journey on":gdazn8df said:
I personally think that the molded in cabinetry is a step forward. It eliminates those galvanized angle brackets and screws, both into the hull and between the various pieces. I've replaced several rusted brackets with stainless, but I had to make the angles myself.
Also, molded cabinetry tends to make the boat structurally stiffer
I'm neutral on the choice as applied to C-Dorys. There are some things I like and some I don't like either way. A couple of comments on your points:
1) I agree the mild steel brackets on the "stick built" cabinets were not good. That said, they are not a required feature for stick-built cabinetry, so I see them as a dumb move that could (should) have been corrected, and not an inherent feature of stick built cabinetry (though C-Dory never changed it that I know of). Stick built cabinetry can also - and often was - tabbed in (though C-Dory's was not).
(Question: What did you replace your brackets with (that you made?) I debated between tabbing mine in and doing something else. Ultimately, I decided I'd like to be able to remove/replace the individual pieces, and plus it was going to be a pain to remove the Decraguard finish for the tabbing bond. So I'm using sections of fiberglass to replace the ones that held the cabinets to the sole. These are glued to the sole so no holes into the core. I haven't replaced the upper ones because they are in okay shape (still silly though). I was looking at possibly using a Kreg jig to screw them together (but it's low priority since they are fine now although irritating to think about)).
2) Strength. I agree that in theory (and often in practice) tabbed fiberglass bulkheads and even furniture can provide extra (or even immense) strength. But, if they aren't engineered that way, I think they are more like a "liner" and are probably not very structural in C-Dory's case (not that it can hurt though). I had a sailboat with some molded liner/furniture that was tabbed in, and even the builder said that it was not structural (whereas the engineered/tabbed bulkheads were, by design). I think the reason C-Dory switched to this method was to save labor and make installation more consistent among a larger number of workers (not that this makes it good or bad).
My own personal list of likes and dislikes on the versions specific to C-Dory (they are sort of opposite so there is some inverse repetition):
Stick built likes:
1) I slightly prefer the way it looks. The idea of a stick built interior in my mind is more crafted boat vs. production boat (that said, it's certainly not highly crafted; still the idea persists and that's one reason I prefer the look).
2) Can be modified without overly obnoxious dust (I do enough fiberglassing as it is). Thick enough to screw into.
3) Could be removed and replaced with something else, if desired (i.e. another wood). Just unscrew, use for pattern, screw in new material.
4) Locker and compartment openings are quite large proportionally to the lockers themselves (I really like this).
Stick built dislikes:
1) The Decraguard overlay is not the most durable (I think the older "wood grain" cabinets may have been more like real Formica, thus tougher). Decraguard overlay seems to be more like a resinized thin paper or something. Nor is it the easiest to clean.
2) As built, no toe-kick area under the galley counter.
3) The mild steel angles (especially those into the sole and other core) need attention, which takes some time.
Molded likes:
1) Smooth and reflective, easy to keep clean.
2) Installed without fasteners (that I know of).
3) Looks like there is a toe-kick area under the galley counter.
Molded dislikes:
1) Looks a bit "shower stall" like to me. Also, I happen to associate liners with an era of production boats that isn't my favorite.
2) Locker openings look smaller than optimum as compared to the size of the locker.
3) Modifying fiberglass is very doable, but I find it obnoxious and prefer to save it for "outdoors" if possible.
4) It bugs me that when they changed from the very first "25-like" molded interior to the one that more closely mimicked the previous 22 layout, it looks they sort of just chopped off the side of the sliding seat and "blended" it in vs. really re-doing the molds (this area changed a bit as time went on, but there is still the vestigial bit, from what I can tell).
As you can probably tell from my list, I could have gone either way on the interior. In fact, of my top two candidates for purchase, one had a stick-built interior and one a molded one.