Cabin sides improvement

[joefish]

I love my C-Dory 25 Cruiser and, in fact, recently posted about all the ways that it is the very best boat for me.

In fairness, and in continual pursuit of improvement, there is one thing that kind of bothers me about the boat. The interior walls are not that nice looking -- pretty much raw fiberglass and wiring. I was just rereading an article in Soundings about the author down-sizing to a Tom Cat (from a 43' yacht) and he said he liked the "nicely finished cabin sides. Previous production had a rough, unfinished look, with exposed fiberglass and wiring." This Tom Cat, as he relates in the article, was a new 2009 boat purchased from Marc at Wefings Marine.

http://www.soundingsonline.com/features/lifestyle/287340-the-upside-to-downsizing

I've heard that the Venture series are more finished looking boats as well. I'm just wondering if there is any reasonable way of finishing off the cabin sides. I mean reasonable in both time and money -- I understand anything is possible though it may not be reasonable. If its too much time or money I'm fine with my 25 Cruiser, as is. In fact, when I'm out there fishing alone or with my buddies I could care less what the walls of the cabin look like. On the other hand, the more comfortable and happy my wife is on the boat the better. Not to mention when we have friends aboard I do wish it looked a little less raw and a little more finished on the inside. Thanks for any ideas. I know, a psychiatrist might be the most help to me -- "acceptance is the answer to all of our problems" and such. But I'd rather spend that money on fishing tackle!

[thataway]

George Sass has posted here. We had the pleasure of visiting with him and his wife this summer. The newer boats do have a head liner.

Most of use like the utilitarian look of the boats. But there are a number of options. We have used several different marine headliner type of materials which we have directly applied to the fiberglass underlay. Use of 3 M spray on adhesives work best: Super 77 multipurpose spray adhesive is one we have used. Google 3 M spray adhesives--and decide which will work best for you.

The best one was a closed cell PVC foam, made in France. It was used in Bayliners at one time. However we have not seen it recently. If you google "Marine Headliners" you will find a wealth of materials which can be applied. We often used panels for the overhead. The panels were made from "door skins"which had been either varnished or epoxied. We used teak strips to hold the panels in place.

Headliners also tend to cut down on condensation. We have talked about doing one on the current 22--but not before this summers trips.

[joefish]

Good info, Bob. I was hoping you'd have something to say on the subject.
I will digest that information, with hopefully more to come from others, and formulate a plan. Thanks!

[thataway]

Another option is to put some closed cell foam next to the hull, and then cover that. We did that with "Fish Blanket" which is sold in 4 x 8 sheets in hardware stores in AK in our Cal 46. We found some very thin formica type of material which was Douglas Air Craft surplus to glue over this material. The material fish blanket was glued to the hull sides then the covering over that. I have not checked on the availability of this "fish blanket" type of material. However, the back packing pads found at Wal Mart are very similar in thickness and material. We will be putting those -- at least initially without any covering--on the sides of the V Berth.

[Larry H]

A marine grade naugahide material can be glued to the closed cell foam 'fish blanket' and then the foam glued to the cabinside.

I have also seen a boat where the naugahide was glued to thin plywood panels and the panels attached to the cabin top and sides.

[mcc272]

When we were re-doing our CD22 and had everything out of it, we gave the interior 2 coats of Interlux Brightside paint in a very bright white. It made a huge difference as it made the interior crisp and clean (compared to the spatter paint) and really made the interior a lot lighter and brighter. Not as far as covering but still, a huge improvement.

[Casey]

When I owned "Naknek" I had access to some large sheets of 3/8" closed cell foam sheeting. I made a pattern of the hull outboard of each bunk and cut the foam accordingly. It worked very well. The foam material was stiff enough that it was held in place by the V-berth mattress, and it provided plenty of insulation to retard condensation dampness (and rolling over to feel a cold hull).

When I acquired "Katmai" I wanted to do the same thing, but couldn't find any large sheets of closed cell foam.

Eventually I did locate some Coleman backpacking sleeping pads of the same closed cell material and they worked fine. The backpacking pads were about $10 each and measured 24" x a little over 72" as I recall. They work great, and were almost the perfect size.

This is a pretty good example of why we like our C-Dory (like) boats so much. We can take the basic vessel, determine what we'd like to do to it, and add Creativity, and make it Our Boat!

Best,
Casey

[joefish]

Jim's suggestion of bright white Interlux Brightside paint was a good one. Although a time-consuming job I'm really happy with the result. I think it looks good and it's easy to clean. It did require sanding, then cleaning, applying a coat of primer and two coats of the Interlux Brightside. I used something like a gas mask which worked amazingly well to prevent inhaling the fumes.

Next project: put closed cell foam on the walls of the V-berth.

[redbaronace]

[redbaronace]

[ssobol]

In the berth I did 3 coats of the Hy-Tech SC1000 followed by 3 coats of Glidden paint (from HD). This cuts down the exterior noise transmission through the FG a lot (according to the wife). It also reduces the condensation a lot. The coated surfaces can still feel a little clammy, but there is no longer actual liquid present. However, I don't use my boat in the PNW climate as a lot of people do or tried using the boat in the really cold times of the year since the coating was done.

The SC1000 was brushed on. No surface prep was done other than washing the inside with water. The thickness of the SC1000 covered the spattercoat finish without sanding. It required 3 coats of covering paint to smooth the surface. The unpainted SC1000 has a surface texture sort of like 200-300 grit sandpaper (but kind of rubbery).

The paint color is cool cucumber (very very light green tint) to go with the green color scheme of the boat. The color is much lighter than the beigish original color. Makes the interior brighter.

I'm in the process of doing the same thing to the main cabin now.

[Aurelia]

Another SC1000 fan here and I have used it so far in the berth hull storage areas and other storage boxes in the cabin along the hull. This winter we plan to do the rest of the main cabin and I may use it in the transom space also for sound.

Greg

[joefish]

redbaronace,

Although my instructions from West Marine were to put it on with a roller and "tip it" with a dry brush to smooth things out, I used a brush to apply and didn't see any reason for "tipping". It came out smooth and shiny. Really brightened up the cabin.

[joefish]

Reading about Hy-Tec SC#1000 has me reconsidering the v-berth project.
http://www.hytechsales.com/prodsc.html
"Unlike heavy mats which only add mass and lower the intensity of sound doing nothing for vibration, SC#1000 removes noise and unwanted vibrations..."

It sounds good and I like the fact that it's water based.

[ssobol]

The SC1000 comes in 1-gallon cans. About $84 ea with shipping. The full gallon cans are noticeable lighter than a gallon of paint.

I put it on with brushes. The stuff adheres well to the FG. You will find that the SC1000 surface dries pretty fast. They say allow 8-12 hours before recoating. After the first coat, subsequent coats will chew up brushes due to the rough surface, so I went though a number of brushes. The SC1000 is a high bulk paint. It will accumulate in the brush above the part of the bristles actually used to apply the paint. I periodically wash the brushes as I go to get rid of the accumulated excess (causes the brushes to get fat).

Due to the accumulated paint thickness of the 3 coats I used, any areas that are masked off require cutting along the tape edge when removing the tape.

I did the V-berth and the two side compartments underneath. Also, outside walls in the area behind the fridge, under the cabinet with the sink and inside of the cabinet under the rear dinette seat. I did not do the bottom of the hull areas in the main cabin (since this is cored and fairly thick already). With the main cabin and three coats on each area I figure it takes about 2.5-3 gallons of SC1000 to do a CD22.

I was thinking after I started that it might be useful to apply the first coat of the SC1000 with a tile adhesive trowel and then paint on the other coats to fill the grooves in the first coat. This might make it easier to get a uniform thickness of the coating. In the v-berth it is possible to do this because of the larger clear areas that need covering. In the main cabinet there are some areas where troweling it on would be difficult.