Edging around stowage openings

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Sanlen
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Edging around stowage openings

Post by Sanlen »

Happy New Year! First post for 2014 :D

The restoration of the interior is making some progress. I've ordered all plywood and paint and am now examining other parts and bits.
The old edging in chromed plastic around the stowage openings are in bad shape and I also think they look very cheap. I don't want to reuse them and am looking at other options. One is to simply make a lid for every stowage opening. Other ideas anyone?
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Best regards,
Jan
#547 Sanlen
Owner since 1993
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prjacobs
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Re: Edging around stowage openings

Post by prjacobs »

Hi Jan,
I had a similar problem ... not too sure what to do. I cut out the new openings and rounded the plywood inside and out with a small router bit (but you could sand it just as easily) and coated the edge grain of the plywood with several coats of varnish.
My thoughts were that if it didn't look good in the future i could make wood moldings to go around the hole, but that would be a lot of work. So far I'm happy with the way they are, and it was easy.

Your wood looks to be in good condition. You could remove the plastic edging, fill any holes, and sand and varnish. That's what I did on my Albin Vega, and it worked well.

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Sanlen
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Re: Edging around stowage openings

Post by Sanlen »

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your reply. I have considered doing exactly the same as you but am concerned about the veneer. With the edge exposed (although sealed with varnish) I'm afraid of chipping the veneer pulling out whatever is stowed, especially when sailing in open sea.
I suppose you haven't had any problems with this?

I have also looked at pre-fabricated mahogany trim (u-shaped) that can be glued over the edges. With 10 openings it gets quite expensive - about 500€. I need to make a decision before sanding down the edges....

The picture was taken 10 years ago. Since then she's been sitting on the hard, well covered. Sadly the wood has deteriorated somewhat, probably because of temperature variations and damp weather, so it is a full restoration, only reusing the bulheads and some minor bits (drawers etc.).
Best regards,
Jan
#547 Sanlen
Owner since 1993
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prjacobs
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Re: Edging around stowage openings

Post by prjacobs »

You could soak the edges with unthickened epoxy, maybe 2 coats. You'd have to mask it off so as not to saturate the face. That would give a very durable edge. If you're replacing panels it should be easier to do when they are flat on the work bench. You could even embed a strip of light weight fiberglass cloth around the edge, sanding it flush after it sets. It becomes invisible when it sets up.
Bob McGovern
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Location: Wyoming, USA

Re: Edging around stowage openings

Post by Bob McGovern »

Rounding over or chamfering the openings (both faces) before varnishing or epoxying will protect the face veneer from snags. Varnish will (with enough coats) seal the exposed edges; epoxy will actually plasticize the wood fibers, improving them structurally. As Peter notes, a strip of light weight glass fabric or tape would be invisible if fully wetted out.

You can buy a bendable edge channel slightly less ugly than the original metal product:

http://www.trimlok.com/prod/Rubber-Lok/ ... ok_81.aspx

Many new boats are delivered with TrimLok edge channel. It is quick and easy and can be removed if/when you want to try something fancier. TrimLok has products for every application.

For a wood trim, you might find a local woodshop that will make corner pieces and straight runs for you. They may be cheaper than catalog teak. Access to a pin router makes the job faster and less scary; as a cabinetmaker, tooling small parts is one of the most dangerous things I do. And you can spend more time building jigs, templates, and safety devices than actually running the parts! That's why they are so expensive. A retired or hobby woodworker might make them less expensively than a busy professional shop.

Do you have access to certain tools, like a tablesaw or router? There are a few trim solutions you could do with simple tools, fairly safely. The easiest is to buy or make a bunch of angle (L-shape) trim; square your openings, and glue the angle onto the outside face like a picture frame. You can plane or sand away any overhang on the inside face. You lose the rounded corners, but this is the quickest approach. If you want to complicate matters a little, you could make angle with the short leg half the ply thickness, then aplly one 'frame' on each face of the ply, gluing the seam where they meet. Or, if you really want to get fancy, you can make two 'frames' out of flat material, perhaps 1cm thick. Miter the corners & round them to match the corner radius but make the inside cutout slightly smaller than the plywood opening. Glue one frame to each face of the plywood so the frames form a channel, then fill this channel with epoxy (Six10 is perfect for this.) Very strong & maintains the rounded opening. I'll post drawings of the three methods later today. All can be done with simple tools.
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Sanlen
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Re: Edging around stowage openings

Post by Sanlen »

Great advice Peter and Bob! I'll definitely try the epoxi and glas fabric - seems like a good permanent solution without to much work.
Bob McGovern wrote:You can buy a bendable edge channel slightly less ugly than the original metal product:

http://www.trimlok.com/prod/Rubber-Lok/ ... ok_81.aspx
I've had that on some motorboats for edging fiberglass panels. If I fail with the epoxi and glas fabric this might be a solution. I do have some experience though in working with polyester/epoxi and fiberglass - I have previously reinforced Sanlens keel construction below the flooring and under the maststep and also remade some of the tabbing for the bulkheads.
Bob McGovern wrote:Do you have access to certain tools, like a tablesaw or router?
I often end up buying tools - maybe it's time for more :D
Best regards,
Jan
#547 Sanlen
Owner since 1993
Bob McGovern
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 3:08 am
Location: Wyoming, USA

Re: Edging around stowage openings

Post by Bob McGovern »

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Here are some (relatively) easy methods of trimming out an opening. 'Easy' compared to making radiused corner channel! Many solutions; which one I chose would depend on time and tools availability.:)
I have previously reinforced Sanlens keel construction below the flooring and under the maststep and also remade some of the tabbing for the bulkheads.
Reeee-alllyyy.;) That is good to know, Jan. Because it appears a previous owner of Fionn hit something hard with the keel, and the aft keel-to-hull transition was sloppily repaired. Also, the cabin sole is soft at the bottom of the stairs, and the foam under the floor has gotten nasty. So I will be pestering you for advice when summer comes!:) (Now if only I could get the mast step bolts loose....)
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Sanlen
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Re: Edging around stowage openings

Post by Sanlen »

Bob McGovern wrote:Here are some (relatively) easy methods of trimming out an opening. 'Easy' compared to making radiused corner channel! Many solutions; which one I chose would depend on time and tools availability.:)
Now you really gave me a headache :lol: Great drawings, I'll keep them for upcoming projects :D
Bob McGovern wrote:Reeee-alllyyy.;) That is good to know, Jan. Because it appears a previous owner of Fionn hit something hard with the keel, and the aft keel-to-hull transition was sloppily repaired. Also, the cabin sole is soft at the bottom of the stairs, and the foam under the floor has gotten nasty.
It was about the same with Sanlen except the soft flooring. I also found out thát the fiberglass on the outside of the lead keel had delaminated from the lead (you can hear this if you knock on the keel) so I had to cut away all fiberglass on each side of the lead and rebuild it. Now she is solid as a rock.
Bob McGovern wrote:So I will be pestering you for advice when summer comes!:)
Your welcome (I have been warned :D )!
Bob McGovern wrote:(Now if only I could get the mast step bolts loose....)
I had the same problem and finally gave up. All work had to be done from underneath. Later on I discovered that the base of the mast step is made of a mix of sand and polyester (a kind of plastic concrete), very hard to work on :evil:
Best regards,
Jan
#547 Sanlen
Owner since 1993
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