The vinyl covering on the inside of the hull in the v-berth area of Early Light was beginning to show its age. I considered recovering with new vinyl, but then decided that maybe some cypress hull ceilings might dress the v-berth up a little. I talked to a friend who is an accomplished woodworker to inquire as to a source of supply for cypress. He said that he had some satinwood which looks much the same as cypress and that it finishes quite nicely. This satinwood is quite hard and came from Brazil.

I spent the better part of a day re-sawing an 8 quarter by 12 inch by 10 foot piece into 1/4 by 1 and 5/8 inch strips. The strips were sanded and given 3 coats of Captain's Varnish followed by a final coat of satin finish varnish.

Next I purchased some 3/8 by 2 select douglas fir to use for vertical furring strips. Using a razor knife I cut the vinyl where the furring strips would be located and removed the vinyl from the hull.

After cleaning the glue residue from the hull, the furring strips were attached to the hull using a tube of polyurethane contractor's adhesive in a caulking gun. The strips were held in place by bracing them from the opposite side of the v-berth.

Furring strips in place on port side

Next I added insulation (air bubble center with foil face on either side) between the furring strips.

Inssulation in place on port side

The satinwood ceilings were then screwed to the furring strips using #6 x 5/8 inch Phillips oval head stainless steel wood screws.

Port side after completion

Materials required:

20 board feet of satinwood [supplied at no cost by a friend] ($ 0.00)

30 linear feet 3/8 x 2 douglas fir ($ 12.00)

Roll of insulation 16 x 25 feet ($ 13.00)

Tube of polyurethane contractors adhesive ($ 5.00)

Captain’s varnish [on hand] ($ 0.00)

Satin varnish [on hand] ($ 0.00)

200ea #6 x 5/8 stainless wood screws ($ 8.40)

Total cost of this project was $ 38.40

Tools required:

Band saw

Miter box and backsaw

Electric drill with assorted bits and countersinks

Caulking gun

Phillips screwdrivers

Razor knife

Tape measure

Varnish brushes

Finishing sander

Sandpaper


Labor required:


32 hours (exclusive of varnish time)

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