Ready for Teak Veneer

We've been working on finishing off all the details necessary before veneer. This includes drawer guides and door hinges and stays. We also have faired and primed the interior of all the cabinets and spaces behind the dinette. Below is a shot thru the head doorway of the shower stall which has been glassed and faired and painted with Awlgrip.

We have also made the panels for the dinette seat cushions. These are try-cell panels glued to the right curve in place and fit with just the right amount of clearance for the upholstery. Then the edges are routed out and packed with thickened epoxy. Then they are coated with epoxy and sent off to be upholstered in really nice soft leather.

This photo shows most of the galley doors and drawers in place.

Below we have started sanding the cabinet faces to insure that everything is completely flat and smooth. We use black spray paint as a sanding guide and fill any low spots or small dents with epoxy.

This shot shows blocking let into the bulkhead to support the TV The TV will be a flat screen mounted in a teak frame that can be rotated out to a fore and aft orientation for better viewing from the dinette or latched up against the bulkhead for security while at sea and for better viewing from the bunk. The tall inboard block is for a piano hinge, the center block is for one end of a gas strut and the outboard block is to provide a mounting location for the latch.

The next several photos show a technique for butting sheets of veneer together that has worked well for us. We first fit the edges we want to joint with a small block plane and a sanding block to ensure a tight seam. Then we hold the two pieces tightly together with blue masking tape.

This method works equally well with wood backed or paper backed veneer. Here we have paper back veneer and we are flexing the seam open for visibility. What we do is to flex the seam open ever so slightly and apply medium viscosity super glue into the seam, then wipe off the excess and while rubbing the seam with a veneering block, spray the super glue with it's accelerator.

This is what it looks like when were done. You have to have a very smooth work surface for this as you need to sand both sides with a hard block and any bumps in your table can quickly result in a hole.


As seen below the result is very nice. The seam is all but invisible and smooth to the touch.

The pen is on the seam. You can click on these photos for a closer.

We start veneering with the smaller less visible areas first and work our way up to the larger more visible ones as we get more into the groove. We are not joining the veneer on the foot well face because the piece is also the front of the drawers and it would be VERY difficult to get it lined up at one end and have it come out right at the other end 10' away. So these are joined in place.

Below we have veneered the forward side of the bulkhead and the hanging lockers. Thru the hanging lockers you can see the aromatic red cedar closet lining on the inside of the hanging lockers.

The next two photos show the forward side of the bulkhead. We apply a thinned out coat of varnish on the veneer the same day that we apply it. This helps seal the veneer and provides a little protection.

More Cabinet Doors and Drawers

Reviewing my last blog post I realized that a whole section of photos were left out, so here they are. Here you can see the blocking for the galley drawer guides and the primer on the inside of the cabinets.
These are the curved panels that will be the structure of the seat backs for the dinette. They were kerffed and then glued up by screwing in place.

This black hole is where the reefer/freezer drawers will be.

These doors are for the cubby cabinets out board of the galley face and under the side deck.

On the left are the galley drawers. Top right is the pocket door where the microwave will live and below is storage.

Hanging locker doors. All of the doors and drawers are fit into place using small wooden spacers

to maintain an equal spacing everywhere and allow enough room for varnish.

This photo shows the aromatic red cedar closet lining and the blocks for the hanging locker hinges.

Here Pasqual is routing the dovetails in the drawer parts. Where are his ear plugs???The drawers are also made of red cedar.

Lots and lots of drawers.

Here the galley drawers are installed, as is the pocket door for the microwave.

There are two drawers under each end of the dinette as well.

The next two photos show a bank of small drawers right next to the main entry. The plywood across the entry is to hold the interior assembly together during transport and installation and will then be cut out in place.

Fitting doors and drawers

We have neglected this project for several months. First we had our Tiki 30 to get ready for the Wooden Boat Show in Mystic. Then Liberty yachts had us put a bunch of exterior teak on their new 45' walk around fishing boat and then we had a very large teak deck job on a 190' super yacht at Bay Ship & Yacht in the San Francisco bay to complete. But now we are back on this project "con gusto".When we started this interior we really poured the coal on and the builder has been delayed waiting for the motors so we are still on schedule. The next steps are to fit all of the door and drawer faces into the holes. Here is the galley with its' cubby compartments out board and cabinets underneath.

This photo is of the base for the dinette table.The table leg is a piece of 6" pvc that will be veneered and permanently attached to the table top. The aluminum angles below the hole are for a bolt to go through the bottom of the leg to secure the table while permitting removal for refinishing.

The doors below the sink.

Here you can see the port side hanging locker and the doors fitted into the face. Also visible is the fairing on the tri-cell.Everything is faired before we veneer.

These are the drawer faces fit in the aft end of the bunk.

Installing More Tri-cell Edging

Every cut edge of the Tri-cell panels used in the interior construction have to receive a wood or filled-epoxy edge treatment. All the openings that are visible in the finished interior, or that will be fitted with doors or drawers, are trimmed in teak, as shown in the previous post. The photo below shows the teak casing that is used to trim the top edges of the Tri-cell panels in the V-berth. These are visible when the bed is lifted for access to the compartments below.

There are also exposed top edges in the vertical panels that make up the dinette. The newly installed teak edging can be seen in the photo below.

This is the small hanging locker forward of the dinette, also showing the teak edge casing we've just installed. The two horizontal sticks of wood shown in the opening are actually wedges pushed into place to hold the casing firmly while the epoxy sets.

In this view looking into the compartments below the V-berth, you can see we have cut three new openings in the forward most bulkhead to allow easy access to this storage space. The edges of these two triangular openings and the one central rectangular one, are filled with epoxy, rather than teak, as all this area will get painted. Just aft of this bulkhead with the openings, you can see two shelves, port and starboard, to improve the organization of this storage area.

Trimming Tri-cell Edges

This first photo shows the complete table pedestal assembly mentioned in the previous post. The 6-inch PVC leg will be covered with wood veneer to match the rest of the cabinetry. You can see the access openings through the ring frames at the base. There are two pieces of steel angle on either side of the pedestal tube, drilled for a 1/2-inch through bolt that goes right through the tube and locks the table in place, yet is easily removable when the table is not needed.

This photo looking into the galley shows how we are fitting solid teak filler blocks into all the openings cut into the Tri-cell panels. The core is routed out and the teak block goes a half inch into the edge.

In the galley you can see the tall opening to the left side of the central cabinet that will house a bank of 4 drawers. The microwave fits on the shelf just to the right of these drawers.

This tall opening is also for drawers, and will house five small ones when finished.

Assembly of Components and Priming for Painting

The V-berth is built and has been primed for painting.

Here is the galley area, with a view at the bottom of the cabinets showing the toe-kick area under the cabinet faces. The opening to the right is the refrigerator cabinet with guide rails installed that will insure a snug fit.

This view of the dinette seating area shows the ring frames upon which the foot rest ledge will be built. The ring frames create openings in each side of this landing to allow access to the table pedestal mounting bolts. The hole in the sole between these two ring frames is the receiver for the pedestal, which is made of 6-inch PVC pipe laminated over with veneer.

This view of the foot ledge with the face installed shows the toe kick space beneath on the inboard side.

The small cabinet here with primer inside is located behind the toilet.

This is the vanity cabinet assembled, showing the blocks routed into the outside face to receive the door hinges.

Cabinet Components

Below are the parts that make up the cabinetry in the head compartment. To the right is the cabinet that goes behind the toilet. The unit in the foreground and the tall unit behind it are the two parts of the vanity cabinet, where the sink will be installed. The smaller low piece in the back ground is the riser that fits beneath the vanity to provide a toe-kick space.

This view of the forward part of the dinette shows the cut-out in the seat back to port, where the edge of the table leaf fits in under the seat cushion when not in use. Beyond the dinette, you can see the aft face of the V-berth. The large cut-out in this panel will be fitted with drawers (removable for access to the bow thruster motor through the access panel below).

In this view of the storage space below the V-berth, you can see a perpendicular wooden bracket mounted on the forward side of the bulkhead separating the drawer space from the below bunks storage lockers. This bracket is the mounting location for an electric rack & pinion lift that raises the bed to allow access to this storage space.

Beginning the Interior Fit-Out

This is a view from the outboard side of the galley. You can see that the epoxy fillings at the edges of the bulkheads and shelves where they meet the hull interior have been sanded flush with these surfaces. The solid wood pieces loose on the shelves here are juniper blocks that will be installed at the top of the cubbyhole openings to take the hinges for the doors.

Below is the teak frame for the shower door opening.

This frame will finish out the opening and a shower curtain will be hung from the inside.

In the V-berth area we are installing plywood blocks to take the drawer slides.

These drawers will be fitted in the aft end under the V-berth for convenient storage. Beneath these drawers is access to the bow thruster motor.

In the forward end of the V-berth there is more storage beneath, accessed through lift-out ports. The clamps below are holding the rims upon which these lift out ports rest.