Doing some work in the galley.

[Tom Young]

Way back in the 70's when this boat was repowered, the new engine pushed through into the galley a few inches. It was "treated" with a bumped out removable panel that is angled to accomodate that which comes through. Here is the panel in place to the left.

I never cared much for it as it tilts you in a weird way when you're at the sink. Plus it always looked a little shabby, luan plywood I think. But it worked for 30 years. I decided to change it.

I took close measurements and set up a CAD file to try to work some alternative ways to treat the protruding engine and improve things.

Rather than angle the middle panel, I've decided to bump out the area that needs space. Thinking this would be better visually as it appears set back to the correct plane with the counter top with a bump out. Further, I would get a small amount of space behind a door, not much but anything helps. A shallow shelf or two. While I was at it, I'd pull out the remnants of the original bulkhead, and reconfigure that to perhaps allow a tilting bin behind the now longer door, that could satisfy a small trash receptacle.

Also, on top of the middle removable "bumped out" panel, I'll have a fiddled shelf as the boat has several. That and building the doors to the same flush panel with rails and stile frames, should fit a bit better.

The idea seemed to work in pixels, but not enough to build it. So I did a mock up of pine the other day and took it under the cover. Good thing, 4 more trips with the mock up, I had something that I could start to build.

This gave me a chance to feel how it would work underway and to see, to my eye, an improvement. The two mock ups will help me fine tune the fit onboard and ways to fasten it. The trash bin panel will be fixed stoutly, the middle panel will be easily removed for engine access. In fact, it's a little better access now.

The mock up will still go back and forth a few more times to save time marking and fitting. I hope to end up with the two finish pieces ready to fit when I've had time to build. I've started the fixed panel in my shop. This area gets tweaked a bit so I'm building with mortise and tenon joints and solid mahogany(honduran I think) which cost 8.69/board ft. in town yesterday.

[Rachel]

That looks like a nice improvement, Tom. I like how it will give you back a bit of toe-kick space - that's always nice when standing at a sink/counter. Also, I agree that it is more appealing aesthetically.

[Tom Young]

That looks like a nice improvement, Tom. I like how it will give you back a bit of toe-kick space - that's always nice when standing at a sink/counter. Also, I agree that it is more appealing aesthetically.

Thanks Rachael. You noticed. It is weird how odd a toe spaceless counter makes you turn. But boats don't always conform well to human scales. Now the 3" bump out is still inside of where you'd expect it to be as you're standing there. Yet the sink and counter are not any more out of reach. Something just feels better.

If nothing else, the fiddled shelf on top will hold a short stemless wine glass in a seaway as I do the dishes.....

[Rachel]

If nothing else, the fiddled shelf on top will hold a short stemless wine glass in a seaway as I do the dishes.....

That will suit the ambience of the boat much better than a Camelbak ;)

[Paulus]

I can't see the pics - do I need to tweak some setting somewhere?

[Tom Young]

I assembled the doors. Alden used a nice clean design in 1961 of a mahogany plywood panel framed with rails and stiles of solid mahogany. The panel of course is stable and the hardwood protects the edges from dings that raw plywood doors suffer from. Sometimes what looks like "yachty" work was really driven by good practical design. The doors have held up well for 50 years so I stayed with it.

The top shelf in the foreground will get fiddles same as the rest of the boat(those will cover the screw holes).

I took the time to line up the veneer strips in the panels. That piece of mahogany ply came out of the dumpster at Rockport Marine. I'm sure it was in ADVENTURESS out of Newport, which is undergoing a complete rebuild. It cleaned up nicely(one side was painted, this is the "back").

Still have finger pulls, hinges, etc before it can go on the boat. All that stuff is so easy to do in a warm shop compared to under the cover in the boatyard.

Varnish too of course. This is just one sealer coat of Epiphanes reducer.

[Tom Young]

I can't see the pics - do I need to tweak some setting somewhere?

Hi Paulus, I don't know what the problem is. Anyone else not see them?

[ILikeRust]

Yeah, they're not coming through for me either.

[ILikeRust]

Your links are not to .jpg files.

Your first link is:

Code: Select all

http://www.949.reno2.com/download/file.php?id=192&mode=view

That is a link to a web-based photo viewer, not to the photo itself.

It should be something more like:

Code: Select all

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu207/ilikerust/SUC53459.jpg

I.e., it should point to a .jpg file.

[Rachel]

That looks fantastic, Tom. I don't know the correct terminology, but the "swags" in the veneer are pretty. They almost look like theatre curtains.

How cool that you'll have a bit of Adventuress in Christmas :) I love boatyard dumpsters (and I bet you don't have to dig through too many fiberglass shards and kicked off epoxy containers at Rockport Marine, either).

On the images: I notice that your images do show up for me, but I have to wait for some time (a minute or two) vs. other images that just pop up right away.

Rachel

[Tom Young]

Thanks Rachael. I'll repost them if I can figure it out. I don't think Tim wants photos posted on his server so I may have to move them to another. this is the server on our owners website.

[Tom Young]

And I could start spelling your name correctly.....

[Rachel]

Hi Tom,

You can upload images to the forum (see fields for that just below posting box) - Tim added that feature in one of the last upgrades. However, in my opinion, they don't show up quite as nicely as ones you link to elsewhere. They're just a bit more bordered and less integrated looking (that's not a complaint though, as being able to upload images here is a great feature; just that if I have a choice I'll link to them elsewhere).

Maybe, like Rust says, you are somehow linking to some sort of "view" command on your hosting page and not directly to a .jpg from your hosting page. If you right click the image on your hosting page and look at "properties" do you get a .jpeg file name?

[ILikeRust]

If you right click the image on your hosting page and look at "properties" do you get a .jpeg file name?

I tried that, but nope.

[Tom Young]

I hope that works. For some reason attaching the photos from our owners website doesn't work here. Thanks for pointing it out, I'll use the photo loader here. Rachel, as I clicked the photos in any form on the website, they wouldn't come up as jpegs. Weird.

[Paulus]

I see them now.... Great work!!

[Hirilondë]

That looks fantastic, Tom. I don't know the correct terminology, but the "swags" in the veneer are pretty. They almost look like theatre curtains.

Very often cabinet grade plywoods come with 2 different sides. The "A" side is made of one continuous piece of veneer and the "B" side, though the same wood and smooth finish is made of small pieces of veneer. Which you choose to expose is a subjective matter of preference.

Having a secure place for you in use wine glass is definitely a good design option ;>)

[Rachel]

I wondered about that, Dave. I mean, whether the curtain effect was actually officially less "fine" because it was made up of stripes of veneer (the upper edge of the curtain "smiles" are veneer repeats of some sort, right? Not seams but... well what are they actually?).

In any case, I think it looks really nice in this instance (but it's fun to learn more about veneer). And it has some good history :)

[Tom Young]

That looks fantastic, Tom. I don't know the correct terminology, but the "swags" in the veneer are pretty. They almost look like theatre curtains.

Very often cabinet grade plywoods come with 2 different sides. The "A" side is made of one continuous piece of veneer and the "B" side, though the same wood and smooth finish is made of small pieces of veneer. Which you choose to expose is a subjective matter of preference.

Having a secure place for you in use wine glass is definitely a good design option ;>)

You are right. The other side is one continuous piece. But that's the side they painted that was the finished side (pretty nice material for painting). I did remove the paint but of course the grain is filled. Fine for the backs of these doors of course.

[Hirilondë]

I mean, whether the curtain effect was actually officially less "fine" because it was made up of stripes of veneer ..........

If by officially you mean the manufacturer's intentions for the better side, then yes.

(the upper edge of the curtain "smiles" are veneer repeats of some sort, right? Not seams but... well what are they actually?).

It is hard to tell in the picture, but it could be that the "log" has a very small diameter when that veneer was shaved off and it is a short repeat. Different grades of plywood, and the actual standards of the manufacturer will determine what is allowed for a face or even an inside layer. It isn't as simple as a one standard used by all world. Like I said in another post, even Lloyd's BS 1088 standard isn't governed by Lloyds any more, but claimed by different manufacturers to different degrees of compliance.

In any case, I think it looks really nice in this instance (but it's fun to learn more about veneer). And it has some good history :)

Absolutely. There are no rules about aesthetics, in spite of what some may say or the manufacturer claims about a product. The interior of my Renegade is Okoume with about 4 different Mahagonies and look alikes. Some of my choices were stuff I got for free. Others were to save money on purchase. Some were a board I just liked the look of. Most people think it looks pretty nice and none have ever noticed the difference in woods.

The joinery looks great Tom, and that is often far more important. That is what people see. And if in the process you re-used material, then even better. Boat work is way too expensive to waste sound materials.

[Tom Young]

Almost...It's amazing how many times something like this goes back and forth to where you've doing the work. This is under the cover so colors look weird.

But everything fits pretty well. Here's are the two parts. The part to the right is fixed. The center piece is held at the top in a captive rabbetted cleat screwed into the underside of the counter, fit, swing in place, the bottom has two barrel bolts(not visible below).

That with a backer cleat below, even a body couldn't push it in very easily. Stronger than what was there before.

Here's the new trash bin. Not enormous, but I think it will work, especially now that recycling makes the trash part smaller. It tilts out on a wooden rabbited cleat and rounded rail in the cabinet. like a hinge. A simple catch on the back hits the stile, and keeps it forward, empty or full. Push it back, gravity takes care of the rest. (I've made these before in my home building stuff)

Flip the catch on the back and it lifts right out. This gives much better access to the seacock under the sink now.

Yes, it won't open fully on port tack with the gimbal working, but it opens 3" or so, enough to stuff something through. It's unhampered on starboard, which is when I usually cook anyway. :)

This may be controversial. There is a little space behind the large door over the engine, above the lower pulleys. Enough to be useful for a cutting board, sheet pans for the oven maybe. I was going to use plywood. Then I thought, what about polycarbonate?

It has decent heat resistance, of course it's impact resistant. I also found it's a better sound deadener, 1/4" equal to 1" of wood. So what the hell? I had some in my shop, and you can see through it!

Why not be able to see the engine while it's running? Kids will love it!

[Rachel]

Wow, that is fantastic! I like it all. The clear engine panel is neat; handy that it is a better sound dampener too.

Is there any way you could draw or otherwise show the wooden "hinge" for the tilt-out trash drawer? Carpentry-deficient minds (or mine anyway) can't quite visualize it. This part:

Here's the new trash bin.... It tilts out on a wooden rabbited cleat and rounded rail in the cabinet. like a hinge.

Rachel

[Tom Young]

Wow, that is fantastic! I like it all. The clear engine panel is neat; handy that it is a better sound dampener too.

Is there any way you could draw or otherwise show the wooden "hinge" for the tilt-out trash drawer? Carpentry-deficient minds (or mine anyway) can't quite visualize it. This part:

Here's the new trash bin.... It tilts out on a wooden rabbited cleat and rounded rail in the cabinet. like a hinge.

Rachel

It sounds more complicated than it is Rachel. The door has a 3/8" overlap cut in the perimeter. There is an inverted L shaped cleat screwed to the bottom back side of the door. The L with the overlap form an inverted J that straddles the 3/4" cabinet frame(rail) and holds the door snuggly. But it won't pivot like that.

By simply putting a 3/4" radius on the back side of the 3/4" frame, the inverted J pivots nicely. The long leg of the inverted J is on the back side and keeps the bin from rolling out(and also holds it tightly closed). It works smoothly, the bin is about 3/16" narrower than the opening. I've placed the finger pull for a latch but I don't see any need for it.

I put a lot of design sketching into this. The top of the bin is to the arc that swings under the galley sink. I angled the top so in the open position, it's not far off horizontal.

An alternative would have been a slide out. I hate those contraptions as they seem to break and are awkward to use. This seems a more boat worthy set up for us.

[Quetzalsailor]

Lovely work, Tom.

I've got the same task in Quetzal.

[Tom Young]

is something else that could use work. I pulled the companionway ladder just to refinish it. If there's one thing on the boat I don't think much about but use a lot, it's this for sure. In the shop, I had some time to look at it.

Being design # 949, I figure this ladder has century of experience in design. I can't recall anyone falling or even slipping on it. It houses your feet nicely and the cleats let into the treads give traction in shoes or barefoot.

The wear of 50 seasons (alot of off season owners, yard workers) showed mostly on the nosings. Like the steps on an old house , they were well rounded. The first cleats, which sit proud of the treads, were quite dished from traffic.

On top of that, it's location and tray like top make it the work bench on the boat. I've abused it over the years working on engine parts and what not. It's stout.

Likely the fact the #12 FH woodscrews were not countersunk and plugged (surprising, by a builder that did this almost to fault on pieces that will be removed in not too long a time), that made me decide I'd replace the nosings.

I'm an archeologist of this design and build stuff. I think there's messages left in most anything that was built. It's probably a stretch, but were the Danish builders in 1960 expecting me 50 years later?

They came off without much damage. The backs tongue in groove jointed to the treads. Each 1/2" wide cleat is let into a gain in the treads and glued.

Here's a shot of the new nosings installed and a couple of the old worn ones and a cleat. It's ready to fit some new cleats into the tread slots.

I added another screw per nosing (at least one wood scew snapped off leaving the hole unusable) and countersunk and plugged them. I also cut them short to give a reveal at the ends. I like the cleaner line that leaves. That and increased the depth to make them a bit more proud. It's a nice detail, I thought I would enhance it. That's all I did, other than that, the design is about perfect.

With the everything back together, a sealer coat shows the old ladder is more than ready to give decades of service yet. Wood is an amazing material. Age seems to improve it.

Now I'll need a new workbench.

[Rachel]

That does look nice. Looks like it would be nice and secure even when heeled. I have one question though: Have the let-in treads always been finished? It seems like they would be really grippy if they were bare wood (not to criticize though, as it looks like a great ladder and a really nice restore job; I'm just curious about it.)

Isn't that so true about the wood? When I was working on my cabin years ago, I started noticing that certain "natural" products, such as wood and leather seemed to age gracefully - really getting better with age in some ways; whereas a lot of synthetic products just seemed to get worse/old. Vinyl siding is what started me thinking about it (I had cedar; people were trying to talk me into vinyl?!). I imagine there must be exceptions - and of course I use things like plastic every day - but there does seem to be something to it, at least for me.

As always, nice to see what you're up to, and I especially enjoy the "archeology" aspect of it. (Oh, so after doing this, do you think the un-countersunk nosings had been replaced before? I mean, since they seemed inconsistent with the style a bit?)

Rachel

[Tom Young]

That does look nice. Looks like it would be nice and secure even when heeled. I have one question though: Have the let-in treads always been finished? It seems like they would be really grippy if they were bare wood (not to criticize though, as it looks like a great ladder and a really nice restore job; I'm just curious about it.)

Isn't that so true about the wood? When I was working on my cabin years ago, I started noticing that certain "natural" products, such as wood and leather seemed to age gracefully - really getting better with age in some ways; whereas a lot of synthetic products just seemed to get worse/old. Vinyl siding is what started me thinking about it (I had cedar; people were trying to talk me into vinyl?!). I imagine there must be exceptions - and of course I use things like plastic every day - but there does seem to be something to it, at least for me.

As always, nice to see what you're up to, and I especially enjoy the "archeology" aspect of it. (Oh, so after doing this, do you think the un-countersunk nosings had been replaced before? I mean, since they seemed inconsistent with the style a bit?)

Rachel

Thanks Rachel. I love your question about leaving the cleats unfinished. That's the type of thing that would keep old sailors talking well into the night over several bottles(not that we're old of course...).

I wouldn't be surprised if Alden specified the cleats be teak and unfinished that were let into the mahogany treads. I can't say if they were after 50 years. They were mostly bare but that could be traffic.

At any rate, each tread is like a foot pocket and captures them very well regardless of heel. It seems that like the track on a bulldozer, the shape and edges of the cleats will continue to grip bare feet or shoes.

Also, the top tread is used in the galley all the time. It's likely to get things like onions smushed into it. The varnish will make it easier to keep clean.

But, if they are slippery, I've already found a RO sander fits right inside and quickly clears the tops of the cleats. :)

I'm pretty sure the nosings are original and I'm probably over optimistic thinking they had foreseen replacement in the future, but it's possible.

[Tom Young]

This is the last task and post on my galley work, I promise. Because I no longer had the spot for the windlass panel, I had to relocate that. The logical place was a plywood box long ago built for stuff like that. It was riddled with holes, water damaged, so I had one more thing to do.

Except for a zillion loose ends I've created, stuffed below the counter for now(how many will I forget?), it's all back together.

I pulled the plywood out and built a new panel for the windlass panel. There's plenty of space for the windlass panel and wiring. Endless project though, I now have to extend 2/0 cable to the new location.

The material for this was a section of mahogany bulkhead in my boatyards dumpster. It's handy to have a high end wooden boat yard nearby.

One thing lacking on this boat is galley storage. There was a good deal of space behind the new panel so I built another door and storage compartment.

There was also plenty of usable space below so I built a box that extends below the counter. There's a simple grid in that. It's deep enough to take all the long things that have been hard to find a place for.

[Rachel]

Great idea with the lowered bottom on that locker! That's space that would be hard to access any other convenient way.

I'm sorry to see the end of your galley post series, as it's been very enjoyable. (Selfishly, since it's not that I don't want you to finish your projects and go sailing :)

[Figment]

You do nice work, Tom.

That is one BUSY little space!