Renovating the Forward Cabin

The second project on the list for the winter refit was to renovate the forward cabin. This included installing a plywood floor in the anchor locker with a drain overboard, painting, insulating and cladding the entire cabin with timber, giving it a more homely feel.

I have wanted to install a floor in the anchor locker for some time to reduce the amount of water in draining into the bilge from the anchor hawse pipe. I had delayed this project as I knew it would require fairly serious structural work including cutting the forward bulkhead to fit in the plywood floor.

My friend Hannah and I drafted a plan for the inside of the cabin to work out what it was going to look like and how much timber i’d need. After some measuring and a trip to Bunnings to check their timber stock, we got to work removing the anchor chain and warp, and templating the new floor in cardboard.

We had to ensure that the floor was above the water line so that when the drain was drilled in the bow, it was above the water line as to not sink the boat.

After multiple cardboard and MDF templates, dad and I cut two layers of 12mm marine plywood and laminated them together with West System 105 and 205, thickened with 413 microfibre adhesive filler. We then cut the slots in the forward bulkhead to be able to fit the new floor inside the opening of the chain access hatch.

The floor was completely coated back and front in a few layers of resin. We epoxied the floor into the boat after thoroughly sanding and cleaning inside the chain locker. Not a fun job… When fitting the floor, we mixed up lots of small batches of thickened epoxy and used it to fill the gaps between the hull and the chain locker floor. Once the thickened epoxy was tacky, dad laid up a layer of fibreglass over the top, tabbing the floor to the hull. We then replaced the small slots of timber that we had removed from the forward bulkhead to fit the floor.

Once the floor was installed, we sanded the entire forward cabin, removing carpet from the forward and aft bulkheads. Dad removed a strange cupboard door, leading into the heads compartment and filled the hole with a piece of marine ply, glued in with thickened epoxy.

I then finished sanding and began priming and painting the entire forward cabin from the front of the chain locker to the head. I used international Yacht Primer followed by Norglass Weatherfast in white. (This is because no white International Toplac was available in the country)

Once the hull was painted, my electrician friend Bryan helped measure, cut and fasten the 19 40mm/8mm pine slats to each side of the v birth using stainless steel countersunk screws. A tedious task to say the least. Once we’d fit the slats, I took them back to Mum and Dad’s place where bevelled the ends and counter sunk every screw hole.

Dad and I converted our front deck into a varnishing station and preceded to apply 6 coats of Bondall Monocel Gold Marine Gloss Varnish to each side of the 38 timber slats. Another rather tedious task.

While this was happening, we had also templated…. and re-templated… MDF cutouts of both the forward and aft bulkheads, which we subsequently cut out of pine VJ board. The VJ board was then taken back to Mum and Dad’s, sanded and the back coated in a layer of West System Epoxy before 6 coats of varnish were applied to the front.

While the varnishing was going ahead every morning and evening, work continued on the boat with the engine bed replacement and the installation of 10mm closed cell EVA foam insulation.

Bryan and I measured and cut pieces of EVA foam insulation to fit between the vertical frames glassed into the side of the hull inside the forward cabin. We adhered the insulation to the painted hull using Sika contact adhesive. The idea behind the insulation is to regulate the temperature in the bedroom and reduce condensation / mould.

Once the varnishing was complete, we fastened the VJ board to the bulkheads using stainless steel self tapping screws, drilling holes for the wiring of the cabin light and fan. (thanks Jon)

We then fastened the varnished battens back into place along the side of the hull, screwing them to the solid fibreglass vertical frames with very short countersunk self tapping screws. Thank you to Bryan for your help!

The final stages of the project included fitting the latch mechanism and puller to the new anchor locker hatch and fitting the cabin light and fan. We then cut a queen foam mattress topper into the shape of the berth. This makes the rather old vinyl covered mattresses much more comfortable.

The last task was to drill the drain hole for the anchor locker, just above the forefoot. We installed a plastic skin fitting and a stainless cover to hide the hole and reduce the amount of water that enters the locker in big swells. Finally, we installed the chain and rode on top of a rubber outdoor floor mat, allowing the water to run underneath the chain.

This project would not have been possible without the help of my Dad and Bryan who worked tireless to get it finished before I returned to Fremantle. Thank You.

August 23rd 2020 - After living in the renovated cabin for a month now, I can confirm thats its dry, warm and comfortable and I think it a huge improvement over the original finish.