the shelving together were rusted right out with some just crumbling away when I went to take the screws out..

I ran out of time, but the next thing I'll be doing is taking off the vinyl that's on there, that top plush burgundy thing that covers the bolts holding the boat together and putting some templates together to make a mockup of the galley and cooler together. That way I can make sure my sizes are correct and it will all look as expected.

Managed to get some nice mahogany for the shelving and trim and I'm really looking forward to getting a move on with this. Gotta still figure out a good fabric shop to get some vinyl to go back on the ceiling behind the galley and stuff too.. so much to do. I'll keep posting away if people are paying attention. Thanks everybody for your advice so far, it's made a big difference.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

I've made some great progress on the galley refit so far. I'll post here briefly but it seems like this thread isn't getting much attention anymore. No worries, it's been great to get so much feedback so far.

Anyways, with a bit of nice weather here recently I managed to get down to the boat for some destruction and measuring with template creation.

Here are a few pics:










Galley has been taken right out here. You can see the lovely paint job that was done by the PO. Not too tough of a job, lots to do though.










Here I've ripped the old crappy vinyl off the hull. It was awful, I would say it was about 30% black on the back of it and there was moisture on the hull between the two.. yuck. Respirator was in place during this once I saw just the little bit of black on a small peel off. The red foamy stuff that hides the hull to deck joint has been removed. It just absorbed moisture anyways and pretty much fell apart when taken out. I've kept the board in place, it's screwed on from the other side.. Doesn't seem to be rotten at all.










Started my template creation here. Need to get the hull shape on to a larger piece of plywood. This is the easiest way I know to do this. Essentially you take 1/8" ply, cut it into strips of 3" or so (gives room for large curves to shave out). Then shape it with a hand plane to get the right curve. Staple 4 of those together with the right angles and voila, you've got one side. Once done that I moved on to the counter top shape:










This was a little hard to do on my own so I made a couple of "legs" to rest the ends on while I scribed out my shape line:










I also needed to put in the spacers for the new ceiling I'm going to put in and another strip to represent the ceiling. A quick tip when doing the scribe is to just make your own tool for this. It's rare you'll have a compass on hand (maybe..) so I usually use a piece of wood that I specifically drill through to match the widest gap so that I have to cut off as little wood as possible:










Jam a pencil through and you have a quick tool to drag along the hull to make your line. End of that day's result:










Now those go home to be put on plywood to be cut out and built into the galley. I also did the aft piece as well and my next step is to create a mockup galley with 1x2 and 1/8" ply. Simple, light and easy to make to make sure I have the right fit for everything I want to get in.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

I've been following at a distance. Looking good, Graeme! 

I know this is a little late, but for what it's worth:



GraemeInCanada said:


> Thanks jones, got the paper towels moved and I like the idea for the cups hanger. As I look at it, won't they clank around a lot? Am I missing something there? a piece of wood between each cup perhaps?


In practice, no, they won't clank around - not if there's at least a little space between them and, to my eye, what you've drawn seems about right - because they all move together.



GraemeInCanada said:


> I thought about a folding countertop space but I'm not sure I need it anymore. The area above the water tank will also have a removable/hinge based piece, so that will help. I'll have to get that in the next render.


Our boat has a small folding countertop over the end of the settee, hinged off the right-hand bulkhead and held up by a cord to a hook on the overhead. It normally stows down out of the way, but you might find it handy whilst you're using the stove.

In any case, it wouldn't affect your design and could be fitted anytime.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Thanks! 

That's interesting about the cups.. that really works? They won't clank around at all? I'll head to the dollar store for some test cups when I'm done.

Good idea on the fold down counter. When I'm further along in the refit I'll post pictures again to see how it will go.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

GraemeInCanada said:


> Thanks!
> 
> That's interesting about the cups.. that really works? They won't clank around at all? I'll head to the dollar store for some test cups when I'm done.


Graeme, give it a try, but the way you showed them in your rendering (very impressive, BTW), so long as they can't hit the side walls, I'd be surprised if they did. Unlike other forms of transport, larger yachts tend to move around relatively slowly and don't jerk - thus clanging cups together. Some test cups hung from the deckhead will tell you one way or the other.

I look forward to your updates. Refurbishing our galley is on my list of things to do..


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Graeme, 
My apologies if its been covered and I missed it but why a non gimballed stove ? Even at anchor I cannot conceive of non gimballed. Gives me the willies just to think about . 

Otherwise I have to say its looking pretty good, given what you had to work with.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Excellent question, one that hasn't even been brought up yet. I did think of it though. 

I decided not to go with a gimballed stove due to lack of need. I never cook while underway and when at anchor I'm usually in a secluded area. The only times I've used the stove and it's been rocky is when I've been sitting right there keeping a sharp eye on things. I get it though, there are times when some powerboater is going to go by with his huge hull pushing mounds of water out of the way which will rock my boat like crazy all of a sudden if taken on the beam. But it's rare indeed and wasn't worth the extra cost at this time.

Thanks for the compliments. I'm just readying another update here actually. Lots of progress being made.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

The stove must have fiddles and pot holders.... mandatory. Boiling water is as dangerous as a fire itself to your skin.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Absolutely. Those are on the "to buy" list.

Just got the vinyl fabric today for the ceiling, got some great deals.. also got the fiberglass, epoxy and a couple of tools for fiberglassing that I've been borrowing from a friend up to this point. That stuff is expensive..

Made good progress on the mockup and also managed to pick up a bit more mahogany for the trim etc. It's late now and I'm pretty tired from the day but I'll post pics tomorrow and an update on progress.


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## Ilenart (Jul 23, 2007)

Graeme,

great post, really like the 3D software. Sorry to come in late with suggestions however another option is not to use doors but to have either a strip of wood or material secured with rope to hold pots & pans, cups, etc. Below is what I mean; nothing has come loose. The stove is also a gimbled alcohol stove.

Ilenart

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn164/ilenart/P9090058.jpg[/IMG]"]


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

That's a great suggestion! Thanks for showing a pic too, that helps a lot.

On with an update then:

Now that my templates were done I needed to get on with making a mockup before I start cutting up expensive plywood and not quite getting it right. I'm reasonably picky about stuff fitting and all that and would like to get this right the first time. Here I have a picture of each piece cut out and ready to be put on a basic frame:










In the middle piece I've drawn out where the sink and stove will go and where the cooler will be. Hard to tell in such a small pic, but they're worked out on that piece. Each side piece is cut so that it matches the top in width and is the right height. Measure 5 times, cut once, even cheap plywood like that.

After building a basic frame with 1x2 I screwed each piece on and tossed the sink and stove in place to see how it would look:




























Not bad I think. I'm looking forward to getting this down to the boat and seeing if it fits in the companion way for one, but then in place and up to the shape of the hull. I have to cut out the front part or I'll never see if the forward side fits right (that is if the hull side fits correctly). That will help the next item that I want to work on, which are the doors for the front to get under the stove and sink. I've managed to get some nice mahogany for that so I'm looking forward to get on with that.

Next major stuff is to do a thorough clean up of the hull, some fiberglassing to allow me to attach the new vinyl covered plywood and paint on top of all that with some kind of insulation that has yet to be decided on. Lots to do. I'll post more soon. Of course any pointers or suggestions are more than welcome.


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## arf145 (Jul 25, 2007)

I came into this late, but it's cool to follow your project from early concept to your real work. Nice job! I hope you'll keep posting.

Tom


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Graeme I hope you are correct. I know that where we anchor there is just enough passing traffic to make gimballing an absolute necessity and yes we do cook when underway but as Minnewaska notes, boiling water is a horror and it really doesn't take much to fling a saucepan of water off a stove. I would never have a non gimballed stove on a boat. At least you will have rails and potholders.

Other than that, looking good.



GraemeInCanada said:


> Excellent question, one that hasn't even been brought up yet. I did think of it though.
> 
> I decided not to go with a gimballed stove due to lack of need. I never cook while underway and when at anchor I'm usually in a secluded area. The only times I've used the stove and it's been rocky is when I've been sitting right there keeping a sharp eye on things. I get it though, there are times when some powerboater is going to go by with his huge hull pushing mounds of water out of the way which will rock my boat like crazy all of a sudden if taken on the beam. But it's rare indeed and wasn't worth the extra cost at this time.
> 
> Thanks for the compliments. I'm just readying another update here actually. Lots of progress being made.


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## windyburr (Dec 9, 2007)

Graeme,
I'm also in the process of re-doing my galley. Take a look at Home-
depot for the damaged pieces of Formica for your countertop, I found a sheet (full size) that had the small corner broken off marked down to $10. You could also make long a narrow box for your cups and set it on the raised part or the bulkhead on the right side of the stove, no rattling around and if you make it portable you could take it with the cups out into the cockpit.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Thanks everybody for the compliments. I'll be sure to keep updating as I go.

Good idea on the damaged pieces. When I was just coming out of high school I worked for the competition just when Home Depot was coming into the area. You've reminded me on how a whole piece would be marked right down because of some small crack or something.

OK, a quick update with more to follow shortly.

I've started working on the cupboard doors for the opening below the sink and stove:










I'm using mahogany given to me by a friend that had some "scraps" hanging around. I have enough to do the shelves behind the stove and sink too, very handy.

This is how they'll fit on to the front of the cabinet, you may be able to barely make out the lines of where I make my cuts for the opening:










Here is one that's just about finished (needs edge routering for a soft edge and putting together). The one on the left is the old one. I plan on making the newer ones slightly lighter in colour and the handle will be a routered bit on top rather than on the front like that. So you'll just put your finger tips in a basic 3/4" indentation for leverage to open the doors. Should work well and look clean:










I also cut open the front to give me a better idea of how big of an opening I'll have. I'm quite happy with it, gives me lots of space to put things in:










My next update will be putting this thing on the boat to see how it all fits and getting things cleaned and prepped for all the fun fiberglass work that I have...


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Looking good Graeme. Nice work. I am and always have been an absolute plnker when it comes to wood working so I admire anybody who has the skill.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Thanks! I'm assuming a pinker is a newbie of some sorts. Just take your time really, as I'll soon post I'm not mr. perfect in any way.. sigh..

Anyways, I have a request for opinions. Here is a slightly changed render. The main area is that I've pushed back the cabinet about 3/4 of an inch. It will create a small lip at the bottom there and the countertop. Keeping in mind there will be a fiddle on the front of the counter, it's just not in the render just yet. My thinking here is that I want the doors to not stick out beyond the whole cabinet area. So the cabinet front is no longer flush with the bottom piece (which I've also changed to be wood, not painted, more later on that).

Anyways, opinions on those two changes would be very much appreciated. I like the idea but am curious if there are those think it a bad idea perhaps:










The bottom trim between the bottom and the cabinet will be corner trim too, not just normal 1" trim like it's shown there. There will also be 3/4" square trim between the sole and that bottom piece to "separate" them. One last item is that the doors aren't as high and will be a bit wider.

Thanks for the ideas on the cups there Windy, I like that idea and will keep it in mind when I finally make it to that point.


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## nightowle (Aug 2, 2006)

Ok, Graemme, I've been following along the progress and really like all the changes you've made, particularly following my idea to use the pull out cabinet doors as opposed to sliding ones.  

when I converted mine, I found some inexpensive simple wood knobs at the hardware store and stained them to match the teak doors. while i like your inset grabs much better, I can say that i haven't had any problem running into the knobs, so recessing your cabinets by 3/4 doesn't really seem necessary and of course every square inch is usually needed for pots and pans, etc.

Just my 2 pennies again! 

keep showing those renderings and pictures. You've inspired me to add a drop leaf extension to the end of my galley counter. there's never enough counter space for food prep!


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Graeme,

A PLNKER is a PLONKER who can't spell and/or type. 

Regarding the door handles .. my favourites are those pushmepullyou types seen on most modern production boats. Problem is that some of them are really cheap and nasty and prone to failure even when new.

The Womboat has galley door handles that protrude and I can honestly say they have never got in the way .. unlike that bloody foot pump ..


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

I like the idea of an overhanging bullnose on the countertop, graeme. Your knees will thank you. With an overhang your hip will ride along the counter, instead of your knees catching the edge of the doors, when you have to make a mad dash fore, or aft, or wherever you have to dash.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Thanks guys for the input, very much appreciated. I'm reminded again, thanks to bljones there, on how little space I do have to walk around in there and am going to go with the idea of pushing it back an inch or so. The hip riding along the edge makes sense, I can actually picture myself running my knee into the edge of the door and breaking it off (the door, not my knee). I like both looks though so I'm still a bit torn and am hoping I'm making the right decision. I'll know this Friday when I go for the second fitting of the cabinet and work out the last of the details.

Any more input is more than appreciated of course (like Johnny 5, more input!.. I wonder who will get that joke...)

Anyways, more updates then for the five or so people following along 

I managed to get to the boat for a few hours to get some work done. The first thing was to get the interior all cleaned up and ready for the fiberglassing of the frames to hold the ceiling in place. I also wanted to be sure to get rid of all the old glue and any mildew that was there. If you remember the interior looked like this:










Quite grungy and gross. That extends all the way back about 15 feet or so. Now it looks like this:










A few items to note. Scraping and sanding sucks.. the majority of my time was clean up I think. I had a vacuum with me to take up all the dust as I sanded and scraped along but of course it's time consuming to keep up on it, hold the vacuum in place and all that. There's at least 15 feet of this crap and it all needed to come off for the next bit of fiberglass and a coat of paint to protect it all. I also did a bit of planing to even up the edge along the bottom there and cleaned up and made flush the water tank cover (for more info on the water tank if you're curious then see here). I'll be putting a thin layer of fiberglass over that planed part to protect it and strengthen things up a smidge. The last item to note is that I cut out the rotten plywood that was at the forward end of the work area. The water tank build post covers how bad that was, that area will get rebuilt with wood and fiberglass and a hatch will be put in to get to the electrical and plumbing I put in there.

Here's a shot looking aft:










Looks like a boat.. not much to say here. I'll be installing the ceiling all the way back.

Once I had things cleaned up and looking as I wanted them to be I brought the mockup cabinet down to see how it would look and fit:



















Two issues with the pics is that they are taken with the zoom all the way out. Makes the cabinet look a bit bigger than it is. It does look big though and with some thought I've decided to lower it an inch and a half. I'll double check that this week when I get a chance to head back down to the boat, but I'm quite sure I want to do that. Should give a better appearance.

Here's a shot of how the forward end fits to the hull. Pretty good, will need refining, especially now that I'm pushing it back about an inch. Should be easy though.










I had a bit of a problem with the aft end though:










That's 5 inches for you detailed sorts. The miscalculation came from me applying the bottom measurement to the top. Essentially it's exactly 5 inches out from top to bottom. No big deal, with some quick work I had this in place for new measurements to take home:










Anybody can make mistakes when you're not building on the spot. I should have done better but.. such as it is. This is why I almost always build a cheap mockup, I try never to put myself on the "I'll do it perfect the first time" pedestal.

More updates to follow soon. I've got it all home and have been working on a couple of items at the same time. Tried out the stove yesterday, love it. Much better than that propane one I had, good flame, easy to use, easy to fill, looks good. Should have done this a long time ago, thanks to all that suggested it. Looked for pot holders yesterday, they want 50 bucks a side.. yikes.. the whole stove itself only cost 300 plus tax.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Appreciate being able to follow along on the project. Looks great so far. I might just have an old dog of a computer, but with so many pics in this thread, it takes some time to load. I wonder if starting a new thread with progress would help others too.

Could be me, I set my threads to display 100 posts so that I don't have to page through tons of them.


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## pukeslip (Apr 27, 2009)

deleted


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Graeme, I reckon you made the correct decision in reducing the size. It is so easy to build something for a boat that overwhelms the interior. OK so you lose a little storage space but lack of storage is one of the prices paid for a small boat. 

I don't agree with the idea of no doors. While I dislike sliding doors and would definitely go hinged that area is going to be needed for cookware and pantry. Guests bags will have to live in the quarter berth. 

ps - Minnewaska .. if you have a slow connection/machine 100 post per page is most certainly a mistake.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

tdw said:


> ps - Minnewaska .. if you have a slow connection/machine 100 post per page is most certainly a mistake.


Broadband wi-fi with an old Windows XP computer and most just pop right up. This thread is not really that bad, but it pauses with so many pics. Not a big deal, but I'm imagining how many pics will be in this thread before its done.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Lots and lots my friend. Sorry about that. I have a practically brand new macbook pro with a very very fast internet connection and I can't imagine putting this thread at 100 posts per page (or any forum for that matter). It's just not reasonable for this kind of thread. My apologies for the inconvenience there but you may want to bring your limit down to maybe 50? That way you don't have to bother bringing in the first page or so. I've got my limit at 20 per page currently (default setting I think), we're on the fourth page so far. I would expect a few more pages depending on responses. Hopefully the thread is useful and interesting enough to make it worth it.

I have a new render to glance at (these images are large because they are PNG files):










The bullnose pieces are on, front of cabinet is pushed back a bit, corner moulding is in and inside curve piece on the forward on the cabinet to make the transition at that point a bit better. I've taken the extra items out for now to keep the eye centered away from them and adjusted the cabinet doors to better reflect their actual size (it's close).

With that, the more I think on things the more I find I may need to make it all a bit smaller. I've tentatively decided to bring it all down about an inch and a half so that it doesn't tower so high and bring the aft end in about 2 inches which takes a bit off the cooler. This will make a 10 inch opening in the cooler (that's accounting for 2 inches each side of insulation).

I couldn't resist and went ahead and fit in the sink and stove just to see what it would look like. So far I like it:










The cutting board is exactly 10 inches wide there, which gives me an idea of the size of the opening. The line I drew on the right is where my new cut will be to bring it down a couple of inches.










Can't put a drain into the bilge unfortunately, this is my bilge:










I think there is maybe 2 inches of depth there. No sump. Boat just isn't big enough, it's only 25 feet with 8 foot beam. Great idea, but I can't. Ice goes in containers, any condensation will be sponged and then toweled out unfortunately.

Thinking on it as I write this.. I could make a drain in the cooler that drains down into a container that can come out like a drawer. That would go below the cooler and the cooler just wouldn't take up the whole hull space like the water tank does.. hrmm.. something to think about. Lots more work though. Sorta... I'll think on it a bit more.

Bags go in v-berth. I have to store pots and stuff somewhere, no other spot to put them. Thanks for the suggestion though.


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Graeme, like you we are on a small boat withe a small bilge. Our icebox drains into a 2 litre rubbermaid bottle which is bungied to the inside of the galley cupboard toekick. Whenever I open the cupboard to pour drinking water, I can check the overflow bottle. I usually have to drain it every week.


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Graeme, saw your pic with the 5" gap... BTDT. Do you know how to use a tick stick?

Matching Curves With A Tick Stick


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Draining ice boxes and/or showers into bilge = smells. My opinion only but not something I would contemplate. 

We keep ice in a separate container than can be removed and emptied down the sink. We have a cheap 12v pump that also doubles as our shower pump which can be pressed into service when needed.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Good idea with the bottle. I'm not particularly concerned about it at this point but it's in my brain and is nibbling away at the back.

Yes, I do know the tick stick approach but am far too lazy to do that. I actually find it easier to scribe and plane away the excess. The 5 inches was just a silly mistake really.. almost embarrassing to make but I don't embarrass easy  Thanks for the link though, good information.

On an unrelated note, nice blog there jones, I like it.


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## pukeslip (Apr 27, 2009)

deleted


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

I never bail water 

Kidding. If I had to I have a large pail and a manual pump on board that has a long hose to push the water over the side. At that point in the boat it is below the water line. I have decided not to make the cooler as low as I originally was going to and will most likely either do something now or later about a drain for it. The framework will be in place though. Thanks for the suggestion.

More updates coming soon.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Actually one quick update. I've gone ahead and started the pieces around the new galley. As can be noted in the pics the area below the new cabinet is painted an awful rust red or burgundy or whatever. I've sanded enough of that crap to know that I don't want to sand that anymore. There must be about 3 layers of different paint on there, which is a shame because under it all is some nice ply as can seen in the bilge pic. I sanded all that it, it used to be a light cream colour as seen on the left of that pic or here:










and now looks like this:



















A bit fuzzy.. but you get the idea.

Anyways, this time I decided to not even bother sanding it all off and hoping for the best and instead will just cover it up:










The last time I was there I scribed out the curve in the sole of the boat and the top is a straight 90 off of the ends. Simple piece, just have to do some varnishing. It's just mahogany door skin. Works well, looks good. That's just one quick coating of stain and a fast wipe off, really brings out the grain nicely and should look great varnished. Simple to apply, I'm not even sure I'll bother gluing it into place or just have the trim keep it on. I was thinking of making one more and painting it whiteish like the cabinet will be just to see what I like better. I'll think about it.. When I look at the renders I have a tough time deciding, might have to see about it when I get it in the boat.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

GraemeInCanada said:


> The last time I was there I scribed out the curve in the sole of the boat and the top is a straight 90 off of the ends. Simple piece, just have to do some varnishing. It's just mahogany door skin. Works well, looks good. That's just one quick coating of stain and a fast wipe off, really brings out the grain nicely and should look great varnished. Simple to apply, *I'm not even sure I'll bother gluing it into place or just have the trim keep it on.* I was thinking of making one more and painting it whiteish like the cabinet will be just to see what I like better. I'll think about it.. When I look at the renders I have a tough time deciding, might have to see about it when I get it in the boat.


NO! Glue it on!! Very important.. 

If it's just held there, moisture can collect between the skin and the door and rot it away from the underside.. not to mention that the air gap is a lovely place for mold to grow. When you do glue it, whatever system you use, make sure you exclude all air gaps. Don't ask me how I know..

Otherwise, looking good, Graeme!


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## SilentLucidity (Dec 31, 2010)

Nice work,an excellent example of a good quality posting. Keep it up.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Good plan. I'll use contact cement then, thanks for the good reminder there.

Next set of updates:

It's been a very productive time for Stargazer's new galley. Lots to report so I'll get started.

Last we left off I had finished up cleaning everything and organizing the galley cabinet. The cabinet could come close to being fit but not perfectly without the actual ceiling in place (the wall). The angle and fit would change once it's in place and in turn I would then have to make more changes. The good thing is that I had it close, now I needed to get the next stage done.

First thing to do was take a before picture:










What a mess.. I'm looking forward to finishing and showing off a very clean interior.

Moving forward, it was time to get on with some repairs. As you can see in the water tank build post there was some very rotten plywood under the sink area. I cut that all out to be repaired and rebuilt:










I still needed a hatch there because my plumbing from the water tank and the electrical need to be accessed. So I made sure to make very straight cuts which got rid of the rot and left an area I could beef up to be repaired correctly. Once that was cleaned up I moved forward with getting the frames in place to put the cedar slats and vinyl covered plywood piece that would make up the new ceiling for the starboard side there behind the galley cabinet.



















For those I used two pieces of cedar lathe which I ripped with a table saw on a 45 degree angle on the edges. Fiberglass can not go around 90 degree angles and it's important to make a gradual slope for it to climb up and over. Two rip cuts gave me a triangle if you looked at the pieces from their ends. From there I had to cut them into lengths that would fit on the hull. There is a piece of wood underneath the fiberglass on the inside of the hull. I'm guessing that was put in for strengthening and also in case you needed to attach something to the inside of the hull. Maybe. Either way, it sticks up about a half inch or so.

With each set of frames cut and ready I started to temporarily glue them in place with a hot glue gun. Being that they are cedar lathe, they're thing and they are a nice softwood that bends with the curve of the hull. Not a lot though so the bottom pieces on the aft side I ended up cutting in half and putting on, they just wouldn't bend that much and stick to the hull for the amount of time I needed to get fiberglass on and epoxy up. I remember one of the pieces I managed to get on came flying off the hull when the glue gave out after a minute or so.. launched a good 3 feet away actually.

So that went well and I got all the way to the end of the cabinet piece. If you look in the second picture there you can see I put two sets of frames quite close together. That's because that's where the cabinet ends and I want to put the seam from one piece to the next right there and hide it behind the piece of plywood that it going to go all the way up to the deck. Should work well.

Each frame is 20 inches away from the next one due to the size of foam I picked up. I got some closed cell 1/4" foam to use as a very basic insulation material along with some Reflectix, which is essentially aluminum foil bubble wrap. You may recognize it on your hot water tank maybe. The third gap is less, but that couldn't be helped. Hopefully I don't waste too much insulation doing the little bits. The reflectix will go against the hull and then the foam will go on top of that, it's about a half inch of insulation, I expect it will make a noticeable difference.

From there I went ahead and repaired that rotten area and made sure to epoxy up the ends of the wood I cut so that I don't have to worry about them rotting out any time soon. In the end I had some leftover epoxy to use so I coated the whole area in it just to protect it all. It'll get painted later so that won't look too odd I think.










Gives me a good opening to get my hands in to do anything to the plumbing or electrical. I left the hull bit open there so I could bring up the water line and electrical cleanly. I'll do some finishing work on that part once I'm done with everything else. It'll be hidden away in the cabinet anyways, no rush. Something to do while sitting at an anchorage maybe.

Last item on the list was to get those frames fiberglassed in. Fiberglassing is rotten work. If anybody asks you to come help them with fiberglass because it's fun or something is lying. Using epoxy for the job makes it that much more of a pain. Epoxy is FAR thicker that the usual resin that is used with fiberglass and in turn it's much hard to get to absorb into the fiberglass and stick. Takes a lot longer to kick off too and harden up. Up to 24 hours depending on the temperature. It does get goopy and thick quick though, so you can't just take your time. Epoxy seems to stick to everything except the fiberglass at first and it's a real pain to get the air bubbles out. Make sure you have the right tools.

For this application though, it didn't have to be perfect work. I just needed something to keep the plywood off the hull and have something to screw into to keep it all in shape. I'll do my best to hide those screws and in turn may not take advantage of all the frames, but they're there if I do need them and provide a nice rigid backing for the plywood, which is only 1/8" thick.










That's a long day. I also got a length of fiberglass on the front edge of the bulkhead there where I planed down to make it all even. Worked well and I was exhausted by the end of this day.

From here it's on with the measuring of the plywood so I can get the vinyl on it. I plan to paint the inside of the hull to just make sure that it's clean of any nasties that may possibly be on there still and provide just that one more layer of small protection to everything for condensation. Then do final touches on the measurements for the cabinet, build it, do the countertop, fit the stove and sink, build the cabinet doors.. painting some more, finishing work with mahogany and the shelves. Lots left.. but it's progressing well.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Moving forward I've got another update on Stargazer's new galley refit. We left off with the frames getting fiberglassed in place and repairs being done. From here I brought in a 3 x 7 piece of 1/8" mahogany doorskin. This is what is going to be used to create the ceiling.

I had already cut it down to be about 56" (the length of the cabinet) and now that I had it in place I was able to do the fine tuning with the bend in place of the shape of the hull. If you remember I had 2 sets of frames right next to each other. This is because I plan on hiding the seam of the two pieces of ceiling behind a piece of 5/8" thick plywood which will make up the end piece of the cabinet and shelving. Should look pretty good.

Here's a pic of the fitting of the plywood. I had to cut a hole where the thru hull is but other than that it was some very small refinements on size which I primarily did with a hand plane:










Once deemed just about right to fit I took it out and trimmed a bit more to accommodate the vinyl that I'll be putting on and called it a day for that stage.

With that it was time to do some painting. I had to do a bunch of clean up first, but there aren't any pictures of that exciting action unfortunately. I did get some after paint pics though:





































I've only done up to a certain point because I'm unsure of if the epoxy will bond well if there is a thin layer of paint in place and I haven't put the frames up for the rest of the hull to the aft end. I hope to do that once the galley is done. This coat of paint will remain at one coat and is essentially guaranteeing that anything that happened to still be alive on the hull is now dead and won't be growing back as this paint is a mildew resistant kind. With that, the whole area will be covered up with insulation anyways which should get rid of any air which in turn should get rid of any condensation which in turn should not allow anything to grow anyways.

Great progress. From there I did some final measurements for the cabinet pieces and I've got everything home to be worked on here. I expect to be able to take an almost complete cabinet back with me to the boat the next time I go. Install all the insulation, put the ceiling piece on (which will be covered with vinyl) and grab the final measurement for the counter top. I'll be sure to fill in all the little weird dents and empty bits in that bulkhead and give it a couple of coats of paint as I go to clean it all up.

I have a whole pile of things to do yet but it's coming along great. I'm also going to try to post up a few other updates I've done to the boat last year that I forgot to get on here. Altogether the boat is really looking nice inside. I have big plans for the port side too.. not this year though.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Moving on with the refit on the galley and pretty much the whole starboard side of the boat.. I got on with ceiling piece. First up was to get it cleaned up and then contact cemented. I did this indoors as it's just too cold to get on with these kinds of things in the garage (not heated) so with a tarp over top of the pool table that had plywood (ping pong table actually) on top of that, I got on with it all:










Getting the cement on the back of the vinyl fabric was a bit of a pain as it seemed to not spread nicely, at least not as nicely as plywood does. Either way, it was just a matter of time to get that spread on and dried out. With contact cement you have to apply it to both pieces, wait for it to dry out and then apply it.

A quick tip when doing this kind of work is to use wax paper to apply the pieces in stages. Contact cement is tough stuff, like a really nasty spider web, once the two pieces touch you're screwed and there's no going back. To assist in getting something like fabric on smoothly without wrinkles or bubbles I suggest wax paper. Here's a quick pic to help explain that:










As you can see, I've got sheets of wax paper the height of the piece. This way you can place the fabric or counter top, or whatever you are going to stick to another, in place and get it just right before actually having them adhere together. From here you just pull out the pieces of wax paper slowly from the middle out to the edges. As you pull a piece out you roll from the inside out to remove any bubbles or wrinkles and it allows the fabric, in this case, to stretch a bit and produce a really nice finish.

Once I was done one side I flipped it over to get the edges done. I overlapped on to the back just a little and made for a clean edge on all edges including the hole for the thruhull.



















The finished product:










This piece is now ready to install in the boat right after I get the insulation in.


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Nice work on the vinyl. It is tough to lay a large span like that. I've done similar projects a couple of times, and learned about the wonders of 3M spray adhesive. Lay down your backing board, spray a 6" wide band down one end, when it starts to tack begin to lay down your vinyl, smooth it out, spray the next band, continue to layout the vinyl, smoothing as you go, and repeat as needed. I will never refinish the interior of a VW Westfalia again!


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

I'm not sure I would do it with a spray, I'd be too worried about it spraying all over the place. Contact cement is much cleaner but of course a bit more difficult for final placement.

Not a lot of action in this thread, maybe it's just gone on too long.. anyways one more update to see then:

I started on the cabinet for the galley with the actual plywood that I'll be using instead of that mockup stuff. I'm using 1/2 inch ply for the front and ends and inside cooler side, then 5/8 inch for the countertop and final aft end piece that will extend up to the deck.

A quick tip when cutting straight edges and you're not interested in using a table saw because a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood can be rather unwieldy is to use a guide. Essentially a straight edge that you can run your skilsaw or sabre saw down so it's straight and doesn't wobble, kinda like this:










In the end I got this:










Thanks to building that mockup it really gave me a great idea for placement of opening, size and height. Now I need to take it to the boat to fit in with the ceiling in place so I can get a proper size for the countertop. It'll all start to come together very very soon.

With that, I also started work on finishing the cabinet doors. I really wanted a nice finish to them and went with a mitered corner approach. I used a router to get the rounded edges and for the middle I used two pieces of 1/8 inch mahogany plywood. Essentially I wanted good 2 sides so I took them and used contact cement to glue them back to back to create a 1/4 inch piece to go in. I stained both sides to be a bit darker and then fitted them in a slot that I also routered into the mahogany frame pieces.

It was a heck of a lot of work to get the corners at a perfect 45 degree angle and I just about gave up but got it working and here they are. The piece of scrap I put on top is the original colour of the mahogany plywood, with the stain on I think the grain came out quite nice and they go well with the frames now:










Next step is all on the boat to get the insulation and ceiling into place, the cabinet fitted perfectly and counter top measured out right, the inside piece for the cooler measured, cut and fit and a few bits and pieces of prep work before final installation.

Once I had the majority of the carpentry done for the cabinet, it was time for a test fitting. Going all the way to the boat just for that would hardly be worth it so I managed to also get a bunch of other stuff done.

First up was to get the insulation in. I plan to get this on all parts of the hull but probably not this year, it's just too much work and I have to carefully divide my time up between family and work along with everything else. So to start out I put a layer of aluminum bubble wrap. At least that's essentially what it is.. but goes by names such as Reflectix or Reflecto or whatever.










I put it on with PL300, which is an adhesive safe for foam. This part isn't foam obviously, but the second layer is and I didn't want to take any chances. It's important (from all that I've read) to put on a proper bead of it around the edges. The idea is to make sure that air can't get in and out behind the insulation. This will keep the inside of the hull from "sweating" and creating the condensation that causes mold and mildew.

Here's a shot of the first section of the hull done. Essentially the part where the galley will go.










Next up is foam, 1/4" closed cell kind is sufficient for my purposes:










Same idea, glue it on, keep the air out. I had to leave that gap in the middle because there is a piece of wood there under the fiberglass. Obviously this is there to stiffen the hull a bit and give it strength and can also be used to attach things to. Handy idea.

Moving on, I put the piece of vinyl covered plywood in and attached it and fit the galley cabinet in:










A slightly different view:










Looks pretty good, fits well, no real adjustments to make. Next up was the final template for the counter top:










Another angle:










Due to having already worked out the angle for the most part from before, it was short work to get this bit finalized. All stapled together I loaded it into the car to cut the plywood at home. I fitted in my new plumbing/electrical hatch:










And took one final pic from the settee:










All in all I think it fits in great and is a huge improvement from the last galley. Lots more updates to come, this concludes this set of pictures though. Next up is the counter top and finishing work for the galley area in the boat along with the second part of the ceiling and related work to that.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

Nice! Thanks for the updates, Graeme. 

A small tip: If you have to do any work at all to the overhead (paint, running wires, fitting lighting, etc.) you'll find it's easier to do that now rather than wait until the cabinet is in place...


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Looking good, graeme.
If I could offer a suggestion- see where the countertop template is sagging a bit? you might want to add a 2x2" joist to provide some support on that long span. Just run it across from cabinet face to hull ceiling, tied into a blind -screwed cleat on each end. Nobody will ever know it is there, but if the counter starts to sag, everyone will know it's NOT there.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

bljones said:


> Looking good, graeme.
> If I could offer a suggestion- see where the countertop template is sagging a bit? you might want to add a 2x2" joist to provide some support on that long span. Just run it across from cabinet face to hull ceiling, tied into a blind -screwed cleat on each end. Nobody will ever know it is there, but if the counter starts to sag, everyone will know it's NOT there.


+1.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Excellent suggestion Hartley. The electrical for the cabinet (sink pump and possibly some lighting) will be under the bulkhead and come up next to the thru hull actually. I will definitely be doing the majority of it before I put the counter top on.

Jones and smack, even with 5/8" ply for the counter top? I thought about it but it's really rigid and strong. Maybe a post near the hull side that just supports if need be about halfway? The span isn't as big as it looks in the picture, the whole cabinet is only 58" and the start of the cooler is at about 40", making it just over a 3 foot span. The top itself has only about 24" of depth for that part and is fully supported along the front. I'll be putting in quite a few screws in each support area so I wouldn't imagine that it could stretch and sag much if any at all. Just my thoughts though, I could very well be just being too optimistic.

More updates to come shortly. I'm getting close!


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

I'd still add some support, even with 5/8" ply- it can't hurt. You'd be surprised how much weight can end up on a countertop- start with the wieght of the fixtures (sink, faucet,) add assorted junk, then fill the sink with water and cover the counter with unstowed provisions and you could end up upwards of 50 lbs in the space. Additionally, adding a support from the front of the counter to the back will also provide some support for the cabinet face, keeping it from wowing when somebody inevitably leans against it.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Interesting thought.. I've made some progress in the whole area of the countertop, not sure how I'll go about putting in some kind of support there. I'll have to think on it. Thanks for the advice!

This update covers a few areas. First up is the start of the counter top. I picked up 5/8" ply for it because I wanted it to be strong. I was going to go with 1/2", but I remembered that I still have to screw on the fiddle and I wanted something a bit more substantial than 1/2" ply to screw into. 3/4" seemed like a bit much. I'll also use some of the 5/8" on the aft end of the galley to finish up the end nicely.

Anyways, I got on with cutting up the plywood to fit by using my handy template that I made last time:










Not bad. Here's the cabinet without it:










With that, the next step for the cabinet is paint. It's cold these days so while I was able to do the painting in the garage, I needed to warm things up a bit to get them to dry in time. I wanted two coats on the parts that I won't see once I get them in so I built a little tent in the garage (too hard to heat the whole garage) and put all the pieces in it with a small space heater:










Messy.. but it worked. I made sure to epoxy all the ends and cut bits. Those would be the very first to rot if it was going to start rotting at all.

Anyways, on the boat end of things all kinds of stuff got done. Lots of finishing work really to prep for the cabinet to get installed. First up was the framing for the second piece of ceiling to go in:










I'm not entirely sure how far back I'll go but at least they're in there now. I can do it anytime I want, if I want. At the very least I have to do the next 4 feet or so.

Then some smoothing of the platform where the cabinet will go. I filled in the holes and cracks and sanded and smoothed and made it so much better than it was before..



















Once that messy, pain in the ass work was done I got on with painting:



















I'd say that looks about 1000 times better than before. Lots more to do and more updates to come shortly. Almost there.

Got the Formica on order, should arrive tomorrow. Not sure when I'll get a chance to pick it up.. I wanted to pick it up last week but they are severely late in getting it in. Oh well, not at that stage just yet anyways. Soon though.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Lots has been done on the boat since that last post, although the weather has been quite crappy lately and work is really picking up now which of course leaves me with far less time. Anyways, first up was to get the new face piece for the area below the cabinet in place. This piece:









Here's a before pic of that area:










Underneath that three layers of paint (which can be sorta seen after all the rough sanding I did to prep the surface) is a nice teak plywood. Crazy previous owners just painted over it. The rust red doesn't do anything any good either, it'll be nice to see it finally gone. I contact cemented the new piece in. I had thought to just put it in place and have the trim hold it in but it was recommended not to take that approach due to the fact that moisture can get in there and in turn cause rot and/or mold etc. "Just glue it on or something" was the end decision. Here's the after pic:










and I moved the vacuum hose out of the way too  Looks much better. Now I just needed to measure the piece aft of that due to the plywood only being 7 feet long so I needed to make up the remainder. Simple enough, measured, cut and trimmed up the next two pieces. They need staining and varnishing like the first one. More updates on those later.

Next step is to get the next piece of ceiling measured and in place. This piece was a real pain because I was hoping to go all the way to aft end of the boat with a nice long 7 foot piece. The unfortunate thing about plywood though is that it really fights bending in two directions like the compound curve a hull presents. So.. such as it is, I cut it at about 4 feet and managed to get a decent curve overall with it and still have it look good and cover "enough for now" kind of idea:










Lots of fiddling, that's for sure. Needed to get it to line up nicely with the first piece, the bottom and it tapers quite a bit to the aft end and for some reason there is a slight bump in the bulkhead which was adjusted for along with getting the bottom to curve correctly with the intense curve in the hull.. anyways, it was a lot tougher doing this piece than the first one, I was surprised and in turn didn't get enough done this day because of it. I hate it when that happens..

Once that was figured out and hauled back to the car to take home to be vinylized (not a word, I know), I got on with the cabinet. It was time to get it in there after the measuring, cutting, trimming, drilling, assembling and painting that I did at home. At long last! A good day indeed:



















Looks good. Next up was the insulation for the cooler. I used a layer of reflectix and then 2 inches of foam around all sides and bottom:










Should do well enough for what I need. I brought along the counter top for a fitting and a photo op. Worked well because I hadn't realized that the forward end wasn't quite perfect in measurements and in turn forced me to mess around with a hand plane a bit more to get everything just right. I just can't seem to settle for "it's ok" kind of work. It now fits just right, everything is flush and looks great:




























What a lot of work so far. It's getting there. A few more trips and I should be done. Next up is putting in the new ceiling piece with the insulation, more paint on everything, put in those other face pieces, drill holes for placement of counter top, cut the cooler lid off, put Formica on the counter top plywood (which came in just this Monday finally, a week late..), cut, fit, stain and varnish the trim, and build the cupboard doors. Whew.. oh yes, also have to put together the shelves and build an end piece to go on the aft end of the galley to finish it off. Yup.. almost there.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

Looking great, Graeme! 

I especially like the veneer beneath - what a difference that makes. Of course you do realise that now you'll have to do something with your floorboards..


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Hartley18 said:


> Looking great, Graeme!
> 
> I especially like the veneer beneath - what a difference that makes. Of course you do realise that now you'll have to do something with your floorboards..


There is a nasty streak in you Cameron, downright nasty ... 

Ignore him Graeme , it comes from living in Melbourne. 

Anywho ... looking good. Well done , you are a better craftsman than I, that is for sure.


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## Sixpoint (Jun 25, 2010)

bljones said:


> Looking good, graeme.
> If I could offer a suggestion- see where the countertop template is sagging a bit? you might want to add a 2x2" joist to provide some support on that long span. Just run it across from cabinet face to hull ceiling, tied into a blind -screwed cleat on each end. Nobody will ever know it is there, but if the counter starts to sag, everyone will know it's NOT there.


I have to +1 that one, too.

First off, let me say that you're doing an amazing job. It's going to be stunning, seriously.

But...

I know next to nothing about sailing or sailboats, but I do know my carpentry. If it's more than, say, a 16" span, I'd brace it. The post brace is not a bad idea, but I'd go with bljones' suggestion and put a long brace in if that's at all doable given the hull construction of your boat. Given the humid marine environment and that it will be going through many temperature cycles, even 3/4" ply would eventually sag on the size span you're talking about, if there's any weight whatsoever on it(sink, fixtures, etc.) It's the nature of wood.

I really do hate to make what must seem like critical remarks when you're doing such a great job...I just feel like that one simple thing could save you a lot of heartache down the road.

Peace,

6P


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Absolutely, no doubt in my mind that the sole needs working on. It's an awful mess and has been mostly like that since I bought it. No offense taken. I've actually cleaned it up some and it's still that bad. I will definitely make it a separate thread but I'm going to need to figure out how to clean up the rot around the edges of the bilge area. I was going to do something about it today but chickened out.

Thanks for the great comments guys, very much appreciated.

OK then. I'll get something in to support it. I can't tie into the ceiling anymore so I'll have to put one the length of the span and then another from the cabinet front to that length. I'll screw those into the counter top. When it's in place then I'll get them screwed into the side pieces somehow and put one long screw through the front of the cabinet. Then I'll think about a post as that would be the only way to support it. I may get a lathed one to give it a bit of pizazz. We'll see. Bummer there as I've already started the long painting process on the front.. oh well, gives me a good reason to make it perfect and fill in all the tiny little imperfections while I'm at it. You know how plywood looks when it's painted. Looks like painted plywood! I don't want that.

Thanks for the encouragement and good advice

Anyways... a quick update:

One of the many issues that the boat had when I got it is that it leaked in various places. I've stopped the majority of them but this is one that really didn't seem like a big deal until I went down to the boat and saw a rusty outline of a puddle that used to be on the platform where the galley is going. A bit aft of it actually, where a cushion will be but also a brand new piece of ceiling will go too. There was no way I was going to put up with rusty water dripping down my brand new vinyl covered plywood. So.. I had to put some time aside and get on with the fix.

The deal is that there are 3 sets of brackets that are connected to the underside of the deck in the cabin that held the shelving in place. I don't think all 3 leak, but all 3 are quite rusted out. They look horrible and need removing quite badly. One of them has now been proven to leak quite a bit just due to the fact that I was only away from the boat for less than a week and a small rusty outline of a puddle that dried up remained as proof. The most aft one is the culprit this time around. Darn.

If you're going to do the job.. might as well do it right.

So here's a quick pic of what I removed:










It came from here:










Obviously it's been like that for a while. I knew it, had seen it, it's not overly noticeable without looking upwards at it.. but it was always in the back of my mind. Time to deal with it.

Here's looking from the deck:










What I was most surprised at was that the one that had a proper beveled washer was the one that leaked! The one on the right was just a screw through the deck, it didn't leak.. weird. But of course when one leaks and they are that close to each other then the other will just look like it's leaking from the bottom because it'll transfer over by osmosis through the core (which is sure to be quite soggy and rotting..).

Anyways, time to fix.

First step was to drill out clean. There was some gooey stuff in there and needed to come out and I wanted to make sure the surface was good and clean. Drilled out first:










You can see the soggy core there. Then it was important to do some countersinking to create a "top" like a muffin top in a way, to hold the rest in place that would get forced into the hole to plug it up. A quick tip to do this without completely chipping everything around there is to run the drill backwards. This will slowly shave away at the fiberglass without lifting it and causing it to chip all over the place.

I cleaned up the underneath to get rid of the rusty whatever was there:










and filled in and cleaned up the deck.









The idea here, in my opinion, is to fill it right in (I did up to the top of the core so that the core could dry out over time) and then leave it like a bubble on top until fully cured. This is a hard fiberglass filler that can be sanded or shaved down. When you finally do sand it down and finish it, I recommend leaving it ever so slightly convex. This should assist in any possible settling and a complete lack of ability for water to pool on it over time. Theoretically of course.

Either way, looks clean and nice now, no leaks. Moving on back to the galley now


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## BentSailor (Nov 10, 2010)

On the one hand, I'm impressed by the work you're doing, appreciate the info on how you are doing it, and look forward to seeing your progress... on the other hand, you're making me look bad with your fancy-shmancy _"getting things done"_ attitude.

If my other half sees this thread, I'm in big trouble!


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Thanks bent. Not sure how fancy it is but this project is getting a little long in the tooth and I'm really looking forward to it being done. Here's comes a bit more 

Moving on from that repair I had to do I got on with more galley stuff.

The first thing that needed to be done was to cut the cooler opening. I really thought about this for a while before cutting it and finally got around to it here:










another angle:










The biggest issue I thought about was how big of an opening to make. The cooler itself is only 9 inches wide thanks to the 2 inches on each side of insulation. That's just the way it goes. Should work well though, I can't imagine the ice is going to melt anytime soon with that much insulation all around. Much better than the coolers you would buy in a store which have about 1/2 to 3/4 insulation (if that) which means you have to get more ice in there next to things because it won't cool the inside of the cooler, just the items next to the ice. My idea here is to create a fridge essentially. Less ice means more room for stuff.

The only thing left for the cooler is the liner, which I ordered from Plasticworks and it's actually ready to be picked up now, and the lid. The liner is 3/16 inch thick ABS plastic, a very basic box. A funny story to go with this is that I called up another place around here called Industrial Paint and Plastics and the guy would not give me a quote whatsoever without me coming in to draw said box. I tried to just give him the basic dimensions as there is absolutely nothing special about it, but he was adamant. I needed to come in and draw it on paper.. I can say that from this point forward they won't be getting my business. Plasticworks not only made an extra effort to listen to me, they recommended another place at first only for me to be sent back and then they just did the box without payment ahead of time. Great guys. We'll see how the box fits but so far they are highly recommended.

For the lid, once I get the plastic liner in, the plywood on and the Formica glued then I will do some very precise measuring and create a mahogany trim around the edge with a lip to hold the lid in place. I'll probably just cut that with a router after I get the four trim pieces all cut and fit. It's somewhat more work but I think it'll give a nice finish to the edges of the opening. I have yet to completely decide on what to do about the lid, but no rush there. I've already got the hatch handle for it too, a nice stainless one.

Moving forward, I got the ceiling insulation and piece in:










Same procedure as before really. Nothing exciting here:










Then some finishing and painting to the front of the cabinet with an all around painting of the area for another coat to it all:










I also managed to get the non-slip cut up and fit. I'll probably use a basic spray glue to attach it:










That should stop stuff from sliding around. I'll cut the part out where the hatch is later once it's glued in, easier to do it then.

Here's a quick pic looking aft:










Last item was the front of the water tank.. finally.. Nothing too exciting there, a piece of plywood firmly attached to the front of the water tank area, enough so that I can lean or pull on it and it doesn't move. Caulked the inside of that area on the edges as it's the opening to the water tank and I'm sure I'll spill water in there sometime:










It's about this time that I looked over on the port side of the boat... yikes.. I really want to do it but just don't have the time this year. Next year's project. Still more to go on the galley.

Mark my words though, the next time I go to the boat the counter top will be done and hopefully the cupboard doors will be going on as well as the corner and edge trim pieces. The sink and stove will go in, electrical and plumbing will be finished off and then many measurements can be taken for the aft end of the cabinet to finish it off and the shelving. At about that time I will make my first cup of coffee with my new galley.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

GraemeInCanada said:


> It's about this time that I looked over on the port side of the boat... yikes.. I really want to do it but just don't have the time this year. Next year's project. Still more to go on the galley.


Not a good idea, Graeme. Don't look. Too scary!! Forget it.. The port side just doesn't exist...  

I'm realy curious to know how you plan on doing your sink plumbing, since that's something I need to tackle also at some point (soon!).

Presumably you'll have a 90deg elbow on the sink drain and then straight to the thru-hull? Plastic or metal fittings? What sort of slope is needed to drain properly? Pipe size?? 

Thanks.


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## my900ss (Sep 25, 2010)

Nice thread, enjoying the detail provided by the photo's and 3D models.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Actually, plumbing is a total pain.. Last year I searched all around and did all kinds of testing and hose fitting and fittings finding and testing and.. well, you get the idea. I couldn't find anything to go from the outlet size of the sink to the inlet side size of the thru hull. In the end I put in a laundry sink hose. I found a coupling I could use to get that to fit on the elbow that I put on the thru hull and called it a day. I was exhausted from looking around and trying to find some solution..

The problem with my solution is that water will stay in that hose the year round like a sink at home, like a trap actually. This is due to the length of hose that I could buy. But honestly I was just so elated to find something that would even just work.

I most likely will refine this solution for this year until I can do better. You know how temporary fixes go though... Either way, it didn't cause me any issues. The drain for the sink pretty much sits level with the thru hull too, so it's hard to get any slope even if I could. Not ideal, that's for sure.

Thanks for the encouragement there, it's always nice to see people appreciating the effort to document the process


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## hriehl1 (Aug 8, 2007)

*Ice for an Ice Box*

One trick we've used successfully is to re-use the baldders that are used for wine-in-a-box. They can be rinsed and re-filled maybe 90% or so with no air in the baldder to provide expansion room and frozen at home. They can be placed into a contailer before freezing so they take the shape of that container, though mostly we freeze them flat so we can layer them in the cooler / ice box.

When they melt, there is no water to dispose of, just fresh water for drinking or coffee. Take them home empty, a quick rinse with a little bleach solution and they're ready to go again. We've found them to be quite sturdy if not over-filled.

The only problem is drinking the wine to get the bladders, though lately better quality wine is being sold in boxes (which themselves are more boat-friendly than bottles of wine).


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

That's an interesting idea. I like it and have essentially thought of the same kind of thing except using collapseable water containers that you can buy at camping stores. Works great and I don't have to drink that awful wine! Thanks for the suggestion though.

This is a big update. Two days of work in this one and some nice pics to go with it.
First up is the new cooler liner I had Plasticworks put together for me. They were actually really fast in getting it done and were finished within a couple of days even though they estimated a week due to being rather busy. Very nice. I went and picked that up last weekend actually:










I had to make a small cut at the top there to remove some of the lid they put on, so that open area represents the size of the opening to the cooler. Seems larger than I originally imagined but in reality it's just in proportion to the cooler size that it's large, the cooler isn't that big anyways and I definitely need good space to get stuff in and out. There will also be a 1/2 inch worth of trim around the opening to finish things off nicely, so that removes another inch of open space that warm air can get in and cool air out.

They did a great job and as you can see here, it fit perfectly:










I added the final bit of insulation:










and deemed it absolutely good enough for my purposes. I'm looking forward to seeing the performance and efficiency of keeping stuff cool in it. I still have to do up the lid and the trim around the edge to keep it looking nice and clean though. Maybe next week for that bit.

Moving on, by recommendation from a couple of people that know their carpentry, I decided to beef up the counter top piece as there is a chance that it will sag over time. Even though it's 5/8 inch thick and will have Formica on top and is epoxied on all edges and painted on the bottom, there is still a chance of moisture getting in and weakening it which in turn would cause it to sag. There is just about 3 feet from one support to the next and that seems to be more than enough to succumb to the awful exposure to moisture that a marine environment can create. Sounds good enough to me so I put in two pieces of 2x2 that I will then support later with a post that will go down to the bulkhead that the whole galley sits on.










Once I had those pieces painted and screwed on securely, I flipped the counter top over to get put in place. I have already predrilled and countersunk all the holes, so now it was just a matter of lining it all up and putting all the screws in. The extra effect of putting in that cross piece that runs the length of the counter top from the forward end to the forward end of the cooler is that it also provides a bit of support to the forward side of the cooler. Excellent.










It all looked good, so I screwed it into place and then filled in all the screws with a fiberglass filler to flush it up for the Formica. With a quick sanding and cleaning the surface was now ready to put contact cement on and get the Formica adhered on:










Big scary step really.. this counter top can now no longer come apart without a sawzall.. or a big hammer maybe. I took my time before doing this to make sure there was no other good reason why I wouldn't want to put the top on. Most of the plumbing and electrical work was taken care of, all sanding and painting of the underside and all that was done. Should be fine 

Looks pretty good. Seems big and is looking a bit to one colour-ish. Strange description I know bit I think I have my point across. It will all change when I start getting wood back in.
My next step was to router the sink, stove and cooler openings but I had forgotten my router for some reason and couldn't.. So I got on with other little items and the aft end of the whole cabinet. In my original mockup I had put on a piece at the end to close it all off and finish it up. So that was next.

I did my usual way of mocking things up and put together pieces of 1/8 inch plywood:










slightly different angle:










Pretty good. I'll go with that. I'll do up a proper template in 1/8 inch ply again and then trace that on to the 5/8 inch ply that I'm going to paint white and attach on to the end. The shelving end piece will get attached to this and the shelving to that and it should all finish up quite nicely I think.

Moving on to the next day worth of work I managed to bring my router along for the ride and got those openings all opened up:










Looks sharp. A major mess to clean up after that.. Routers are really messy tools. Of course I had to try out the sink and stove in there:










Whew.. finally, after long last I've got a galley that I can actually use if I want to! Well.. almost. Next step was to properly install everything and hook up the faucet switch to some power and the faucet itself to the hose that comes up from the pump. The drain for the sink needed to be worked on as well, so I finally got on with shortening up the pipe that goes from the drain to the thru-hull. Up until now it was a long hose that actually looped down before it went back up to the outlet. It worked but I never really liked it.

So with that all done I put on my template that I built from the last time I was there to go on the aft end of the galley and put some cushions in place and here we are today:










Another angle:










Looks pretty damn good if I do say so myself. Here's a before pic just in case you forgot:










The mockup too:










The cooler area is a bit different, but otherwise I'm on track I think.

I have an update on the cupboard doors but no pics just yet. They've been built and are in the varnishing stage right now. I'll do another coat and then take a picture and explain what went on there in another post. Almost done those though.


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## Sixpoint (Jun 25, 2010)

At the risk of being thought crude, allow me to say (in my most sophisticated tone of voice)...

Holy sh*t, dude.

NICE work, man. You should be very very proud of that. Thanks for the update; I can't wait to see it finished!

Peace


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## benajah (Mar 28, 2011)

BubbleheadMd said:


> Graeme,
> 
> I like your idea, and I like the rendering. That's pretty cool. The only thing I'd change, is shucking the propane stove for an Origo _un-pressurized_ alcohol stove.
> 
> ...


True, but compared to marine grade alcohol stoves, propane stoves are cheap. A $100 dollar propane stove could replace a $900 dollar alcohol stove annualy for 9 years and break even.
How is propane less safe? I have shot those canisters, trying to get them to blow up, and they don't explode.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

benajah said:


> How is propane less safe? I have shot those canisters, trying to get them to blow up, and they don't explode.


Without wanting this thread to get off-topic at all.. and with all due respect - you can shoot at lots of things without them blowing up, but in the bilges of a boat all it can take is a little excess water, an automatic bilge pump and a bit of average-yacht bilge switch wiring to ensure leaked propane goes up nicely. That's why interlocked gas detectors are mandatory in most parts of the world.

..and now - back to watching Graeme in action..


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## benajah (Mar 28, 2011)

Hartley18 said:


> Without wanting this thread to get off-topic at all.. and with all due respect - you can shoot at lots of things without them blowing up, but in the bilges of a boat all it can take is a little excess water, an automatic bilge pump and a bit of average-yacht bilge switch wiring to ensure leaked propane goes up nicely. That's why interlocked gas detectors are mandatory in most parts of the world.
> 
> ..and now - back to watching Graeme in action..


Good point. I stand corrected. Fuels on a boat are an entirely different story than out in the woods.


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Hartley18 said:


> Without wanting this thread to get off-topic at all.. and with all due respect - you can shoot at lots of things without them blowing up, but in the bilges of a boat all it can take is a little excess water, an automatic bilge pump and a bit of average-yacht bilge switch wiring to ensure leaked propane goes up nicely. That's why interlocked gas detectors are mandatory in most parts of the world.
> 
> ..and now - back to watching Graeme in action..


and the most elementary safety precautions are both simple and cheap to install.


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## unomio (Jun 8, 2007)

As chief cook and bottlewasher aboard, I'd advise you to keep the stove on top of the counter, not set into it. It will be difficult to clean up after splatters and such. You could secure the stove appropriately so tat it could be released for cleaning underneath. If you want to have the counter space where the stove is used available when the stove isn't in use, you could put the (cleaed up) stove in a niche similar to the one you show in you rendering, and then cover the hole with a fitted countertop piece, possibly hinged.
My thought on sliders: if you ever cook on a starboard tack things can fall out of an opening. My preference would be for a hinged door that drops down. 

Don't forget the galley strap if you cook under way.

Re: propane safety. We have two big bottles in a stern locker with a solenoid, etc. We've had no success with "sniffers" because they go off when there's any sort of stuff floating around in the air: Clorox, other cleaners--still looking for a solution.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

It's a bit late for that good advice unfortunately. The stove is in and it's been planned to be that way for a long time now. I don't see how anything is going to get underneath it as the lid comes up and under that is the part that attaches to the counter. I've caulked all that so that any liquid will also not run down under the stove. The stove came with a bamboo cover/cutting board, so I'll be able to use it as a bit of counter space when covered up. Should be ok, thank you for the advice though.

I rarely if not completely never cook while underway, no galley strap for me.

Interesting idea on the sliders/hinged door. I liked the idea of being able to see in so I went with the sliding doors. Hinged downwards might work.. I'll have to think more on it. I'm not at the stage of the shelving just yet though, soon.

I should have more updates in the next couple of days.


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## XPatriot (May 10, 2011)

I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned it, but a drawback of hinged doors is that the counter space in front of the door has to be clear for it to be opened.

Otherwise, all looks great!!


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

We discussed the issue of fixed stove or gimbaled early on in the thread and while I would not go fixed I can understand Graeme's decision based on him not cooking while underway.

That said I would have thought that strapping yourself in to a non gimballed stove would be a remarkably silly thing to do.



GraemeInCanada said:


> It's a bit late for that good advice unfortunately. The stove is in and it's been planned to be that way for a long time now. I don't see how anything is going to get underneath it as the lid comes up and under that is the part that attaches to the counter. I've caulked all that so that any liquid will also not run down under the stove. The stove came with a bamboo cover/cutting board, so I'll be able to use it as a bit of counter space when covered up. Should be ok, thank you for the advice though.
> 
> I rarely if not completely never cook while underway, no galley strap for me.
> 
> ...


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Good point on the hinged doors requiring space in front. That's enough for me to say no again then, I wonder if I thought of that while originally coming up with the concept of sliding doors.... hmm.. I don't know.

Anyways, yes, a gimballed stove would be a good idea but not required for my uses so I opted for the easier approach.

Good point on the strap.. I will be getting pot holders of course.

I have updates! But will have to wait until just a bit later as I have to head out very shortly. A few good pictures. Main points are that the sole has been cleaned up a bit, trim is in place for the bottom, aft end piece is cut and fitted and preliminary painted, final paint is on the front and the doors are on. It's getting there, I can taste it..


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

I've just made it to my 100th picture for this project. I think that this will be by far the longest project I ever do on the boat. I can't believe the amount of work required. The issue is that it's not like I had to just build a cabinet but also that there were so many things to change and fix before putting in said cabinet.

Anyways, moving on to what's gone on here and our 100th picture:










On of the things that has been mentioned to me by more than one person is how messy the sole of the boat is. I don't plan on finishing it this year as I still have more work to do in the boat and I can picture dropping more varnish/paint/screwdrivers or whatever on to it and so I'll wait just a little longer. Probably next year but at the very least I wanted to clean it up a bit. Looking at the top of that picture you can also see the unfinished edge just before the v-berth. Here's a relatively cleaned up version:










I've also got the trim in place and finishing pieces for that v-berth area. One day I'll replace that carpet too.. Looking aft:










For the most part I just lightly sanded the sole. I didn't want to kick up a lot of dust because I spent a long time just cleaning everything in the boat that day. Lots of dust and dirt and some mildew that had started up over the winter. Looks better at least.

With the trim in place the galley has started to take shape a bit more and I finally got the doors on! I haven't put the stoppers in yet so they hang open just slightly (which somewhat shows the level and balance of the boat), but that will come really fast and I'll get those in next time. I was thinking to use magnets to keep them closed (like on everyday hutches and stuff) but Terry suggested the proper stoppers as all kinds of things happen on a sailboat and sailing on a port tack will heel over and cause things to fall against those doors. With magnets they most likely won't stay closed and then I'll have all kinds of things all over the boat. I don't want that.










Looking aft there you can see the cabinet with doors in place. I haven't done the area behind the water tank yet but I did manage to give it a really good clean out with some bleach and a thorough rinsing. The particulate filter has been cleaned and the pipe is primed with water and most of the air bubbles have finally been pushed out. I also finally installed a shut off valve on the outlet of the water tank. I should have done that last year but just didn't get around to it. Now that part is ready to use. I also managed to charge up the batteries with a proper battery charger while I was there for the day, so essentially the boat is just about ready to go if I wanted to go.

I also got in the end piece for the galley. I cut some 5/8" ply at home with the template I made last time, brought it to the boat to size up perfectly (which in turn allowed me to finish up the trim nicely), routered the top edge to a nice round edge and painted one side. Looks good I think. Here's another angle:










Only painted one side so far. I still have to attach it to the cabinet so no use in painting it yet as I will need to fill in the screw holes. One more coat of paint on the inside and then I'll stick it on. One more picture here with a closer up look of the doors:










Those were a real pain to do with the angled joints. I really struggled with getting them to fit flush with each other and one of those doors is slightly better done than the other. Maybe most wouldn't notice, but I do. Still though, they turned out great for a first time creator. I epoxied the inner piece (two pieces of 1/8 inch good one side glued together with the good side on the outside, mahogany doorskin) to the edge pieces (mahogany) and once it was put together I clamped it all overnight. Once firm I took them out of the clamps and pin nailed them on the corners to add support for the corners. I don't have the tools to do a proper job on the corners adding in a biscuit so this will have to suffice. From what I can tell they are quite rigid and strong. I expect them to last a while if not kicked out by accident.

There's still some trim work to do around the water tank to clean it up a bit, the shelving and the bullnose edging along the counter top. Along with of course getting the lid on for the cooler. I hope to finish those up for cutting and fitting the next time I go and then bring them home for sanding and varnishing. The next time after that should involve putting them in permanently and after that I'm sure it'll just be fiddly stuff.

At this point, the boat is perfectly usable other than a don't have a doors that will stay shut nor a cooler that I can keep stuff cool in. It's all very very close though. I'm very happy with the way it has all turned out and I'm really looking forward to taking advantage of all this hard work.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

On a related note, does anybody have any suggestions on how to fix that edge of the bilge? The edge of the sole has rotted out and is falling apart a bit more each time I'm there as I step on it a bit. Maybe I should just make this it's own post.. I was hoping to fix it by routering out a proper edge all around and then just epoxying in a border of teak to finish off the edge. It may require a bit of fiberglass filler to clean up the part it needs to bed to but I suspect that will solve my problem. Any thoughts there?


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

GraemeInCanada said:


> On a related note, does anybody have any suggestions on how to fix that edge of the bilge? The edge of the sole has rotted out and is falling apart a bit more each time I'm there as I step on it a bit. Maybe I should just make this it's own post.. I was hoping to fix it by routering out a proper edge all around and then just epoxying in a border of teak to finish off the edge. It may require a bit of fiberglass filler to clean up the part it needs to bed to but I suspect that will solve my problem. Any thoughts there?


rout the edge of the sole, and then add a piece of trim to the bilge inspection panel to make up the difference. Since it's non-structural, I'd make the added piece of trim out of pine, thoroughly saturated with epoxy, to mimic the appearance of the holly trim.


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Nice work, Graeme. Really nice.
Now, let's revisit galley extensions. You know you want one....


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

Graeme, for the sole, BLJ's suggestion above is a good one.

For the time being you could always cover it with carpet..



bljones said:


> Nice work, Graeme. Really nice.
> Now, let's revisit galley extensions. You know you want one....
> [/IMG]


Wow, that's nicer than mine! 

What have you got underneath, BLJ? Any pics to show us?? I might have some work to do myself!


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Sorry about the hijack, graeme. 

Hartley, beneath/behind the extension is a rack, sized to hold nav instruments and pencils/pens in one section and the larger section fits magazines, guide books and quarter folded charts.










I highly recommend building one. stupid easy.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

That's an excellent suggestion for the sole. I'll try to do that then. I like that extension but it's not in the cards this year. I'm not a big fan of carpet as it's hard to clean, unlike just leaving it as is. If I get a half day to work on the sole then I will, it's just a matter of getting the cuts straight really... A bit scary, we'll see.

I'll try out my galley and if I find I need more space then I'll put one together. I like the one you've done, good idea there and it looks quite nice.

I have an update coming pretty quick here. Lots of cutting and fitting going on, and routering of course. Next up is sanding, then varnishing, then more sanding, then varnishing and so on and so forth for the last of the finish trim and shelving. I still haven't started on the cooler lid though. That's a tough one, I'll leave it for last probably.

I've got so much space under the stove and sink now that I don't know what to do with it. Any ideas for shelving or something?

I'll see if I can get pics up tomorrow.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

bljones said:


> Sorry about the hijack, graeme.
> 
> Hartley, beneath/behind the extension is a rack, sized to hold nav instruments and pencils/pens in one section and the larger section fits magazines, guide books and quarter folded charts.
> 
> I highly recommend building one. stupid easy.


Neat! Thanks - I will add it too the list. I like the folding supports too - my current extension hangs from the overhead rail, which allows clearance underneath, but does limit access somewhat.

Looking forward to your next pics, Graeme!


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Hey Cameron .. you have a pic of that ? 

I'm a great believer in some form of chart table which Jonesy's extension gives and no galley is so big that extra bench space is unwelcome. 

One thing I must say is that Graeme seems to be working towards a point where he will stop and then go sailing for the summer. Big mistake many make and I've done it myself is to keep on working until you suddenly find the summer has gone and you've wasted an entire season. Time to enjoy what you've got Graeme and then get back into it come winter.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

I just installed the very same stove on my boat.... $300-something from Defender! He-haw! Fuel's a little pricey, but you'll be sleeping tight at night....


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

tdw said:


> Hey Cameron .. you have a pic of that ?
> 
> I'm a great believer in some form of chart table which Jonesy's extension gives and no galley is so big that extra bench space is unwelcome.


Not of it specifically.. I'm going down there later today and will post one.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

All right, we're almost there. It's about time too, I'm a bit tired of working on this project and it seems like the worst has yet to be done! Varnishing..

Anyways, an update. I finished off my last post with the doors and trim going in, for this update I'll be talking about all kinds of fitting and cutting. Here's what I'm talking about










Those there are the new shelves. Granted, they're not quite perfect there but it's a very close rendition of the final product. I really hummed and hawed about this as I wasn't entirely sure if I just wanted to put back what I took out, at least in style. But it turns out that it just makes sense and looks good. The difference with mine though is that I've shaped the shelves to the hull instead of just running a piece parallel to it. This way it looks parallel to the front of the counter, which makes more sense to me and looks better.

I haven't cut the front pieces for the shelves here, the pieces that stop stuff from falling off, but I got on with that yesterday as you'll see below.

Once I had the shelving all figured out and cut I put them away to take home to do the finishing touches. Here's another angle:










Next up are the fiddles. There was a lot of fiddling around with the forward fiddle.. but I got it shaped up reasonably well enough to call it a day on them. The front one is just a one piecer that will go in the middle and leave to areas to the forward and aft to allow sweeping off of crumbs or whatever. For the remaining bit that isn't covered by the fiddle, I'll make a bit of trim to cover the white of the edge. Something very thin, I'll explain in pictures better in another post.










They're just clamped on for now to give me an idea of what they will look like. Pretty good I think:










Which reminds me, I managed to get the stoppers in for the doors. They stay closed now. Not too difficult a job, it's a just a bit of a pain lining up the pin to the latching part. They're done now. It may not be apparent from the images, but you open them by putting your hand in the top part where I've routered out a small finger opening. Just a little ledge to get fingers in and open the door. Looks clean I think.

Another fiddly item was the paper towel holder. I just knocked it together with a few pieces of spare mahogany I had left over:










and clamped it into place for now:










I can't put it in permanently until I'm done the ceiling piece above the water tank. As you can see in this picture too, there has been some painting going on. I cleaned off the chain plate that was previously painted over and then masked it off so that I wouldn't do the same. Turned out nice:










I got the aft end piece painted too with a couple of coats. It's really coming together.

Once that was all done, it was off to home to do the final bits for the trim and shelving. These are the pieces required:










That's a lot of measuring, cutting, routering, sanding and cleaning and then staining:










Next thing to do is varnish, as I mentioned at the top of this post. Once that's done, it's back to the boat to install it all. Now that's exciting.

I should note, I've never ever done this before.. I'm really hoping it will all turn out and not have anything go wrong while I'm under way. Whether sizes are just right or too big and not accounting for moisture swelling, definitely makes me nervous, at this point in time it's all coming together well. So we'll see!

As for getting on to the water and sailing, that will be happening very soon. I don't plan on doing any other projects on the boat except for painting the hull and bottom. Next large projects come next year. Maybe a few little items I'll do this year, but that's between cruises.


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Graeme,
I am a complete klutz when it comes to this kind of stuff but what I have found is that provided you use the correct materials and do your best to seal end grain you have won half the battle against deterioration caused by moisture. I rebuilt the galley in my boat pre Raven and while the result was nowhere near as good (from a craftsman's point of view) as yours that galley still works and has held together for damn near thirty years. Plenty of glue, plenty of screws. Worked for me.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

tdw said:


> Hey Cameron .. you have a pic of that ?
> 
> I'm a great believer in some form of chart table which Jonesy's extension gives and no galley is so big that extra bench space is unwelcome.


Here you go: 

















Sorry the pics are so dark, but I left the camera at home and had to use the (no-flash) phone instead. The timber and furnishings are dark anyways, but we haven't seen the sun here for weeks now!..


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Hartley18 said:


> Here you go:
> 
> View attachment 8104
> 
> ...


Aha .. now I get it. I could not for the life of me figure out what you meant by hangs down from above. For one panicky moment I thought maybe you had received divine support.


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## Classic30 (Aug 29, 2007)

tdw said:


> Aha .. now I get it. I could not for the life of me figure out what you meant by hangs down from above. For one panicky moment I thought maybe you had received divine support.


Cheeky Wombat. 

Now.. where were we? Oh, yes. Graeme's artwork!...


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

So I think we are just about at the end of the galley updates for Stargazer. It's been a really long haul and I'm almost perfectly happy with what has been done up to this point. This update covers the installation of the fiddle, trim and shelving.

I last left off with all of that wood stained and ready to be varnished. Well, with a few days behind me I managed to get it all done with 3 coats each side that needed it. With that done I was finally able to take it on it's one way trip to the boat and get on with installing.

The first thing to get in place was the trim around the water tank front:










It was a bit of an afterthought but I did mitered edges there and managed to get it all in and looking decent. I can't decide just yet on what to put on the top but I'll think of something in time. For now it just looks better. It was a bit of a hassle creating these pieces because I wanted them to match the trim that was in place already beneath the cabinet in depth. So they shouldn't stick out more than that trim was and unfortunately the water tank stuck out a bit more in one area and less in another.. Combined with that I didn't have the right wood hanging around and ended up doing a bunch of planing (1/16th inch at a time) to get the wood to the right thickness and then some routering to another piece to make up for some missing bits on the aft end of it. Hard to see in the pics though..

Next up was getting the fiddles on. I had to shape the forward one a bit to get the curve right but all in all it was a simple install. I didn't bother countersinking them further in and covering the screws, I instead decided to go with more strength by countersinking less and just screwing the screws in flush. Looks fine I think.

A side story though, I had a surveyor in that day and he was moving all about in the boat and had to get under the sink area there to check it out. When he was supporting himself on the way down he actually used the cupboard door a little to support his weight/balance.. all I could do for that split second was take a quick sharp breath and hope for the very best. All was well, no cracks or anything. I can't believe he just naturally thought that cupboard doors are something to support yourself on. With that he launched himself upwards from the floor by holding on to the galley itself, that held up just fine and it was good to know. He definitely weighed more than I do.

Anyways, side story out of the way.

After getting on with the fiddles I also decided to cover up the rest of the front of the counter top/plywood with some very very thinly planed down mahogany. Almost like a veneer thickness. Looks good too, just need a bit of varnish on those:










So, as you can see in that picture I also got the shelving into place. I still have a bit of screwing to do but it all fits nicely and looks good I think. I may see how it goes but I'm thinking of maybe bringing down the shelf an inch, it might just be a tad high for what I want to use that area for.



















So that's about it for this update. I still have the cooler top to do but I'm not in a big rush as I don't have a cruise to go on just yet. The galley has really come a long ways, it's going to be nice to use.


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## nightowle (Aug 2, 2006)

a most excellent job!


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## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

Beautiful job!


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Thanks guys, I'm just about done for now but when I do get the cooler top on I'll be sure to post back. I've got a good idea, I just need to find time to implement. Hopefully it'll turn out.. if not, I'll just try another idea! I built it, I can take it apart and rebuild it! Not the whole galley of course, just the lid.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

I can't help but look back in the thread and see what it used to look like...










and now:










I've almost forgotten.. What a nice change, and it's about time too.


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## Sixpoint (Jun 25, 2010)

Yep - that's quite a change!

Not only is it more attractive (hell, it's beautiful), but it also appears to be a thousand times more usable.

Great job, man!

Peace,

Sidney


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

yep, its a beauty Graeme. You should be as pleased as Punch. 

(Have you ever wondered who Punch was and why the son of a ***** was so smug ?)

google google google 

Ah ... it is as might have been guessed a Punch and Judy reference. So I apologise Graeme for saying you were as happy as a self agrandising , wife beating, serial killer.


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