Just finished our new interior cabin cushions!

[jrowan]

Our refit of the interior 1980 C-30 is really coming along. We finally installed the new interior main cabin cushions. I have to give my wife Stephanie all the credit, but it helps to buy a new sewing machine as an incentive. Not having to sleep on 30 year old cushions is also a plus! Our back rest cushions were missing, so these were totally made from scratch.
New fabric really tranforms the cabin - feels like a new boat down below.
I also installed a teak shelf with fiddles on top of the fridge, as our stove has already been removed. I also placed a cutting board over the right sink to increase the counter space. Still working on a new table to replace the dinky cocktail table we inherited from the P.O. Anyone else with a U shaped setee know their table perimeter measurements?

 

[Old Skool Neil]

Your refit is coming along very nicely and the new cushions give the boat a completely new personality. This is one of those milestones where you sit back for a moment and take it all in. Feels good, eh?

Regarding a new table, are you planning on having the dinette double as a berth as well? If so, the table dimensions are already determined by the seat furniture where it has to fit. If not, you can make it anything you want. I've seen some gorgeous elliptical tables.

 

[shipwreck66]

Awesome work. We started the redo last year, immediately found the old cushions to be the source of that "moldy" smell and I cut new foam, what a difference.

 

[jrowan]

Thanks! Here are some cabin before pics to compare -

Yeah, unless you pay a ton of bucks for closed cell foam for the cushions, of which catalina uses the standard open foam, it just acts like a sponge for humidity, moisture and smells. Eventually U just have to replace it if U want to get rid of the majority of smells aboard. Although the bilge is also a big culprit. My boat always has about 1 1/2 inches of water sloshing around down there, and it gets funky after a while. I wish they made a bilge pump that would pump it dry! I've sponged it out before, only to find that as soon as they shaft seal starts dripping or it rains, the bilge will always be wet. I also recently found the source of a minor diesel drip leak on the Universal. Catalina or the P.O. used a piece of wire to clamp the small fuel line going from the filter back to the engine. Of course it leaked. Amazing how a few drops of diesel can produce a strong and persistent odor. Fixing leaks is always a priority. But it's nice to enjoy something new & shiny looking in the cabin for a change! Attached are some before pics - the P.O. used some funky looking green & yellow striped regular fabric - I always use Sunbrella - it lasts & anything other than a nautical blue color for a cabin is a sin in my eye.

 

[jrowan]

Neil, I measured the opening perimeter to be about 30" x 32" - I have a plank that is a lil' bigger than that so there is some overlap until a cut it to fit. At least Catalina allows the table pedestal to be removed. It would have been nice to have used an adjustable heigth post - I thought about using one of those adjustable shocks for a cockpit chair - Like the ones the fishing boats use. I would love to make something fancy to decorate the table top - like a nautical compass rose veneer in wood overlay, but I'm not very good with varnish. Maybe I'll try to spray gloss varnish on it for a smoother finish. Any suggestions on applying finish for that wet glass look?

 

[Old Skool Neil]

A compass rose isn't all that difficult to do. Check out these guys:
http://inlays.com/compass_roses_inlay.asp

As far as finishing, some guys can swing a brush but I'm not one of them. I've always sprayed for the best result and varnish sprays beautifully. However, varnish remains too soft and rubbery to last as a table or counter finish. It won't stand up to use very long. I'd consider a polyurethane instead. They also spray well, have excellent gloss and are a hard finish.

 

[jimmcgee]

Nothing makes the boat look and feel as good as a new interior. The money we invested in ours is some of the best boat bucks we've spend so far.

For me a practical table finish is a wipe on poly. There are several brands you can get at the home improvement stores. What I like about the wipe ons is that it's easy to touch up any scratches later on. If you want the hardshell wet look finish try these guys www.woodcraft.com.

They stock all kinds of wood finishing products and the guys in their stores are pretty knowledgeable.

Google "inlay" and "marquetry" and you'll find an endless variety of premade patterns and artwork. Just sit down when it comes to the price on some of this stuff

Jim

 

[Twice Around]

Looking good! I still have the original 1976 blue plaid..it is on the list of things to replace.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Good job!!!!! It looks like a professional job.

 

[jrowan]

Thanks, The seams don't line up perfectly but it looks pretty darn good to me. I got a good deal on the Sunbrella type outdoor fabric from Wallmart of all places - some of 'em still sell fabric. But know I know why it was so cheap - I bought two different bolts of the same fabrric pattern from different stores, only to find out that the stripes have about 1 mm difference in width! It threw off lining up some of the seams perfectly. but c'est la vie. Still looks a lot better than 30 year old cushions. You can sew your own for cheap - my costs for materials were under $200 bucks. A lot better than 2k or more that "the pros" want! It was the best monet spent by far, other than the bottom job. A dirty bottom = slow sailboat. Cheers, Jeremy

 

[dspellman]

1977 c30 masthead sheaves

Is there anyplace to get an exploded view of the masthead and sheave assembly?

 

[DanM]

Jeremy,

Did you replace foam and material for under $200.00 for the whole boat, quarter berth, v-berth and cabin? I need to look at our local Wal-Mart I guess, I've never thought to see if they carry Sunbrella Furniture Fabric.

Take care, DanM.

 

[shipwreck66]

My wife picked up a whole bolt of striped Sunbrella on sale at a local fabric store, wasn't cheap, but sometimes it's nice to change from standard blue and white. PO on our boat actually just folded vinyl over old vinyl and hand stitched. We got the rear cockpit cushion done, now gotta do the two long ones or just order new ones from Catalina Direct with plain ol white vinyl. They only list cushions for C22 but I checked last weekend and they are same width as mine. Avalon, your bilge sounds like mine, I leave a sheet of that bilge cloth in there to soak up the oil and gunk before any gets to the pump. I gave up trying to stop the drip, although I will repack the stuffing box while I get a bottom job later this year.

 

[jrowan]

Dan,
No the bulk of the cushion replacements that we just did are only in the main cabin; that is all the cushions in the U shaped dinette and the starboard long setee. The V berth cushions were still in pretty decent shape - probably recovered around 10 years ago. Unfortunately the P.O. used standard upholstery fabric, which is never recommended as it will grow mildew spotting if it gets wet, which is inevitable. I was lucky that the V berth hasn't leaked at the hatch gasket. I must confess that we reused the foam from the seat cushions, and I just treated it heavily with lysol, febreeze and a good dosing of scotch guard before reusing it. Foam is just so damn expensive these days - as much as the fabric. Walmart sells this Sunbrella type OUTDOOR rated fabric for about $9 bucks a yard. I bought 2 bolts (20 yards) for under $200. We used all stitching, with no zippers (they rust anyway) and used velcro sewn to the backing to secure. I found out the hard way that the sticky back velcro won't stick to fabric - especially after a heavy dose of scotch guard waterproofing applied! The old snap type closures had already been removed in the back rests.

 

[DanM]

Thanks Jeremy, I'll take a look at it next time I'm there.

DanM.