Cover cabintop sides in main cabin with laminate?

cruis-n

Member II
Has anyone considered covering the teak side walls (the ones with the windows) with off-white laminate (formica)? Some friends did that with their Endeavour and it really helped to update the look of the boat. I like the look of the teak but it can begin to feel like a cave because it's so dark.

As an experiment, we installed laminate in the head and shower. It really helped brighten things up in there. Sooooo... we are now considering doing the same thing to the main cabin. Expect we will leave the v-berth alone.

Opinions pro or con?
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
"Living inside a teak tree"

Great minds must think alike. Of course lesser minds may do this too....
:)

I and the Admiral have discussed this same "problem" since we bought our boat in '94. We really do not want to permanently cover up the teak veneer on the inside of the cabin sides, but... we would lilke a more "light" look to the interior. Since the veneer is thin, any kind of glued-on surface must be permanent, IMHO.
So, what to do?
:rolleyes:

We are now thinking of going from a drab, factory-stained oil finish to a bleached natural (golden) teak finish.
We have previously refinished the cabin sole pieces, the table and leaves, and the teak plywood settee backs. In each case we removed the old oil and stain with Teaka A & B. This was followed by carefull sanding. Then 5+ coats of gloss varnish went on. Between the reflectivity of the new surface and the much more golden color of the teak, it is much brighter. Much.
:)

This is still way short of the light reflectivity we could get with an off-white plastic laminate, I admit.
There is a sort of "plan B" we have been mulling over. This would be the system many cruisers use when getting their external teak ready for sun exposure in the south seas. They first do a really good varnish job on it. Then they lightly sand that well-protected surface and over-coat it with light colored paint to keep the UV off while they voyage. Upon return they removed the paint and re-varnish as needed -- with the wood still in excellent condition. I know a sailor at our club that bought an older Islander 41 with all the cap rails painted in this fashion. He said it was easy to sand and scrape off the paint and revarnish. Now it is fully restored and the cap rails look like new.
For the inside off the cabin, this would allow you to have the "Hinkley style" painted surface, and still someday return it (relatively) easily to a varnished surface.

Worth a moment's consideration, IMHO.

Best,

Loren in Portland, OR
Olson 34 #8
 

clayton

Member III
I've noticed on some Pacific Seacraft built Ericsons (later 90's boats) on Yachtworld.com that the cabin sides are done in white material, probably laminate, and also in the aft cabin areas and the head. On our '89 32-200, the head is mostly white laminate with teak trim strips and cabin side. In the main cabin, the P.O. redid the cushions in a light color material, with light color curtains, which helps keep the interior feeling light.
 

Jim Baldwin

Member II
replaced plywood panels

All of those old removable 1/4" Mahogany plywood panels were replaced with 1/4" white plastic sheet on this '73 E27. The plywood, of course became patterns for the new plastic panels. After cutting them out roughly with a jig saw, I stuck the plastic and plywood together with a little hot-melt glue and flush- trimmed the plastic using a router. Counter-sunk SS screws, a new light and a stereo speaker completes the project. Whata ya think? I had re-done and added alot of woodwork to the interior and felt I needed to lighten it up a bit.
 

cruis-n

Member II
Pictures of the head laminate project

Here is a picture of the head after I installed the laminate. I did the shower also but can only attach one picture at a time. It really helps brighten it up.

When I installed it, I removed the top trim strip and the trim around the window. I made a template from poster board and cut the laminate. To install, I smeared around some silicon caulking on the back of the laminate. I used this rather than contact cement in case I ever wanted to remove it. The problem with contact cement is once you place it, you can't adjust it... it's stuck. In this case the angles made a 'perfect placement' the first time nearly impossible. I then installed the top trim strip and window trim ring to hold it in place. I used several long braces (spingy wood slats) to hold the laminate in place while the silicon cured. The next weekend I came back and ran a bead of white silicon around the edges. It holds down the edges, keeps water out, is easy to remove should I decide I don't like it later, and it looks great.

I also took picutres of the main cabin as it is today and with a scrap piece of laminate on one of the sides to see how it would look. I think I'll do the same thing there.
 

cruis-n

Member II
Head picture

Dont' know why the picture didn't post the first time.
 

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