Interior Projects

Interior Projects

As any interior designer will tell you,
if you want to make a small space
feel bigger, add mirrors.
I removed the original mahogany
sliders on the head vanity and
replaced them with 1/8" mirror plexi.
I then added the computer cut logos
and hole surrounds cut from frosted
vinyl film.

Being the only male aboard I am regularly amazed at how much stuff my wife and two girls need to bring with
them for a weekend trip.
Hence my neverending quest for more storage wherever I can find it.

I made this storage cabinet to mount on the forward bulkhead of the head...once the head has a forward
bulkhead that is.
It was constructed from leftover mahogany plywood, a little bit of 1/4" plexiglass and a short section of 7/8"
stainless tubing for the toilet paper roller.
With the exception of the screws to attach the hinges and handles, no fasteners were used, just urethane glue.
Although I cheated and designed and built this with a cnc router table,
one could probably duplicate this with a table saw. a jigsaw and a drill.
If anybody wants a measured drawing, just drop me an email.

It has enough storage for
four rolls of toilet paper with
one more on the dispenser
roll.
The toilet paper is all but
hidden with the doors
closed but can still be
dispensed from the bottom.
The plexi retainer slat lifts
up for access to stored
rolls.

Storage for four
toothbrushes and three
shelves for all the small items
that seemed to always get
lost in the back of the vanity
unit above the sink.
The plexi shelf retainers slide
out the right side of the
cabinet for access or
cleaning

There she sits in all her sun dappled glory, the new pooper.
It didn't seem right to replace all the lighting onboard with LED's and still have an electric toilet.
The electric unit decided to stop working on the hottest day of summer last year, right in the middle of our
big family cruise.
I was not pleased.
After a couple hours of tearing the system apart I was able to get it working again but I swore I'd replace it
as soon as time would allow.
I know that with all the new environmental regulations we're not allowed to flush overboard anymore...does
that apply to my driveway too?

Loose fitting the new bulkheads.
Here you can see the remnant of the one
piece of the mast support that I broke
during disassembly.
I have a new section sitting in my shop to
replace this one...
HOLY CRAP dimensional teak is expensive!

As I recall, this was the very
first modification I made to the
boat.
The companionway ladder had a
nasty habit of working itself
loose. the brackets had ovalled
the veneered plywood they
were screwed to.
My solution was to cut a piece
of teak plywood to replace the
original, and to attach two
stainless plates where the
ladder brackets were mounted.
Its been in use for over a year
now and remains rock solid.
Immediately above the ladder I
mounted a reminder decal that
hopefully makes the boat a little
more idiot proof.

Whatever was in this location originally was at some point removed and replaced by a 110 volt bar fridge.
We replaced it with a proper 12 volt marine grade fridge from Nova Kool shown here.
We're very happy with the unit, low power consumption and very near silent operation.
I had to fabricate a flange and support out of Sintra to mount the fridge in the over-sized hole.
Not visible in this photo is and under-fridge storage compartment I built into the mounting flange which fits
a couple of baking sheets and utencils perfectly.

New Clarion CD, Sirius stereo and
Uniden Oceanus DSC VHF and two
auxillary 12 volt outlets mounted in
new teak unit above the chart table.
The VHF is connected to a Garmin
external GPS antenna for real-time
position tracking.
I made the mistake of relying on a
friction fit to the top of the nav
table, the whole unit came flying off
the shelf when we were heeled at
about 25 degrees on a starboard
tack.
No damage done and the unit is now
secured with industrial strength
Velcro.
This winter a leak has developed right
above this unit where a lifeline
stanchion is mounted to the deck,
those will be removed and re-bedded
straight away!

Using a floor jack to
raise the cabintop
ever so slightly so I
can tap the repaired
(far side) mast
support column into
place.

Taa-Daa !... the new
bulkhead is finally
permanently installed

A big improvement from when we purchased the boat,
in my not so humble opinion.

New 12v reading lights in the v-berth and quarter-berth

12v sconce light added behind the dinette table.

I eliminated the interior grabrails above the dinette and the
starboard bench in favour of one central grab bar.

A little artwork to make the
place a bit homier.
Industrial strength,
adhesive backed Velcro is
great for applications like
this; no holes to drill and
the picture stays put.

I ordered the print &
frame from allposters.com,
they have a great
selection of sailing prints
and outstanding customer
service.

On early C30s the wiring
was run inside the
fibreglass between the
cabin liner and the exterior
shell.
I've replaced all the original
wiring and concealed most
of it in either teak wireways
(left) made from scrap on
the table saw or within
spiral wrap as shown below.

Teak wireway on ceiling and on the head bulkhead. Wireway was secured with #4 3/4" screws

A new laminate countertop and pump faucet (it's a really old boat) for
the head.
Our old sink was pretty messed up, I found a used unit in great
condition for twenty bucks on Ebay.
I was able to salvage all the teak trim from the original countertop by
removing the teak plugs and unscrewing it.
I still managed to break one section but after clamping it with
urethane glue overnight and sanding, it's impossible to see the break.
A little varnish and I can install it.

I replaced the fake teak inserts
in the bifold doors with
Phillipean mahogany and gave
the framework a good sanding.
After test fitting I'll pull it back
out for varnishing.

Geez, this is lookin' better than
my bathroom in the house.

Our old Formica topped dinette table had developed a bit of a warp over the years.
I made a new one from mahogany left over from the new bulkheads, laminated to a sheet of .5"
Baltic birch.
The teak trim was fabricated from the section of the mast support column that was damaged during
removal; the stuff's so expensive I never toss out any scraps.
I pocketed out the birch backing panel (shown above) on the cnc to reduce weight while still
adding rigidity.
I still have to make a cover for the new speed transducer.

I've cut a new mahogany panel to fit just below the bulkhead above the fridge.
Now I can consolidate all the boat's 12v switch panels onto a flip-out plexi panel.
This should neaten up that area and allow for quick access to any problematic
electrical connections.
I've also added a separate six switch panel dedicated to all the lighting circuits
as shown below and below left.

One step forward...
I've decided to update the galley with new countertops, a lot easier now than
when she's back in the water.
While I'm at it I'm going to make use of the space that would be occupied by the
icebox on all the C30's built after the bronze-age. (see below)
My plan is to glass in a box big enough to hold all our plates, cups and other
galleyware.
The lift-off compartment lid will be machined from PVC sheet and will double as a
small cutting board

Here the fridge and range have
been removed to facilitate
removing the countertop and sink
cabinet.

This is the box that will be mounted under the
countertop once it has been fibreglassed and faired.
Constructed from .25" Baltic birch it's big enough to
hold six place settings of dinnerware with a fair bit
of room leftover.

Test fitting the aft section of the
new countertop.
Fabbed from .375" Baltic birch, the
old countertop was used as a
cutting template.
So far the most difficult part of
this project has been removing the
teak trim from the old countertops.
The old screwholes were
over-drilled with a .5" Forstner bit
and I cut new plugs from a teak
scrap with a plug cutter.
Once the glass work is done on the
box I'll make the cutout in the the
boat's fibreglass and epoxy the box
into place.

Test fitting the foreward section of the countertop and cabinet.
The cabinet was re-clad with .125" mahogany, the teak trim was removed and
refinished, the new backsplash was fabricated from some leftover plexi from the
windows project.
Next steps will be installing the new faucet and the cutout for the storage unit.

The new "icebox" stowage compartment has
been installed and I made up a divided stowage
unit from leftover materials to fit behind the gas
range.

There's not a lot of selection out there for spigots.
I picked up this one to replace that gawdawful aluminum one that came with the boat.
The new one is just a bit too short to get a large pot under so I had to fabricate a 1" teak riser for a little
more clearance.
With the price of teak being what it is, plus the cutting and varnishing, I figure the 1" riser cost about three
times the cost of the spigot.
The old sink cleaned up pretty well with some 800 grit wet sanding, a new drain was added to replace the old
leaker.

WooHoo!
Time's come to start on the upholstery.
We've decided to go for microfibre (ultrasuede). the full meal deal from the
v-berth right through to the quarter berth.
This is the patchwork quilt of samples our upholsterer gave us to do a colour
test.
It's a great material for boats, wears like iron, it's very stain resistant,
machine washable it's also a little bit cheaper than most of the Sunbrella
fabrics.
We'll also be upgrading the foam in the v-berth and quarter-berth to 4" with
a .5" layer of memory foam.
Because their foam supplier uses a pretty high tech cutting system we're
looking into the possibility of having the v-berth foam taper cut to
compensate for the bow end being 2" higher than the aft end.

Eeeewwww!!!...Ew Ew Ew!
I'm finally starting the installation of the new head.
In removing the old plumbing lines I've found that they're about 30% blocked by solid
waste buildup. (BTW, That's the previous owner's solid waste)
Some stagnant liquid that was sitting in the holding tank line even ran out onto my arm.
I think I just threw-up in my mouth.

I did more swearing today than I've done in a very long time...
The plumbing instructions with the new toilet insist on the installation of an anti-siphon valve,
my old toilet never had one.
I purchased one of those and enough sanitary hose to complete the installation.
They told me this hose was absolutely the best product of it's kind, by best I assume they meant
stiffest.
I mounted the anti-siphon valve in the wall behind the toilet (3 screw heads) to hide as much of
the plumbing as possible.
I'll need to machine some sort of escutcheon plate to trim out the hole where the discharge pipe
goes through the wall.
In order to re-install the diverter valve I had to cut an access hole under the dinette, (above) this
I'll cover up with a teak or mahogany access panel.
Just as I was tightening my second to last hose clamp I realized I had installed the diverter valve
bass-akwards and had to take most of the assembly apart again.

Here we go from something pretty, to something pretty gross...

"Happiness isn't having what you want; happiness is wanting what you have."

New bulkheads were cut from .5" Phillipean mahogany using
the old bulkheads as templates.
The portside bulkhead required lap-joining a section because
of the extra width needed.
All the original teak trim was salvaged and re-used.

I don't know what explains Catalina's affinity for
slathering semi-opaque red stain on all interior wood
surfaces
(see finish on ladder, above left).
I've stripped all the old finish and anti-skid tape off the
companionway stairs in order to refinish them to match
the rest of the interior.
They were starting to look a little beat up and the
anti-skid was worn to the point of being ineffective.
With all that red stain removed I've exposed some really
gorgeous teak which will receive a half dozen or so
coats of interlux Goldspar clear varnish.

Refinishing and moving the stairs

Okay, I've put this job off as long as I can...

This is another* modification idea I owe to Bob Beda, a former C30 owner.
Along with refinishing the stairs I'm also moving them 3.5 inches to starboard.
Although it doesn't sound like much, even that small amount can make a significant change to how big the galley
area feels.

*see portlights page

First step (no pun intended) was to make a new
backing panel for the ladder brackets to mount to.
I can't re-use the old one (left) because the
screwholes from the stainless mounting plates would
show once the brackets were relocated.
Fortunately I had just enough of the bulkhead
mahogany remaining, and I was able to re-use the
teak trim.