Stow It

By Paul Esterle

Our dream boat, a Columbia 10.7 (35-footer), had two problems below: it looked like a dark, teak colored cave and it didn't have enough storage spaces. A basic part of our refit was replacing much of the teak paneling with lighter ash and adding more storage areas. The galley area was especially short on storage. What was there was at the bottom of a deep locker only accessible through a counter-top hatch,
We also wanted additional handholds below for security in moving about the cabin in rough weather. We decided to integrate these two needs into a combined stanchion/galley cupboard over the galley sink. In addition, we would add another storage cabinet to the sloping aft bulkhead in the galley area.

As with any major project of this sort, we started out by building some prototype cabinets out of 3/16-inch thick artists foam board. This material consists of two layers of heavy poster board glued to a center section of plastic foam. The result is a stiff yet easily cut material that is strong enough to hold its shape and serve as a prototype. I'd much rather discover my measurement mistakes on foam board rather than expensive plywood.
We had used laminates in other areas of our refit and decided to continue their use in the galley area. In addition, several pieces of the galley cabinetry were already the same frosty white color as the laminate we would be using. An additional benefit of using the laminate is that it is resistant to water splashing on it and is very easy to keep clean. Most of all, it doesn't need re-varnished, ever.
The foam board prototype let us work around the galley area to make sure the new cabinets wouldn't intrude on the space and that all doors would open in the right direction and without snagging anything surrounding them. Now it was time to actually build the cabinets.
Over the process of several other projects aboard, I'd developed a quick and easy way of building with plywood and laminates. My plywood of choice is MDO plywood. This is high-end plywood with exterior glue and few if any voids. It was developed for use in exterior signs and for that use has a strong phenolic coating bonded to each side. That coating is ready for painting or, in my case, contact cement.
My first task was to apply the laminate to several large sheets of MDO plywood with contact cement. As the cabinets would be installed aboard a boat, I went with the older style, very smelly, contact cement. To further improve its performance, I thinned it with MEK solvent. I applied three good coats to both the plywood and laminate surfaces. You get exactly one chance to place the laminate on the plywood so make sure you have it in the right place.
One trick is to place dowels across the plywood and rest the laminate on top (the contact cement should be just dry to the touch). Once the laminate is in position, you can pull one dowel out at a time and press the laminate down onto the plywood. To complete the bond use a tool called a “J” roller to uniformly apply pressure to the surface, completing the bond. If you don't have the roller, beat the laminate with a rubber mallet (white, please, as not to leave marks.)
Once both sides of the plywood are laminate-covered, I could proceed to cut out the individual cabinet panels, using the foam board prototype for the dimensions. If you have access to a table saw, making accurate cuts is very easy. I was working on the dock next to the boat and so had to use a different technique.
I marked out the panel on the plywood and then cut it slightly oversize using my Bosch saber saw. I then clamped a guide to the panel and used my router, with a ball-bearing follower bit, to trim the panel to the exact size. It sounds like extra work, and is some, but goes very quickly once you get the hang of it.
With the panels cut to size, it was time for me to join them together. If I had simply screwed the panels together, the screw heads would show on the finished laminate surface. Even more critical to me would be the sharp corners this method would produce.
I ended up screwing the panels together from the inside, to cleats in each corner. This hid any of those fasteners inside the cabinet. That left a notch on each outside corner of the cabinet. I cut pieces of mahogany stock to fit these notches and then rounded off the outside corners. I held them in place with two stainless-steel screws, carefully placed so they were at the same location on each strip.
Now when I need to varnish the strips, I simply unscrew them and refinish them outside. Best of all, no sharp corners to snag passing body parts.
No cabinet would be complete without doors and these are no exception. I started out making louvered doors for my cabinets. I made these differently from most louvered door. Instead of fitting the louvers into pockets in the stiles, I cut slots. The louvers slid into the slots from the back of the door and were held in place with a drop of varnish. When it was time to re-varnish, I simply broke the varnish bond and popped the louver out.
Then I saw the doors aboard Mark Richter's sailboat cum trawler, Winnie the Pooh. Instead of louvers he used white mesh commonly used for catamaran trampolines, stapled to the door frame. That is now my preferred design.
I have my wood supplier cut my mahogany stock to a nominal 1-inch by 3-inch size. Finished that equals wood 3/4-inch thick and 2-1/2-inch wide, just the right size for a door frame. Four pieces, two sides and a top and bottom piece comprise a door frame. I use a half-lap or ship lap joint on the ends; half the thickness of each piece is cut away so the corner overlaps, forming a very strong joint when epoxied together.
A raised panel bit in my router/router table tapers each edge of the outside of the frame. The back side of the frame gets a 3/8-inch rabbet that fits the door opening. Once the frame is routed to shape and sanded, I give it several coats of Hi-UV satin finish varnish.
I staple the mesh on the back with stainless steel staples and then trim the mesh to size. My last steps are to install the hinges and latch and then mount the door on the cabinet,
The resulting cabinets are quick to make, reasonably priced, look great and are easy to keep clean. Use these techniques to expand your below-deck storage spaces.


Paul Esterle is Technical Editor for Small Craft Advisor Magazine, and his freelance work has appeared in Sail, BoatWorks, Voyaging and Good Old Boat magazines. He has produced a series of boating videos and lectures widely. He also works at West Marine and has written product reviews for the company.