Need pics for new ideas..

CaptDon01 · Jan 17, 2017

We've done a lot of modifications to the interior of our MK-II version. Granted, it's a completely different interior design on the MK-II's We had new quarter berth cushions made, which included matching toppers with 3" memory foam, the V-berth area was converted to luggage storage and a semi enclosed head. This is planned to be up graded to a full marine head set-up like our original C-22 enjoyed. The cabin table was removed from the center of the cabin, and the padded back rests were removed and teak rails installed which gives us added room on the quarter berths. We also installed pleated window covers from "Ship-Shades". I don't have a photo, but the ice cooler/cabin step that came with the boat has been replaced with a Yeti cooler so we don't have to buy ice every day or two. A stereo system was installed with the speakers mounted in the anchor locker interior cover. They really sound AWESOME! We also have a Forespar Mini-Galley that mounts to the compression post. It's fully gimbaled and uses propane canisters. Works wonderful for brewing a pot of coffee or heating up some stew while underway.

She's proven very comfortable for my wife and I to cruise in, and best of all, she'll only sleep two!

Don

Gene Neill · Jan 17, 2017

Like Don, my boat is different from yours so a lot of what I did won't translate directly. But I agree with Don, if you don't sleep in your V berth, lose the cushions and make it bigger and more usable for storage. Paint the locker covers to make it look prettier. (I'm jealous of those double cushions, BTW. Nice.)

But I think the discovery of the year for us in 2016 was our single-burner Iwatani butane stove. You can get the same type stove at Wallyworld for a few bucks less, but Iwatani has a couple advantages - the biggest one being an optional frying pan with legs that nest onto the stovetop so the pan doesn't move around. I can't recommend this stove highly enough:

CaptDon01 · Jan 18, 2017

Gene.......That's exactly why I love the new design boats! Very nice.

Don

CaptDon01 · Jan 18, 2017

Lemon Drop said:
Now that looks nice, and very well organized for cruises and that model has more head room for use of a porta-potty. Did you buy marine memory foam? Thank you for sharing your ideas, I am compiling a list for the firstmate to review as I am trying to get her more interested and involved. Thanks again CaptDon.

Mike

Mike, one thing we really liked on our original C-22 ,(which was the same version as your boat), was the full marine head. It fit in the space for the porta-potty under the V-berth and we had a 12 gallon bladder holding tank under the V-berth. It was nice to go out with our two girls for a week and not have to worry about dumping a porta-potty. There is plenty of headroom in that location. Also, on the original version, get rid of the slide-out galley if you have one. Huge waste of space, and a lot of excess weight. I tried to improve mine, and in my opinion, it was a waste of time and money. Our MK-II came with the optional factory slide out galley. We quickly removed it, and it's sitting in the garage attic where it belongs.

On our Capri-18 we used a milk crate with a plywood top to store a single burner butane stove, a dish pan for washing, a small frying pan, and a medium sauce pan, and a Rubbermaid container for other galley stuff. We use paper plate and plastic spoons and forks to limit washing. The Admiral will really appreciate that. It will also fit nicely in the cockpit as a small work table. We also carry a small plastic folding camping table that works great in the cockpit. Just another idea that's easily adaptable to a C-22.

Another thing we had on both our Capri-18 and our MK-II is the gimbaled Forespar Mini Galley. Both Forespar and Force-10 made nice propane stoves, but have discontinued. As shown in the photo, I made a plywood mount for it to fit in the companionway on our Capri-18. It could be used either in the cockpit, or the cabin. It fits in a mount on the compression post on our MK-II. They occasionally pop up on eBay, but are quickly purchased.

Don

Gene Neill · Jan 18, 2017

Thanks Don. My only hope is, that when I finally get a firsthand look at a MkII, I don't forever want one afterward. It suuure does look roomy!

@Lemon Drop ... check out @dgreen1991 's media page: http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?media/users/dgreen1991.118480/ He did more amazing mods for your style C22 than anyone I've ever seen. Just one example:

Brian D · Jan 18, 2017

One thing that might work, or it might not. Although my boat is 27', I do have more room below, but still space is a premium. I had a VHF taking up space that could be used a little more effeiciently. So I built a small box to fit the VHF, a GPS (for DSC) and a SSB HF radio (optional obviously). But the point being, I incorporated all these into one unit. This unit was able to be moved, relocated, or removed completely by undoing one bolt, two antenna cables, and the single connection point to the battery.

Something like this might work on your vessel.

This is how the power is connected. GPS is wired to the radio from the terminal strip on the far left. Next to it and the SSB HF is the NEG strip. The POS is along the leading edge. Current shunt on the far right. On the facing panel is a terminal strip and above it digital Volt/Current meter.

CaptDon01 · Jan 19, 2017

Mike,

Those butane stoves can be purchased at many places, and on line. I purchased several stainless steel models at Costco a couple years ago for $26. each. Kept one for myself, and sold the rest on eBay for $50. each. If you have an asian market near you, they normally sell them also.

Don

Mike Kegley · Jan 19, 2017

Hey there Lemon Drop, sounds like a fun project. I took on restoring a 1976 Catalina 22 last winter and loved every minute of it. I stripped her down to just the shell and went from there. I decided to repaint the inside including the bulkheads and compression post and it really brightened up the interior. I did most of my accessory shopping on Amazon so will post some links to the items I used. I'll try to dig up some additional pictures if your interested. They are all just memories now as I just sold her a month ago.

After rewiring what wasn't embedded into the hull I installed a modern 6 gang switch/breaker panel in the original mounting location. The opening only had to be enlarged slightly. Just to the left I added two power meters that were tied to the battery, monitoring output to equipment onboard and charging input from the solar panel and outboard. I installed an additional thru hull connector next to the mast and installed a 50w solar panel on the front hatch using Velcro extreme. It was removed and stored under the v-berth cushions when underway This did a great job at keeping the Group 31 battery topped up supporting the boats meager power needs. On weekend trips we never even got close to running the battery down.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W6JBUZW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017TPHTLG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018ICLC3K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
These little guys came in handy when running new wiring inside the cabin.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L16ZYU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Light upgrade was one of my favorites. The indent running around the perimeter of the Catalina cabin where the hull and deck are joined is perfect for recessing inexpensive LED strip lighting. I also replaced the original stock cabin lights with upgraded models. It took two of the 16ft strips to run the entire perimeter of the cabin, including the v-berth. Each side is controlled by a separate dimmer.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00713R2ZK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0105KS4CU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Even though I also restored the sliding galley, I never used it a single time and it took up valuable space. As someone already posted, the butane stoves are awesome. We used ours on the cabin table.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QUT3AU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001D7FYCI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also do yourself a favor and vent your fuel tank through the stern and route your fuel line through there as well. To vent the tank I drilled a hole in the tank cap and screwed a brass nipple into it with a little RTV on the threads and plumbed it over to the thru hull vent.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XAFICS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009TNKCM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I employed a fairly simple but effective cooling solution on our boat last season.
Small, portable, rechargeable battery operated fans I found on Amazon. Initially I bought 1 but they worked so well I bought 3 more.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y1VZ3RO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These move a surprising amount of air for their size. They have an internal battery that will last for a couple of hours on high and a good deal longer on low. I have mounted 3M command strips on the bottom and back of the fans and can effectively snap them in to various locations on the boat. I place two on the bulkhead facing into the v-berth blowing directly across us while we are sleeping and I often have to turn them off/down in the middle of night because we get chilly. The real kicker is that these charge/operate via standard (unless you use apple products) micro-usb phone charging cables. Add a couple of inexpensive phone battery bank chargers and some 10 ft cables and these will run on high, all night for 2-3 nights.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017JL7DI4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016W06B04/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Another cool little trick I discovered when sleeping in the v-berth is that you can attach (Velcro) your phone or tablet to the sloped cabin top right above your head(feet towards bow) and use it as for entertainment, weather, anchor monitoring, etc.

Sorry, I know it's a lot but figured I would share some of my cabin upgrades.

I'm sure there is more I'm not thinking of.

SV_GALATEIA · Mar 16, 2019

Gene,

In reference to your cabin interior photo above (which looks really nice) do you use the sink and water pump? Also, the storage next to the sink, how do you utilize that space?

Gene Neill · Mar 16, 2019

Oh yes, the sink is very much a part of our daily life on board, no different than at home.

Under the cover beside the sink is the garbage can. The opening was designed to hold a medium-size Rubbermaid wastebasket which is no longer made, sadly. Needless to say, I treat ours with great care since it is literally irreplaceable.

rpludwig · Mar 16, 2019

Mike, we took Gene's advice on the on the Iwatani as well, perfect (AND it saw double duty during Florence at the house for four days!)

Don't know if you have an original model as we do (<'86)....We use the dinette table a lot, (and sleep there as well), as tight as space is we cut 8" off of it, (stow the cutoff for sleeping), made a huge difference in roominess inside the cabin when moving around down below, simple mod.

Also did a DIY galley with a 5 gal walmart water bladder in the v-berth which we wouldn't be without, added a buss bar to the panel, 2 cabin fans, reworked the plumbing & drains, and some brass nick-nacks to please the admiral...all that stuffs in my old thread... around pg 5-6 or so... https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/another-newbie-hull-12502.179236/page-5
We use the v-berth for stowage, not enough headroom for sleeping for us...especially in the original model....

Jacktar · Mar 17, 2019

Shame to trash the sliding galley, I love mine

Need pics for new ideas..

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