Corian countertops on boats

[earlylight]

Does anyone here have any experience working with Corian or other solid surface material in galley installations? Looking for tips and recommendations including handling, milling of material and ideal thickness to use. All replies are welcome.

Thanks!

[Hirilondë]

Corian cuts with a table saw and routes well if you don't mind a ton of wear on blades and bits. They make a corrugated aluminum/Corian sandwich that is a lot lighter, but needs to be edged. The biggest problem is finding an undermount sink of appropriate size for a boat.

[earlylight]

Dave,
Thanks for the reply. The Corian/aluminum sandwich sounds very interesting but so far my Google searches have not yielded any results.. Do you know where I might find a source as well as information on this product?
Thanks again!

[Hirilondë]

I have limited experience with the solid and have only seen the laminated. No idea really where it came from.

[mitiempo]

James Baldwin (Atom) installed Corian countertops on a Nicholson 31. Here's the link - scroll down. http://atomvoyages.com/index.php/conten ... icholson-1

[earlylight]

Thanks to everyone who offered input on this topic. Does anyone have a feel for the minimum required thickness of the Corian if it is being laid down over 3/4 inch plywood with a layer of Formica laminate glued to it?

[Hirilondë]

The problem with Corian, marble or tile, which is even more of an issue on a boat than in the home is that is has almost no forgiveness for movement. Leaving the 3/4" counter core will be a big help here, but won't make up for a lack of support from the cabinet. Corian is hard and durable, but has no significant shear strength. What ever it is attached to, or resting upon must not allow it to flex or bend, as it won't, it will just crack. If the cabinet has removable structure for access to the engine or such you may have problems. If the counter is over permanent structure that is well built and you leave the 3/4" counter core then you probably have a great base to laminate a thin Corian layer to.

What are you doing for a sink? This is another problem on a boat. Finding a size that works in the galley of most boats is virtually impossible unless you use a stainless undermount sink and make a custom hole in the counter for it. Then what will you do for the exposed edge of the plywood in the sink hole? How will you cover the plywood edge around the perimeter of the counter? I see too many Corian counters with shallow sinks that I could never live with on a boat.

I personally don't think it is worth it to use the stuff as I would rather put my efforts and $ other places. But if you are sold on the idea be ready for a real challenge. In the head it isn't nearly the challenge as the counter is small, the sink can be small and shallow and the cabinet is often sturdy or can be beefed up easily. The galley on the other hand is sometimes part of the step down the companionway, has removable sections for engine access and a myriad of other structural issues. My galley sink becomes the catch all for junk disposed of from the cockpit while sailing as it is easy to reach and because it is deep nothing falls out regardless of the angle or motion of the boat. Corian is beautiful, just beware of the expense and limitations.

[Tallystick]

You can epoxy a couple backing layers of fiberglass to the back of marble, granite, corian, etc. Thoroughly bedding the reinforced countertop with flexible adhesive would help absorb shocks. The lip of the undermount sink goes over the cutout in the wood, and the reinforced stone is bedded over that. I've never worked with corian, but for natural stone you can use an angle grinder with a diamond blade to roughly round the edge of the stone around the sink opening, and then use silicon carbide sandpaper on a hand held sander to smooth and polish the rounded edges. Or you can buy a set of wet/dry diamond polishing pads for around $100. They work with a standard angle grinder, but you need a way to control the speed. That can be accomplished with a router controller, dimmer, or variac. Or you can spend the bucks to buy a dedicated polisher with speed control.

It would not cost much to have a stone counter tops shop fabricate it for you. They often have small pieces left over from larger jobs that would be the right size for a galley counter top. Having them do the edges wouldn't cost that much since it's a small size.