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| Fairing | Doors & Frames | Saloon Furniture | Cabin Furniture |
Chapter 27
Interior Fitout
(Full Text, Partial Photos)
The furniture was in some ways, a long time in the making as it started when I first started to think about what I wanted in the boat, then played a role in determining the extend of the services, the shell construction, the sourcing/selection of the furniture material, detailed design, making it and working out the interaction with the services.
The finalisation of the layout, which was refined over time, was an interesting challenge as it
required knowledge/experience I lacked and I looked to supplement it by talking to experienced sailors and reading magazines, but in the end you go with your own instincts.
Major departures/decisions were to:
- Substitute the SB forward cabin with a hold, head and vanity/pantry.
- Locate the washing machine in the saloon and enclose it when not in use.
- Make the fridge accessible at two levels.
- Locate the oven/microwave in an overhead cupboard, which serves as a bench seat in the saloon. Thus avoiding a tunnel effect in the galley and maintaining visual contact between saloon and galley.
- Keep the saloon as uncluttered as possible
with clear passageways.
- Make the windows between the cockpit and saloon removable.
- Consider and set the 2 aft cabins up as single accommodation in normal use.
- Set the Port forward cabin up as guest quarters and make the bed serviceable as 2# singles or as a queen size double.
- Eliminate the forward door to the Port head.
- Utilise "hampers" and drawers to create service space and provide good access without bending down all the time. The hampers are hinged at the bottom (fixed with pins rather than screws) and are removable, giving access to the space under the base of the hamper - the service duct. Having decided to create this space solved quite a few issues during the build, ie where to run the air supply ducts to the engine compartments.
- Having the burner top along the outside,
under a porthole, was forced on us as the bench top was not wide enough
for the sink we wanted. In hindsight it should have always been there
as the porthole serves as a exhaust fan and very few cooking smell permeate
up to the saloon.
After all the agonising and sketching solutions the real test commenced with setting out the perimeters and partitions on the laminate with masking tape. In case of the settee the set out converted it from a "U" shape to a "L" as the return leg conflicted with the walkway to the galley.
The build up of the bridgedeck edge also became evident, the space created quickly became assigned to service runs. This one, along the galley was a real bonus.
In the galley I resorted to timber mouldings to get an idea of the bench top surfaces and manoeuvring space. We tried various bench top / passage width combinations.
The details of the fridge/freezer compartments were also established. (NB- The air supply pipe to the engine comp. Can be seen in the "hamper" space).
Here, in the bottom of the pantry cupboard, you can see my workings in locating the service runs, positioning of penetrations and equipment to suit the outline of the intended cupboard.
As part of the set out I also worked out how to use up the remainder of the foam I had left over from the shell construction.
This is the galley sink bench top and return framed up in front of the steps, with the base of the fridge, behind. The space under the fridge was used for services.
In the heads foam was used for the lower partitions, which once laminated and painted were fixed with caulking compound, so that if the need arises, they can be removed.
The WC pan cover flap was also made from foam.
That dreaded word again. Despite all my work prior to assembling the shell components there still remained the joints and defects to fix before I could proceed with the furniture
Lengthening the saloon resulted in this overlap, which rather than hide, I decided to utilise as a shelve for odds and sods.
In the aft cabin most of the fairing is in hard to get to places, the white rather than pink stuff. Putting it on is one thing, sanding another. This is where I decided to go for a texture rather than smooth finish.
This is the Port forward cabin with very restricted head room.
Most of the sanding was done with the 150 mm dia random orbital Metabo sander and I dampened the surface with water using a spray bottle as I went along. Lot less dust that way and the sanding seems more efficient. Care needs to be taken to avoid excess water, despite Earth leakage.
In the heads I was particular to get a better surface as I intended to spray these with the water based polyurethane left over after I discarded it for the exterior surface.
Once the fairing was completed and "perfect" I sprayed all the exposed inner surface with same the high build epoxy primer as the one used for outside.
The results looked fantastic and I thought I may be able to get away with using a satin finish rather than texture.
Even the forward cabin surface, which had been the hardest to work on, looked good.
Once you go through carefully, with some glancing light you son discover plenty of defects
Having decided that the remaining interior coatings would be acrylic (domestic), I reverted to domestic patching techniques, much easier/faster.
Before
finalising all the design, taking off all the material and purchasing
it I decided to do a "Mock-Up" to test al my ideas.
After setting out the perimeter and partition lines again on the undercoat I fixed the "T" sections with temporary screws and Purbond glue. The T's are very much the heart of the system as they provide for the dry fitting of all the panels without any fixings, other than the occasional staple.
For the exposed corners I use similarly rebated "L" sections which again provided for a dry fit allowing the whole cupboard to be framed.
Joining panels in the same plane I did with suitably sized inserts, which initially were not glued. Raw edges, where the honeycomb would end up exposed I filled with off-cuts of the ply facing cut into strips that were a tight fit.
Here the in board units of the aft SB cabin have been framed and I subsequently proceeded to hang the door and hinge the locker tops before disassembly.
The panels were then relocated to the shed where I edge stripped, sanded and polished them, a sanding +2 finishing gloss coats of exterior polyurethane.
After removal of the panels I did a final check & patch of the surfaces and the coved the T on the outside with resin/glue paste and internally with construction adhesive. In any subsequent removals I have found this to be a solid arrangement.
The outside surface was then painted with an oil/acrylic undercoat, whilst the internal surface was coated with a brushable gel coat applied with a texture roller.
The wall surface was then texture coated with premium external acrylic coating (Solver - Amorclad which has been surviving the UV on my house for the last 7 years). The texture I achieved with a 25 mm nap roller is a bit like suede and it covers/hides most defects
The furniture was reassembled and here the principle of the hamper function can be seen. You can remove it by sliding it sideways, away from the hull. To re attach the red pins have to be engaged in the holes in the flange.
Apart from inverting the door of the cupboard when I drilled the hinges (hence the mismatch in the veneer) the whole process went together well and the result, rewarding.The major benefit was the proving of the dry fit principle as it allowed me to sequence the service installations in such a manner as to have the maximum access available.
Initially I was intending to make the doors out off the cut outs of the bulkheads and planting a cover strip to serve as the jamb. By visiting other builders I learned how to make the curved jambs + I'd used the foam set aside for the doors, so I opted for Tricel doors and timber jambs.
Having bought suitable timber, dense meranti, I marked and cut out 1/3 arch blanks with a jigsaw. This way minimised waste and gave me control over the timber while I cut it.
The door jamb thickness had been sized to suit the longest router bit I had been able to obtain. This way I could clean/square up the blanks using a template, without unduly risking my finger tips. Once the circular shape was set the remainder was done with rebating bits using the blank as a guide.
The straight sections much easier to do and the rebate were largely done with the Triton table saw
I then checked the radius/fit with a template for each door opening individually, making small adjustments to ensure a good fit where necessary.
The arch segments were then glued, temporarily stapled and braced to maintain the shape.
The door jambs were then glued into place using polyurethane glue using temporary nails and spreaders to maintain alignment.
The door blanks were cut out of the Tricel board and edge stripped with meranti T's. To achieve the radius I chamfer cut the strips.
The doors were then fitted and hung in their openings. In the foreground is a Tricel door while at the back is the only foam sandwich door (Port Head)
The doors were then removed for finishing and stored until after the furniture was installed. The jamb edges were coved with a resin/glue mix.
To provide for correct placement of the services the next phase was the placement of all the battens. Whilst doing this I checked/finalised the design and assembled my material requirements and cutting list.
Placing the battens took longer than I anticipated because of this but it was well worth it as I had a very clear picture of what was to follow.I also build up the floor edges at this time and made the infill panel, very useful as this provided me with some of the ducts needed for the service installation.
The blanks for the galley bench tops were made up and taken to the Laminate fabricator for surfacing. The tops and returns were made out of 8 mm waterproof ply and proved to be quite a challenge to laminate with the radii I had selected.
This close up shows the shape of the batten and how it looks after coving on both sides.
The battens fix all the variables of the cupboards so need to be carefully considered. The steps to the beds were made out of cut outs and glued on with tape after coving.
After coving the battens and some more patching of the surface the exposed ares were undercoated.
This phase does give a good indication of where things are heading, after this there will be little chance of change without trauma.
The build up area of the cabin sole can be seen here and the penetrations indicate how I intend to run the services. The halyard riser shaft was also sorted out during the batten phase.
The internal coating, textures brushable gelcote, was followed by the external topcoats. In the saloon and galley area I opted for a smooth satin finish in lieu of the texture. The battery box has also been positioned as it will be enclosed by the furniture.
In the Port forward cabin the texture coating produced a good result without detracting blemishes.
The shelve surfaces were done in the external 2 pack polyurethane which was sprayed. I did this because I understand it is harder wearing, plus I wanted gloss and I was spraying outside anyway.
The appliances were cut into the laminate benches ahead of the laminate bench top installation. This way I could accurately position them from underneath prior to cutting them out.
The bench tops were then glued to the laminate with Purbond, the internal, sink, bench was not fixed at this time to retain access under for plumbing and joinery work.
I started the saloon by completing the nav station attached to the fridge cabinet. The inner shelve is removable to give access to the duct that runs behind it. At this stage it is fully demountable and yet secure enough to allow the flip top to be fitted.
The settee was next and the battens and straight edges were used to determine/check the panel sizes in situ before cutting the sheets
These were then cut and fitted in place as the were made using the friction in the edge battens and temporary blocks & staples to hold them in place.
The shelves forming the duct for instance took only 3 staples each to hold in place.
The "Joggle stick", courtesy of a template found in a Simpson design manual proved to be a very accurate tool to determine panel sizes. Working out how to position and hold the marking board was always the biggest challenge.
The settee shape is starting to emerge and I came to the conclusion that the seat back as designed would block the view substantially
After making sure the electrical enclosure would still be big enough I modified the seat back height. It also explained this step I'd seen in photo's prior to this.
The seats/backs I made out of 12 mm ply as I did not think the Tricel would be up the wear and tear.
By the time the settee was completed the electrical enclosure was substantially complete.
The Saltwater pump enclosure completed this module and I was able to bring in the electrician to ok the electrical equipment layout.
I then completed the timber edge mouldings and could carefully, it was still only held by staples, check out the seating comfort.
Having confirmed the electrical equipment positioning I made up a mock up of the nav instrumentation console out of cardboard. This much easier to fit and served as a template for the Tricel version.
Checking the installation requirements for the electronics I had to re arrange the layout and placed the distribution board in the middle between the radio and the autopilot head unit.
Next came the Port side cabin bulkhead unit, consisting of the wet locker, storage and a hanging cupboard for the Port Aft cabin (the boss's)
The previous photo shows just the hydraulics and autopilot pump without all the electric's and I made the whole centre section removable to provide for future maintenance.
The SB side, bar unit, washing machine and galley overhead rear/seat front was next. This unit was build up in conjunction with the galley as it is one unit.
After building up the seat front the washing machine enclosure was framed. The top hinges up for use and the front can be removed to position the machine. The space was a bit tight and I had to locate the tap on top of the shelve next to it.
As the intended battery compartment in the external Cabin BH console had proved to be too small for the battery I got, I relocated the battery to inside. It just fitted beside the halyard shaft
The battery switch and the circuit breakers for the winches were located inside the cupboard door and are a better solution than the originally planned one, as they are secure.
The completed unit, w.o. the bar cabinet door. For maintenance, the bar unit can be dismantled as can be the top of the galley cupboard and the seat top.
It was just as well that the units dismounted, this is what I did to get access to the Port forward cabin.
This is where I started in the galley, after the partition to the saloon had been positioned.
I first build up the shelve on which the oven was to be located at a height to suit the intended seat height. The space under needed to be accessible to get at the shut off valve for the gas.
The panels were then removed, as was the benchtop. The pan drawer units were then made and positioned. As part of this some of the waste plumbing had to be reworked to maximise the available space.
The benchtop/sink were then repositioned and the overhead build up including the panel for the freezer, HW heater and gas detector, controls. This photo virtually shows the unit in it's "breakdown" form for maintenance access.
Here the carcass is complete with the oven positioned. The access panels between the overhead unit and the benchtop can just be seen.
The completed sink & overhead unit with all the fronts fitted.
Making and fitting the drawer carcass, which needs to be set up perfectly level and square to ensure a good fit for both drawers and hampers, commenced the outerhull unit.
The drawers were then made and fitted, I used both metal drawer side and metal runner only types. I needed to, to get the drawer depths to optimum size.
The carcasses were then re-fitted, followed by the drawers. Misalignment in the fitting of the carcasses will show up at this stage, which it did.
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The hampers were made and seated on the kicker on the workbench. It's much easier to get the margins right on the bench that it is to do so in situ
After installing the hampers the way they'll function can be appreciated, much easier to use then bending down to see what's in the cupboard on the shelves. + the service duct.
This is the carcass for the vanity unit, where I combined the drawer unit with the sides needed to suspend the shelves, using standard adjustable brackets.
The completed unit. The centre section at drawer level is fixed (the bowl necessitates this). In the bottom section both shelves are removable for maintenance purposes
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This is the storage unit in the SB head, the shelves are arranged with a step at the sill to keep the water out, plus the joint at the bottom of the unit is open, so that any water that does get in can drain out. The tubes are 150 mm dia PVC and are towel receptacles.
Here the cupboard doors are closed, plus the plumbing hardware is temporarily fitted.
This is the Port Fwd cabin bed end after I have fitted the step return panel.
This is to demonstrate how after the first panel the rest can be build up in a "dry-pack" manner.
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The stiffening web along the external hull side was not wide enough to accommodate the hampers, I resolved this by the sloping panels where the drawers would have fitted otherwise
Here, the three hampers have been installed and the only outstanding item is the box seat against the bulkhead.
This is a view of my "workbench" which is exposed by hinging up the aft bed end. There is storage under the bench, which is accessed by hinging up a part of the bench. I intend to hang tools on the vertical surface in the back of the cupboard space and have some organisers I can stand up in the hinged section.
The mid-section storage is intended as a linen storage but can be put into service as guess overflow capacity. The complete upper portion has 2 shelves.
The Aft mid section cupboards comprises of 2 hampers, 2 bookshelves and a hanging cupboard opposite. It is set aside as storage for the boss's cabin. The door for the hanging cupboard when opened provides good privacy between cabin and head.
The aft Port cabin is a mirror copy of the SB one except it has some bookshelves in the space used for the engine controller.
This gives a good impression of the cupboard layout when the door is opened
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I disasembled the furniture panel in "job lots" to minimise clutter in the shed and to avoid getting panels confused and misplaced prior to final assembly. To provide the best access I started with the Port fwd cabin this view is after the panels had been edged / polished and re installed. The final 2 coats of varnish were still outstanding.
The SB head unit re assembled
The pantry unit, the shelves are storage and the FW pump is located under the bottom shelve. The circular holes are the gauges for the tank senders. There is another compartment in front to be covered with a hinged lid.
The galley viewed from the vanity/pantry area. Again the joints have been filled and sanded and the final coats of varnish are still outstanding.
This is the wet locker with the final coats applied. The covers were only temporarily fitted here.
The washing machine enclosure and galley seat
For both heads I made "traditional" shower grates out of WRC (left over from the daggerboard & rudder cores) Having the large sump under give the smallish shower sump pumps the capacity to keep up.
My brother Erik volunteered to make the cushions for which I got an Italian upholstery fabric "Alcantra".
The fabric was hard to work with a domestic machine but the end result well worth the effort and very comfortable to sit on.
With the floor covering we opted to go for external carpet in the saloon, step and cockpit and cork in the hull and on the mid-landing. The carpet is glued with contact adhesive in the stair but loose in the saloon and cockpit to facilitate its removal/cleaning.
The cork tiles were also fixed with contact adhesive, as the normal adhesive is intended for absorbent surfaces. The circular holes are the inspection openings for the holding tanks under the landing. The pipe is part of the venting.
With the steps I used timber "L" shaped edging and the cork and timber were finished with Tung oil which is a satin finish and not as slippery as polyurethane.
This is the washing machine, a Hitachi twin tub, in operational mode. The twin tub was selected to minimise electricity/water usage and to have total manual control over the process.
The foam mattresses completed the cabin installation.
The forward cabin can be set up as 2 singles with a crawlway in the middle or as a queen size abreast.
Now for a coffee and some music.
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