Inspired by others on this forum, I decided to see what I could do with an aging OEM dinette table that was badly delaminating around the edges with an outdated finish and unnecessary heft.
This is my third sailboat, and though not the largest I have owned, its in the best shape as I found it last Summer in fantastic condition on Lake Saint Clair in Detroit. Its a 1987 "New Design" C22, and the cabin cushions are in such incredible shape that I'm not even having them recovered. This boat was owned by a sailing instructor, then an Engineer, and I am the lucky third owner.
The table was definitely an issue though. I went with a sheet of half-inch birch plywood as others have recommended, and for this woodworking project I wanted to learn inlay banding. About $40 at inlays.com, some new bits for my router and several YouTube videos later, and I had a decent prototype. In a critical step I overloaded the inlay channel with wood glue, however, and had to chalk that one up to the learning process. Back to Menards for another sheet of birch (~$35), another $40 for a narrower band (easier to fit well), a lighter touch with the glue and I had a keeper, by my standards anyway.
For the stain I conducted a few trials on scraps trying to match the bulkhead teak, but ended up with Varathane Gelstain in the Ipswich Pine shade, which worked well with the wood-burning featured in the center. It also seems to coordinate with that 80's khaki and blue plaid. Love it!
The photos were taken today as I test-fitted the finished table at the boat yard, where the sun was low and bright this time of year, so apologies for the image quality. The last image is an indoor closeup of the lettering - its the second verse of "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison.
The birch weighs less than half the original table, and for under a hundred bucks I enjoyed several autumn days of fun, sawdust and occasional cursing among my power tools in the garage. I would consider my woodworking skills and experience in the "average" category, so don't be afraid to take this on if you have basic tools and capability.
This is my third sailboat, and though not the largest I have owned, its in the best shape as I found it last Summer in fantastic condition on Lake Saint Clair in Detroit. Its a 1987 "New Design" C22, and the cabin cushions are in such incredible shape that I'm not even having them recovered. This boat was owned by a sailing instructor, then an Engineer, and I am the lucky third owner.
The table was definitely an issue though. I went with a sheet of half-inch birch plywood as others have recommended, and for this woodworking project I wanted to learn inlay banding. About $40 at inlays.com, some new bits for my router and several YouTube videos later, and I had a decent prototype. In a critical step I overloaded the inlay channel with wood glue, however, and had to chalk that one up to the learning process. Back to Menards for another sheet of birch (~$35), another $40 for a narrower band (easier to fit well), a lighter touch with the glue and I had a keeper, by my standards anyway.
For the stain I conducted a few trials on scraps trying to match the bulkhead teak, but ended up with Varathane Gelstain in the Ipswich Pine shade, which worked well with the wood-burning featured in the center. It also seems to coordinate with that 80's khaki and blue plaid. Love it!
The photos were taken today as I test-fitted the finished table at the boat yard, where the sun was low and bright this time of year, so apologies for the image quality. The last image is an indoor closeup of the lettering - its the second verse of "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison.
The birch weighs less than half the original table, and for under a hundred bucks I enjoyed several autumn days of fun, sawdust and occasional cursing among my power tools in the garage. I would consider my woodworking skills and experience in the "average" category, so don't be afraid to take this on if you have basic tools and capability.
