Good Books on Cabinetry

[Ex-Calif]

The interior of Relax Lah is 30 years old. It is a molded pan with veneered marine ply bulkheads, galley etc. most of the construction is 3/8 and maybe 1/2 inch. All pretty much straight line stuff, no complicated compound bending etc.

4 years ago much of the interior plywood was "ratty" - now its downright crappy. To the point where most bulkhead panels and shelves are delaminated. And the latest is a galley drawer that is probably being held together with dirt.

So I googled a bunch of photos of Maxis and there are a few nice restorations and a couple of mods that I might like to incorporate, predominantly removing one bulkhead to "open up" the v- berth area, redesigning the salon table and the major redesign being the galley area that includes the engine box and companionway stairs.

I am a pretty good mechanic but my artisitc and "pretty" skills are near the non-existent level.

I plan to convert a spare bedroom in my apartment to a simple woodshop (please dont tell my LL), fabricate the pieces and assemble on the boat. To this end I am thinking cut a lot of shapes, trial assemble and then "screw and glue" it together on the boat.

I don't really want to win awards but functional, long lasting and not ugly would be good. I am thinking about marine ply faced with formica or something similar. I don't think I have the skills for cedar veneers.

I am interested in recommendations for good, simple, basic cabinetry books that will encourage me that I can do this.

I will post pictures of the current mess soon.

Of course with this kind of thing my mind races forward to, " what about headliner, portlights, rewire the boat, relocate the electric panel etc, etc." I know if I start this I could be in for a world of agro, and yes relocating the electric panel and rewiring are also gonna have to happen - sigh...

[Boracay]

Serious work done inside a boat requires serious planning. Draw diagrams, do sketches, measure and then measure again.

I've never used one of those laser measuring thingos but they could be real useful.

Then when you've got it all planned find a good kitchen workshop and get them to make (and finish) all the bits.

I don't even like working in sawdust. Living in the stuff would be hell.

[hummingway]

I love building stuff but doing it in the spare bedroom ... well lets just say there isn't a dust collection system in the world that makes that a good idea, not to mention the noise.

You'd be better off trying to find a shop that would rent you time. This might also give you access to the kind of tools that make the chore much easier; a large table saw, band saw, cross cut saw of some type, shaper/router and layup table are awfully nice to have available when it comes to cabinetry (not to mention a lot of clamps).

Sounds like fun!

[Blue Stocking]

Fred Bingham, Bruce's father, produced, some years ago, the best book I have ever seen on building jigs and "helper tools".
Can't give you the ISBN # right now, but worth it to look for it.
Used it often when I gutted Bluestocking and built the entirely re-arranged interior.

[Simes]

Fred Bingham's fantastic book is http://www.amazon.com/Boat-Joinery-C.../dp/0070053073 here at Amazon.
It is the best woodworking book I have ever read or used.

Simes

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by Simes

Fred Bingham's fantastic book is Amazon.com: Boat Joinery and Cabinet Making Simplified (9780070053076): Fred Bingham: Books here at Amazon.
It is the best woodworking book I have ever read or used.

Simes

--and in the winter, with a hot toddy, in front of the fire, its a dream book.

[S/V Alchemy]

I have found this, despite its age, a good source of techniques and ideas:

Amazon.com: Yacht Joinery and Fitting (9780877421382): Mike Saunders: Books



Another "ideas" book (although with a much more confined space in mind) is Ferenc Mate's classics of grumpy fitting-out, From a Bare Hull and The Finely Fitted Yacht.

http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Hull-How-Build-Sailboat/dp/0920256317/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323109845&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Finely-Fitted-Yacht-Improvement-Volumes/dp/0920256287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323109887&sr=1-1

I'd probably go for Finely Fitted for your purposes.Beware: Mate is a pretty pompous writer, but his knowledge is worth it.

[Cheechako]

A small bandsaw, portable tablesaw, benchtop beltsander inside the boat are a great way to get the job done quick and right. Making the big pieces outside is good, drawers etc. But when it comes to the finish work, inside the boat is much faster and you can make everything fit better.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

I will post pictures of the current mess soon.

As warned here are some shots of the current configuration. These are about 4 years old and things have deteriorated quite a bit from then.

RL1 - vberth, head, lockers, table, and a shows the shelves formed by longitudinal boards at two levels. Also shows current location of electrical panel that I don't like. An option is to remove the port locker and open up the bulhead to give a more roomy appearance. (See next post.)

This doesn't look like complicated stuff to me.

RL2 - Shows the galley area. I don't like all the multi levels, multi boxes, fiddles and unusable space underneath especially the port quarter. Above there is a hollow that I am thinking could be enclosed for a cabinet. Also extending the galley forward and giving up some salon bench space doesn't bother me either. Figuring out a way to convert the shelves that run along both sides to cabinets or nicer shelves is a desire as well. (See next post for some restoration shots)

RL3 - The engine box. It is a weird design. The little angle on the port side seems intended to improve access to the under galley area but in practice doesn't work well. Also the box doesn't fit well any more and is non insulated - i.e. noisy and leaks. I also think it would be nice if the top of the box were one continuous level with the galley top giving a uniform look.

RL3 - The starboard quarter berth. I would like to build a rolling drawer so I can store stuff here and easily get access to it. Above the drawer build the electrical panel with maybe a pull out or fold down nav table. No one will ever sleep in the quarter berth and it can be much better utilized space.


The boat is small and smart use of the space can be important. In 1980 this was advertised as a 5-person boat and I have brochures of a happy swedish family enjoying the boat. The reality is that if more than 3 people spend a weekend aboard they better be really friendly - LOL. So plan the boat for 2 sleepers and maybe 1 weekend vistor.

In terms of turning my bedroom into a woodshop. Yes I get that's not ideal. I'd like to think I can work with jig saws and orbital sanders most of the time. Belt sanders, band saws and circular saws are not in the cards. An option wold be to have major cuts done outside and finished at home.

And many thanks for the book recommendations. Excellent with Christmas coming and all. I have already found some plan views of my boat and have made some blanks for sketching. I am sure like all things planning is as important as executing.

[Ex-Calif]

Here are 3 pretty good restoration shots.

Restored 1 - Shows how nice a straight restore can look just using the old plan. Not a fan of the fabrics but what the heck.

Restored 2 - Shows the port bulkhead removal idea. I'm considering taking even more of the bulkhead out if not all of it. It's totally non structural. To make the centerline mounted head work still I think a curtain on a curved track or an accordion screen/door would be needed to restore the limited privacy the head has. I saw one shot of a mod to get the head in the port locker area. This doesn't seem to provide much utility as there is no increased privacy and your feet will be where the current head is anyway, making the space still unusable.

This also shows the v-berth well. I have seen a cabinet built up front behind the chain locker for storage as well.

Restored 3 - Another OK restoration - This one shows how the shelf along the side converted into cabinets and he added what looks like a chart storage shelf. On the port side you can see that maxi "overhung" the galley stove over the setee. This is to make the setee long enough to be called a berth but the area under the galley is useless unless your feet are there for sleeping. Ths is what I mean by extending the galley. Any "3rd" mate that comes aboard after all my plans are incorproated would sleep on the starboard setee as the port setee and quarter berth will be gone.

In no cases have I seen a redesigned galley area. Also in no cases have I seen anyone try to improve the table.

Everyone I know, including me, hates centerline mounted salon tables, even if it folds. Up here the headroom is probably 5'5" and maneuvering around the table is a PITA. I'm stuck with the compression post but I am thinking to do something different with the table. Something along the lines of brackets on the compression post and starboard locker such that a one piece table that does not intrude on the port side of the boat can be "clipped" to the brackets when needed and removable to be stored under the starboard side cushions when not needed. Imagining stainless tongue and groove fittings like how the skippers seat is clipped in on bene's and other transom boarded boats) It would make for a pretty rigid table, especially if tied into the compression post and the starboard bulkhead.

Still in fantasy and dreaming mode for sure...