Redoing the interior of 1976 Catalina 27

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Aug 13, 2012
1
Catalina 27 Chesapeake Bay
Hi!
We have just acquired a 1976 Catalina 27 in pretty rough condition, and I need a little guidance about refinishing the interior and exterior. First of all, what kind of wood was used on Catalina interiors at that time? I bought something called TeakBright, thinking it was teak, but now I'm not sure whether I should use it or not. Also, we don't want to repaint the hull, and I am wondering if anyone has any experience restoring it with something called PoliGlow? Or should we just wax/compound it? We used to get good results on our (brand-new) Tartan Ten with compounding, but ~
 
Jul 1, 2012
155
Catalina C22 Georgetown
I can't bit much help on the interior, but as for the hull, I can assure you no compound will restore it as well as a good wet sanding. My 84 C22 was in rough shape from years of Texas sun and oxidation. I tried just about every polish and fine grit compound West Marine sells and nothing came close to when I finally rolled up my sleeves and went over it with some 600 grit sand paper.
 
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Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Waxing the hull http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=117266

I'd do that before I painted anything on the hull.

Interior teak: It is a very, very, very thin veneer. Do not sand it. Teak Brightner is only, as far as I'm concerned, good for exterior teak. Read the label, IIRC, it needs tons of water to clean it off. For the inside, cleaning and then using either teak oil or lemon oil has worked for generations of Catalina owners.

Good luck.
 
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Feb 26, 2008
603
Catalina 30 Marathon, FL
Well the boat is a '74 so there's no telling what previous owners have done. Take a good look at the woodwork and figure out if it's oiled teak or if somewhere along the line someone top coated with polyurethane.
 

caguy

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Sep 22, 2006
4,004
Catalina, Luger C-27, Adventure 30 Marina del Rey
There was a C27 recently featured where the owner painted the interior white. It looked pretty good, in the photos anyway.
 

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
The bulkheads and a few other surfaces were teak veneer over plywood..... it won't freshen up as well as the cabinetry.. which is solid teak. You can pretty much use any wood conditioner for the inside..... I have used orange oil.. as long as it doesn't get any direct sunlight... I wouldn't sand unless there is absolutely some reason you want too.. clean and oil will work.

As far as exterior....... Oxidation is normally the biggest issue and that can be easily removed by basic marine wax and a buffer. Poliglow is pretty tedious (and expensive) and you might have an easier time of it if the boat is hauled..... other wise try some high quality wax... I've had luck with 3m marine polish.... or go to the link mentioned by Stu .... a real professional's method.
 
Mar 19, 2011
225
Catalina C25 Eagle Mountain Lake
I have a C25...our woodwork is not all that different. As Joe said, really only the bulkheads and a couple trim pieces are veneer. The rest of it is solid teak and can be quite beautiful when restored.

My teak was badly neglected....stained...it was really sad to see such beautiful wood in that condition. I've now redone almost all of my interior teak. I only have a few pieces left and my interior will be done. The bulkheads being one of "the few" needing refinishing.

I sanded it down to fresh wood, then used Minwax Helmsman Spar, sanding with wet 400 between coats.

Here's my companionway ladder before refinishing:



This is my companionway ladder after a good sanding and refinishing:



The other pieces have turned out in similar fashion. Teak is a soft, easy wood to work with (like mahogany) and can produce beautiful results. With enough dedication and time, your C27 interior can be a true thing of beauty.
 
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Jul 13, 2012
1
Catalina 27 Mayne Island
70's Catalina 27 Wiring Information -- Etc...

Hi all
We are relatively new owners of a mid 70s Catalina 27. We need to sass out our non functioning wiring system...Does anyone have a wiring diagram or suggestions about finding one?
And we need to redo our deck....a previous owner used some non skid paint which has cracked and looks awful. We want to take it off and redo...not sure where to start.
Thanks for all the tips about interior teak. Those companionway steps are a beauty to behold...am inspired to do ours again.
Thanks everyone and happy sailing.:)
Thomi and John Glover on "Take Time" in the Gulf Islands of BC.
 
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weinie

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Sep 6, 2010
1,297
Jeanneau 349 port washington, ny
Joe,
You are going on my sh-t list! Now every time I go down my ladder I'm going to wonder if I should redo mine to be as beautiful as yours!!!:)
 
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Mar 19, 2011
225
Catalina C25 Eagle Mountain Lake
:) Thanks!

I got a piece of teak and cut those step pads. I sanded the edges to round them, then used brass screws with collars to attach them. I left them raw to age and color naturally. When they wear or need replacement, I can just unscrew them and put new ones down.

Much better (IMHO) than sticking on some ugly vinyl stuff that was there before, or some sandpaper type grip pad.
 
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Aug 3, 2009
109
Catalina 30 great neck, ny
Joe: I just viewed your companion way ladder and it is beautiful. I have left my interior without varnish and with periodic oiling it looks really good but I think that I might try to duplicate your finish. The only question that I have has to do with the slippery nature of the steps. I have fallen so many times rushing to the cabin that I cannot understand why I can stiill stand. I did put slip resistent strips on the steps and it helped enormously. Does your method prevent slipping?
 
Mar 19, 2011
225
Catalina C25 Eagle Mountain Lake
Oh yeah. That raw teak pad has plenty of grip, even barefoot. The flooring of the cabin and cockpit are much more slippery than the step pads.
 

jrowan

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Mar 5, 2011
1,294
O'Day 35 Severn River, Mobjack Bay, Va.
I actually kinda like the sandpaper stuff just for use on the center of the cabin stair treads.
It may not be beautiful but gives unequalled grip underfoot which is more important then aesthetics. Especially when wet those steps can be a back breaker if you slip down the companionway. Ouch.
 
Dec 11, 2008
1,338
catalina C27 stillwater
D&B

Poliglow is not much different than Future floor finish, FYI. I have seen good results, but I have seen bad results. As with many things, it is all in the prep, and if you are going to the pains to prep for a good Poliglow job, you are a long way down the path towards a proper polish and wax. I vote for polish and wax, as you are restoring the underlying gel coat as opposed to putting a shiny cover over faded and oxidized gel coat.

My exposure to the restoring of wood boats tell me the hard wood in the interior is a wood that could/might be called mahogany. Lots of times you don't get mahogany though, as Chris Craft had a wood called Philipine Mahogany that was actually another species. I am fairly certain from the restoration/rebuild of my '75 Catalina 27 that the interior is not teak. Teak tends to be reserved for exterior surfaces. Unfinished raw clean teak has a light color to it, kind of a goldenrod color, not brown like oak, but not red like cedar or redwood. If you look at a clean sanded un-stained hunk of solid wood from your interior you will find it has a pinkish brown color more in line with luan, the unfinished plywood material found on many hollow-core doors. Luan and mahogany are very similar in color when found in natural un-finished un-exposed condition.


As was mentioned by Stu above, the large flat panels on the interior are PLYWOOD. I am now farily convinced the top layer in these older boats is a paper-based "picture-printed" layer; the UV exposure has killed the red in the pigment leaving a tan/grey/yellow surface on the plywood surfaces. DO NOT SAND these as you will "erase" the grain exposing the plain yellow "paper" under the picture. That being said, ironically the top layer will accept stain, so I have stained part of my interior's large flat panels to blend with and match the stained and varnished real wood.

To see some of the interior restoration and modification I have done on my '75, take a look at the forum thread here: http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=123450

BTW, my solution on the stair treads was to wrap them in carpet as shown here. I patterned the floor in the interior and had custom carpet made. The tread carpet pieces snap on.

I will get to refinishing them sometime, but it will be either after I get the rest of the boat ready to go in the water, or after I get the boat in the water... Water is a separate issue in parts 'round herer lately....
 

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Mar 19, 2011
225
Catalina C25 Eagle Mountain Lake
My interior wood is most certainly teak. I've worked with alot of mahogany and it has a telltale grain pattern, especially the end grain.

Upon sanding to new, clean wood, it is very light in color. The Helmsman Spar makes a drastic color change. Here's my ladder after sanding, before applying varnish:



The larger, plywood panels do not have photo paper top layers. The 1/2" marine grade teak plywood has a very thin, 1/8" layer of finish grade teak. I know. I measured it before sanding.

Here's the bulkhead piece between the galley and port settee before:



And after sanding and refinishing:



The exception to this has been the decorative piece up in the nose of the v-berth. It is extremely thin...I mean like paper thin. It was very difficult to sand and clean without sanding through it.
 
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Dec 11, 2008
1,338
catalina C27 stillwater
Joe, looking at your pictures I totally agree with your statements regarding materials. Your ladder looks like teak as I know it... I know mine isn't. Weird. What year are you?

BEAUTIFUL work by the way! :) The finished ladder looks AWESOME!


DAMN, I wish my plywood loked like yours! It is quite obvious yours is wood. I wish you could see the old plywood in my galley; if you saw it in person you would agree it is NOT veneer!!!! See attached poor pic of the galley when I first ripped it out.

I have to believe based on ladder design and a few other clues that you have a newer boat, maybe an '86 or newer. that might explain it... I know that the material differences were huge between my '77 C22 and '87 C22.

Based on the fact that the OP's boat is a '76, my hunch is that it is probable that they are dealing with the older materials and poor interior finished plywood like miy '75 had/has
 

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Mar 19, 2011
225
Catalina C25 Eagle Mountain Lake
Mine is an '82 Phil.....some parts were interchangeable between models. The small door below my v-berth, to access the fresh water seacock, had a "C-30" stamped on the back of it....

Maybe some of the early/mid 70's models had different materials....quite obviously they did as you can certainly identify what they are.

Curious though....maybe early model owners complained, or they had some issues...and made some changes?
 
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