With the last V-berth cabinet panels veneered and clear coated with ICA base, it’s time to finally install them.
Dry-fitting is done…time to disassemble
Here we go!
First, I marked off where the back of the panels need insulation
Next I wetted out the areas to be insulated with epoxy
After cutting the Buffalo Batt R3 insulation to size, I pressed it in place and left it to cure overnight.
Next day, all of the insulated panels are ready for install
The cabinet front and interior bottom panels are glued and screwed in place
After I installed the fasteners, which are all out of sight when facing the cabinet from the front, I used alcohol on a rag to remove any wood flour-thickened epoxy that squeezed out.
That turned out nicely
Pressing the back panel in place required many sticks
I’m only using epoxy on the back and side panels because I don’t want visible fasteners. The back panel also got insulated, like every other panel that faces the hull envelope.
Next day, out come the sticks!
Next, the cabinet top got glued in place
Then I prepped the porthole area for the next mahogany panel
The contact areas all got wetted out with epoxy
Next I applied wood flour-thickened epoxy as the glue
I use a homebrewed wood flour/fumed silica mix at a 7:3 ratio for panel bonding, and keep adding it to the epoxy until it’s the consistency of creamy peanut butter.
Put the panel in place, and use lots of sticks to keep full contact at the edges
There are stainless screws around the porthole opening that pull it up nice and tight, but the edges need a bit of help in spots to keep the joints good and tight. If you look at the picture above, you’ll see clamps holding sticks, that are pushing other sticks to hold them in place because they’re pushing up against other sticks that are pressing the panel edges into place. It looks goofy as can be, but it works pretty well. What sucks is when I just about get the whole Rube Goldberg contraption done, then I bump one of the mission-critical sticks, which falls out of place and takes out all the rest. Using this stick-clamp method, it’s taken as many as four attempts to finally get it right. Then I back away very, very slowly and head home to let the epoxy cure.
Next day, the sticks come off!
Nice!
I still can’t believe how tight I got that joint
The last cabinet panels are installed!
It’s a dusty mess inside the V-berth, but it’s nice to have the cabinet panels done. I’ll make moldings later to cover all of the plywood edges. But first, I’ve got some veneer work to do.
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Final V-berth Veneers
1969chriscraftroamer46 