Veneer?

[cavelamb himself]

I'm in the process of dressing up the interior of my sailboat. I've done come cabinets, chart table, small galley, etc. Not, perhaps, perfect work, but nice (enough?).

I'm considering a larger fiberglass boat (25 foot) that has all the character of a clorox bottle inside. A few cabinets ain't gonna do it.

I was wondering about using wood veneer strips to "panel" the inside surface of the hull. Compound curvature, of course, but I thought the strips can be trimmed to make edges meet attractively.

My idea for attaching them would be to use West Epoxy (or equal like MAS) to prefinish the fitted strips then epoxy them in place.

But leave some narrow "dry" strips for bonding with thick CA (cyanoacrylate(?)) glue to serve as temporary clamps while the epoxy sets. cus there are no straight flat surfaces handy adn nowhere to clamp to...

I've never done veneer work before. I'm guessing about 1/16" to 1/8" thick? (to avoid excessive weight buildup). Or is it normally sliced thinner than that?

Can any of you address some of the unexpected issues I might run into?

Or a bit of guidance?

I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

Richard

[sailor]

My wife and I sold her 38' sailboat, that had been a racing boat, and she and her Ex, refit her for cruising, with cabinets, etc.

It was an aluminum boat and the inside of the hull was verticle aluminum ribs. They installed cabinets, where they wanted, and on the inside of the hull, above the sole (floor) they installed horizontal strips of Spruce, with a space of about 1/4" - 3/8" space between them. A very traditional interior. The Spruce made the interior much brighter. When I moved on the boat, they only had 2, 6" dia. ports (windows) and it was brighter than the inside of a 37' with a teak interion and 6 larger ports.

It really is a good look. I would Epoxy verticle strips on the inside of the hull, and put the horizontal strips on them. On the boat, the strips were just screwed on, with an oval head screw, with a trim washer under it.

If you want I have a picture that might convince you1

Cliff

[cavelamb himself]

Hmmm, I think I like that idea at first blush.

I'll show you my boat. Let's see yours!?!

[sailor]

Here's the v-berth:

[sailor]

Another pic.

[IMG]

[cavelamb himself]

work better...

Saved both pics for further perusal...

Dorothy said, "It's So Pretty!" She especially liked the overhead framing. AND - caught the shape. Not a traditional deck house / side deck arrangement. What boat? Got a glamor shot? Inquiring minds, and all that....

I, on the other hand, really like the side strips. Very nautical looking and Do-Able. As an accent piece rather than planking the entire inner hull.

Need to keep the dimensions reasonable.

The "frames" bonded to the hull surface will take a small amount of interior space. But they need to be sturdy enough to hold a #10 screw.

I can't see them less than an inch thick?!? Unless there is a way to maybe capture a T-Nut from behind? Then a machine screw could be used and only need 1/2" or so for the frame?

Well, what ever I do, I hope it turns out as nice looking as yours did. Beautiful job, Cliff!

Richard

[MB]

This site has a number of resident veneering experts. They frequently answer questions about how to veneer: cars, drums, doors, glass, and whatever.