Mac 22 shelves

[tessmar]

Progress report:
I've now "built" two units in foam core: the first was pretty easy...a cabinet to hold emergency equipment and my document folder (registration for boat and trailer)-first aid kit, flare gun kit, and horn with a bit of extra space "just in case." I taped it in place to the rear of the cabin on the port side, just beside the companionway hatch entrance for quick access. I forgot that the rear of the cabin slopes, but it was easy to add triangular "wedge" pieces to the sides, which then required increasing the depth of the bottom. The net result of that was an additional 3 1/2 inches of depth. I felt this protruded too far into an already cramped cabin (this is an early boat-1967, and from the photos I've seen of later boats it appears the cabin was enlarged as time went on). So I then cut it back down somewhat-a real advantage of the foam core approach.
The second unit is more complex-a 20" long shelf unit that fits up against the step-up to the V berth on the port side. I used 1/8" welding wire to bend to the curve of the hull, then traced along the bent wire on the foam core to define the sides of the unit. The height is up to where the deck area that runs alongside the cabin forms the roof of this part of the cabin...about 16 inches, which allows a small area at the bottom where the sides meet the hull, two shelves of about 7 and 9 inch height, and a top shallow shelf of about 3 inch height. Each shelf has a lip at the front to keep things from falling out, although I'm thinking of putting doors on the unit so everything is out of sight.
I'm planning a duplicate of this unit on the starboard side, though perhaps with only a single shelf plus a larger bottom area and the shallow top shelf. I also will extend this unit into the V berth somewhat. I don't see these as practical for anything but storage, so I'm planning to use the are for my cooler, port-potty, extra headsails, and a small portable table and stadium chairs.
The boat has a flat floor that someone installed over the benches and carpeted. I'm fine with that as the benches are very shallow and even if I removed the floor I would only gain about a foot of "legroom." But I think some back support is desirable...thus the stadium seats.
RobertB's photos were a help (along with some others I've run across). I'd like to post some photos at some point but I have not yet looked into how to do that on this site or if I'd even be authorized to do so.
Oh yeah...I wasn't planning to get into electrics just yet, but over the years the wiring got very messy and crude and there was a big ganglion running down the port side to the control panel just where I wanted one side of the shelf unit to be. The thing was wrapped in duct tape (yuch!). So I re-routed it somewhat and got some automotive spiral sheathing to cover it temporarily to allow me to continue my panning. But when I get to the actual painting and construction I guess I'm gonna have to actually deal with it. At least I found where most of the usable wiring went. There is way more wiring than this boat ever needed of anything, and it looks like every time someone did something they just cut off the old wiring and jury-rigged something else in. A real mess!
Anyway, the main thing I wanted to say is that using the foam core has already allowed me to correct some errors as well as re-evaluate the layout as I go without the work and cost of spoiling some expensive wood!

[tessmar]

I wanted to wait until completing the project to report back. It's now done and I'm pleased with the results. So in the hope I can help someone else here's what I did.

I wanted one cabinet on each side up against the step up to the V berth, with another smaller unit for documents and emergency equipment on the back wall of the cabin beside the companionway hatch. Each cabinet would have shelves with lips to keep things from falling out as well as doors secured by hooks.

My first step was to build templates of each unit out of foam core to test the dimensions as well as to create the curves needed for the sides to rest against the hull.The pieces were held together with T pins. I designed these so the bottoms rested on the flat floor an earlier owner had put in, which ensured that most of the weight was taken by the floor rather than an attachment to the hull.

I then cut all the required pieces, disasssembling each template and using the pieces as a guide. I used 1/2 inch, five ply, furniture grade birch plywood...a compormise between strength, cost, and ease of staining. Straight cuts were made with a circular saw and homemade crosscut and rip jigs, using an extra fine 140 tooth blade and masking tape over the cut lines, while the curved cuts were done with a power scroll saw. Hinges and hook latches are brass.

The units were stained with Zar 120 Natural teak and three coats of Varathane Spar Urethane 93 Satin applied. I then felt that more gloss really made the grain pop, so I did a final coat of Minwax Helmsman Semi Gloss.

While I appreciate all the help in regard to fastening the units to the hull, except for the cabinet on the back wall (where I did drill through and secured using brass machine screws) I still thought I could do something easier than fiberglassing, and though I did find some automotive adhesives which could work they required renting or buying an expensive application gun. My local auto paint supply store suggested trying trim tape used to hold small composite body panels and side moldings to cars. While they do not support a lot of weight they take tremendous vibration at highway speeds. Since most of the weight of the units rests on the floor I thought I would try it. The product is 3M Automotive Acrylic Plus Attachment Tape 06384. It is double sided, 1/2 inch wide, and I applied it to as much of the curved back of the sides of the two main units as I could. This stuff sets up and is quite aggressive. It grips like crazy and I can put quite a bit of force on the cabinets and they don't budge at all. It is about .04" thick so provides just a bit of flex as well.

I took some pictures of the finished units which also show some of the paint detail. I don't know how to upload these although I do see an "img" button in the post menu. Maybe someone can point me at how to do it?

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions.

[RobertB]

I tried using automotive adhesive trim tape for hoding fing pole holders to the ceiling. Worked great until things got hot and vibration from trailering and motoring helped everything fall down. Instituted plan B - screws!

[tessmar]

I tried using automotive adhesive trim tape for hoding fing pole holders to the ceiling. Worked great until things got hot and vibration from trailering and motoring helped everything fall down. Instituted plan B - screws!

Interesting. You didn't references the specific product so i don't know if this is the same stuff...but I'd be surprised if it is. The Auto paint store owner asked me "ever see the side trim on a car or the lower aero panels fall off?" While I have on a couple of occasions it is pretty rare and heaven only knows how or why they failed the few instances I've seen. But the metal of a car gets more heat than fiberglass will transfer, and at 70mph the vibration is significant.

We'll see what happens but neither my truck (99) or wife's car (05) or my old Explorer (92) have ever lost a trim strip or panel and it gets well over 100 here at times in the summer.

[RobertB]

It is probably the same stuff - 3M trim tape. Difference is that on a car, you are adhering something real close (does not protrude) with alot of surface area for tape relative to its weight. On the boat, I was using a small amount of tape with weights suspended. Did not work out that well.

[tessmar]

I agree that it won't support a lot of weight. In my case the weight is supported on the floor. Absent the motion of the boat the cabinets stand there by themselves just fine. The tape merely prevents them from tilting over as the boat moves.

Once I have some experience with the approach while actually sailing I'll report back. For now it's even too cold to paint the deck!