Four - Cabin Work

May 14, 2008 - While the new cushions are being made, and while we are deciding the exterior colors, I turned around the condition of the cabin. I stripped off the old foam back vinyl hull liner, sanded off all the loose glue and foam residue, and installed a commercial grade ribbed (like corduroy) wall fabric for hull liner. The material is 54" wide so there are few joints but a bear to work with in small places. Be sure to wear a mask when you are sanding off that old foam and glue mess, cause it is nasty!I also replaced all the dated plywood millwork parts (icebox lid, cabinet doors, etc.) with cabinet grade plywood and laminated the inside surfaces with white formica, and the exposed side with a coordinating mottled blue laminate to match one of the colors from the cushion material. Margaret picked out the colors of course. I edged the laminated pieces with a 1/4" roundover bit on the router and finishd the exposed edge with 4 coats of spar varnish. This is a pretty inexpensive way to edge new millwork in the boat. What looks like scratches in the face of the blue is the pull-off protective film that comes on most laminate when you order from wholesalers. I left it on thru the finishing process which should speed up cleaning off any varnish.The head liner is the original gelcoat finished liner and looks brand new still. I wet sanded and then buffed out with rubbing compound some of the hull liner around the molded in sink and icebox to brighten them up a bit. This got out some minor scratches.There is not much storage on a 20' boat. There is a dead spot at the aft end of the port qtr berth that I plan to finish off and make usable for overflow items.It appears forward end of the cockpit and cuddy bulkhead have settled some over the 30 some years. I plan to install some partial panels under the cockpit floor to bear it off the keel area.I also have to replace thea plywood floor in the battery storage area in the starboard cockpit locker (the only one). I will cover this new plywood with epoxy and glass so accidental water can't get to it.We will start painting the top of the boat when we return next week from the Tuscaloosa regatta.Jim