There are a whole lot of different things going on at the same time, which is slowing my progress on the V-berth head (AKA the throne room). But it’s moving forward and should be painted and done during April (crossing fingers). In my last post, I described cutting and fitting the floor, then sealing and insulating the underside of the panel with Buffalo Batts. In this post, the reason I’ve started calling it the throne room should become clear.
Under-side of the throne room floor is epoxy sealed and insulated
Side cabinet face and top are glued and screwed together
Almost ready to install
All framing contact surfaces get sanded, then wetted out with epoxy
After the epoxy has a few minutes to soak in, I slather on some epoxy thickened with wood flour and cabosil. Then the whole thing gets put together with wood screws.
Side cabinet slid right into place, but that aluminum hull frame is a 3-1/2″ high problem
TMC Marine Medium Electric Toilet on the throne base
I’ve used these same toilets in all of the big boats I’ve had. They look good, work great, and the price is excellent: $310 on ebay. The only difference between the medium and large units is the height and the price. I decided to use up some scrap plywood that’s been laying around for years to make a base that follows the outline of the toilet and raises the toilet up just to the right height. It also brings the toilet up so it clears the hull frame.
The plywood base clears the aluminum hull frames
1″ x 1″ mahogany cleats frame out the throne back panel
Pocket screws temporarily secure the side cabinet to the wall
The back panel is repurposed original mahogany ply
If you look closely at the back panel, it’s got discoloration running diagonally from the upper right corner to the lower left. That panel used to be in the salon, behind the steps. Here’s the blog article where I made a new panel. The discoloration is just oxidized mahogany, from where the original varnish deteriorated. It was rotted out in a corner from where the original teak side decking joint failed. But once I cut the rot away the rest of the panel was very solid, and it was just the right size.
Cutting a cleat for the curved hull wall
Laying out the throne back cabinet top
The front and sides of the back cabinet top are square, but the back edge follows the curved panel that’s up against the hull. That panel comes down at an angle that matches the flare of the hull, so the cut will be angled, too. I’m sure it’d be a breeze for a pro, but it took me a while to work through this and get it cut.
Not bad!
A couple of temporary screws hold everything tightly together
I give you…the Throne Room!
The last panel for the side cabinet is dry-fitted here.
It’s looking like the plan
After squaring up the panel, it’s glued, clamped, and screwed overnight
On the back panel and in the side cabinet, there will be removable panels that will give me access to the electrical, water, and waste lines that run through that space Before I permanently install the side cabinet and back panel, I need to make and install the inner cabinetry. But there’s only so much I can do when there’s wet epoxy waiting to cure.
Next up on our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: The V-berth “Throne Room” III
1969chriscraftroamer46 
Excellent work! Really coming together. Since the v-berth head is a wet room “shoilet”, how do you keep water out of the cabinet doors, and where ever the toilet paper will be?
Thanks, Doug!
Since this is a guest head that will mostly only be used as a toilet, we’re going to have a removable shower curtain that suspends from the ceiling when the shower is in use and keeps water from going everywhere. It’s not the most elegant solution, but all things considered I’m not sure how else we could pull this off. TP will be out of the way…sort of…if things get crazy in the shower, it could take out a roll. 🙂
Cheers,
Q
We just got back from a cruise on the 200 ft. Nat’l Geographic “Sea Lion” ship that had exactly that “shoilet” with curtain setup. It works fine.
Excellent! Good to know I’m “innovating” something that’s already been done before! lol
Cheers,
Q
Q, What is the purpose of the “side cabinet”? Do you have something going in there? Otherwise it looks like lost space for the toilet area or for head storage.
Hi Mark.
The side cabinet will be where we store toilet paper. Behind the cabinet interior panel, there’s just enough space for the hot and cold sink water supply and drain pipe, plus electric lines will pass through there. Once I finish installing the cabinet interior and cut the face panel where the slider doors will be, it should all make more sense.
Cheers,
Q
Seating fit for a King!
Wait until the heated Japanese seat and bidet get installed. 🙂