1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Mahogany Trim Ring for the V-berth Hatch

The aft hatch opening and trim ring turned out very nicely, if I do say so myself. The headliner installer said he’d crack out the V-berth version. And because he’s a professional, it should look a lot better than mine.

Anybody willing to bet? If mine’s better, you hit the tip jar, maybe??? 😉

Pine corner pieces are a cheap way to test a theory

I arrived at the tent and found strange looking pieces of pine–resurrected 2×4 unless I’m wrong–in the V-berth.

OK…I get where he’s going with this

I like the approach, but was it necessary?

He added that little radiused bit of mahogany in the lower corners, but I’m not sure if it was actually necessary.

Wonder how much those cost me…

Either way, the corner pieces fit nicely

Keep in mind that the headliner will cover all of the plywood you see on the ceiling, and the trim ring will cover everything from the headliner up to the aluminum hatch.

OK…looks good….theory tested and passed

But I still don’t think he needed to put those little radiused blocks of mahogany in there.

Next time I show up, there’s a trim ring fitted!

Hey! That’s pretty slick!

But…why did he use the blandest mahogany board in the pile, I wonder?

I’ve got a stack of mahogany I’m working with here. Some is gorgeous, like what got used on the toe rail and the aft stateroom fascia panels. But there are a few 8/4 sticks in the pile that are just sort of orange cellulose. Yes, they’re mahogany, but they have little character. As long as I’ve got pretty stuff in the pile, I use it…especially when it’s going to be in a highly visible place.

Well…the professional chose a stick of orange cellulose to make most of the trim ring. Yes….most, but not all. That’ll become more obvious shortly.

Final touch ups

Also, note the difference in grain character of the far-side compared to the other three sides of the trim ring. And the left lower corner piece compared to the others.

OK…ready for sanding and coating

Why octagonal?

I’m stumped as to why he went with an irregular octagon trim ring. The 8/4 boards are plenty thick enough to have used a radius on the outside here. It’s a mystery.

It looks like he used a grinder

I wonder why he didn’t use the ShopSmith jointer on the straight sections? It’s just on the other side of the boat from the table saw.

Sanded with 80 grit Abranet, the machine marks cleaned up well

ShopSmith drum sander should work nicely on the inside corners

Those are some…generous…glue joints

In fact, all of his glue joints are generous.

The glue is epoxy thickened with mahogany wood flour, so it’s strong and not a bad color. But still…my joints aren’t that ‘generous’ most of the time.

Sanded with Mirka 240…ready for clear coat

Clear coated, the ‘orange cellulose’ really pops out

Meanwhile, the mahogany with character kind of sticks out

I’m not saying it’s bad. It’s just not how I might have done it.

Test fitted after the first three coats of ICA polyurethane

OK, it’s not bad when it’s in place. And I do like having mahogany go all the way up to the aluminum hatch, which is painted in Awlcraft 2000 Matterhorn White. But I’m still not sure what inspired the irregular octagon idea.

OK…so it doesn’t suck…but orange cellulose mahogany doesn’t hold a candle to the pretty stuff

Sanded down for the next three coats

Base coats are almost done

For comparison’s sake, here’s the aft stateroom hatch trim ring:

Mahogany porn, or what?!?!

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Stateroom Entryway Door Jamb