82 Seafarer Cabin Wall Replacement questions

[ddog]

Searched and read quite a few of the threads on this and have a question for those who have done this. Just pulled my original 32 year old cabin walls out. Grady used some vinyl welting stapled to the ends of the plywood and this was mated against the cabin fur and I/O carpet which was installed against the Fiberglass portions of the cuddy first.

I see most if not all have eliminated the vinyl welting which I also intend to do. I am going back with 3/4 marine ply (currently on clearance at my Lowe's for 52.00/sheet) and sealing all the end grains and exposed wood. I am leaving the cabin fur, still looks decent other than below the windows, and plan on replacing the I/O carpet on the fiberglass walls inside the cabin and the cock pit area.

So did you re-intall the new cabin walls against the fur and I/O carpet like Grady did , or did you install the cabin wall directly against the Fiberglass with silicone sealant or some other sealing material in between ? It seems Grady's original install has the cabin fur, I/O carpet and vinyl welting serve as a gasket/buffer/shock absorber/ gap filler (and water absorber) between the wood and the fiberglass. Haven't seen much on this particular detail of this job.

Thank You in Advance.

 

[jbrinch88]

Searched and read quite a few of the threads on this and have a question for those who have done this. Just pulled my original 32 year old cabin walls out. Grady used some vinyl welting stapled to the ends of the plywood and this was mated against the cabin fur and I/O carpet which was installed against the Fiberglass portions of the cuddy first.

I see most if not all have eliminated the vinyl welting which I also intend to do. I am going back with 3/4 marine ply (currently on clearance at my Lowe's for 52.00/sheet) and sealing all the end grains and exposed wood. I am leaving the cabin fur, still looks decent other than below the windows, and plan on replacing the I/O carpet on the fiberglass walls inside the cabin and the cock pit area.

So did you re-intall the new cabin walls against the fur and I/O carpet like Grady did , or did you install the cabin wall directly against the Fiberglass with silicone sealant or some other sealing material in between ? It seems Grady's original install has the cabin fur, I/O carpet and vinyl welting serve as a gasket/buffer/shock absorber/ gap filler (and water absorber) between the wood and the fiberglass. Haven't seen much on this particular detail of this job.

Thank You in Advance.

I've done a few bulkhead replacements on Grady's using starboard. I usually just but it up to the fiberglass with some lifeseal, and use the original aluminum angle along with the holes through the fiberglass to mount it. Then I make a nice clean bead around all the edges and wipe the excess away with thinner.

Good luck!

 

[ddog]

Thank You for the response. I trimmed back the existing fur to expose the fiberglass and already removed the I/O carpet. Putting the old piece back in, there was quite a gap remaining now so I added to the original pattern to close the gap some more. Somehow after cutting I still had a gap on my new piece. That will get filled with caulk as you suggested.

Another question. On my 1982 on the port side there is a molded piece on the liner, an extension of the lower shelf in the cabin that when the wood is against it,it keeps the bottom of the wood from being flush with the raised portion of lower bulkhead where it screws in. I O W if the plywood is tight to the bulk head at the Jam side for the cabin door, there is a 3/8-1/2" gap between the plywood and the bulkhead at the other side by the hull. Plywood is flush to the floor all the way across. The original piece wasn't relieved or trimmed for it. The base of the wall has been rotted for a while so not sure how Grady addressed this originally if at all. I thought about putting a 1/2" spacer across the bottom to keep it all square and true with the hull, but then the jam on the port side would be offset relative to the starboard side. Will try and post a picture tomorrow.

Maybe just over thinking it a bit. My buddy used to say when working on boats- You're not building watch. However I do want to make sure the walls and cabin door all line up correctly.