brighten cabin?

  • December 25, 2019 6:56 PM
    Message # 8390373

    Happy holidays!

    Have been wondering how to brighten the inside of Westsail32 Recalibrate since she is all teak intereior and quite dark. I have a source for authentic prisims and thought to put one on each side of the cabin roof and also to replace one original round port on each side with a more modern rectangular port. 

    Havent done anything yet!! Wondering if any of you have made it a priority to brighten up inside? And how you may have done it.

    Thanks, stv

  • December 26, 2019 1:06 PM
    Reply # 8397132 on 8390373

    Hello Stv,   If I was to do just one thing to brighten up the interior I would turn the ceiling white.   Choices would be by painting or Formica or whatever style you like.   From there you could consider doing the same to the cabin sides.  Even with all of that done there is still plenty of naturally finished wood to leave a nice “wooden boat” feel.   That is currently how Saraband is finished.   Also on Saraband, all solid teak is finished with Gloss varnish and all paneling is finished in Satin varnish.  The overall appearance is pleasant I believe.   With all that said, I would add that Pure White is too stark for me.  I prefer an Off White.     Take a break from all the work next Wednesday and go out sailing on New Years.  It’s a tradition.  You know what that means!.    Good luck with your efforts.   Dave

  • December 26, 2019 3:32 PM
    Reply # 8398063 on 8390373

    Thank you David.  I see you are a lifetime memeber. That has a nice ring to it! Congratulations!

    The headliner is i believe,  naugahyde,  and  as an endangered species, irreplacable. It is also a dingy yellow, i suppose from years of galley grease and smoke that occasionally escapes from the solid fuel stove. It seems otherwise to be in perfect condition and i had toyed with painting it after giving it a good scrubbing.. but its cold here in the northeast and must wait for a day above freezing. It might be easier to replace it.. ill look over logistics next time im up there. I agree that a bright ceiling will help alot!!

    I was sailing to bermuda with a friend on Halloween. Doubt ill be sailing new years day though.. 

  • December 26, 2019 11:35 PM
    Reply # 8400382 on 8390373

    Hi Stephen,

    Welcome aboard and congratulations on the new boat!!!

    I'll second what Dave has said, a white overhead in the cabin makes a HUGE difference.  I've replaced the original factory Vinyl headliner on 2 Westsails with White fiberglass panels.  I described the process on this site just a few days ago, check out the post on Dec. 15. 

    Its simple and not expensive.

    kevin

     

     

     

     

  • December 27, 2019 2:47 PM
    Reply # 8403085 on 8390373

    I find this a very interesting subject. The Headliner on my W-28 Ananda is falling down in some places and was cut to help facilitate the Radar cable installation.

    I was thinking of installing 4 or 5 inch Pine tongue and groove with a white wash or stain (white) to brighten up the beautiful dark Teak interior.....

    Has anyone in the group done this?...I'm thinking white is definitely the way to go....

  • December 27, 2019 3:17 PM
    Reply # 8403160 on 8390373
    Anonymous

    David,


    i actually am in he process of installing a new headliner. I was looking at a Beadboard 1/4 inch pine product.  I am just terrified of the wood being affected by the moisture and havening to replace it in a few years. I’m o the fence between the fiberglass sheets (like Kevin did), or spending a fortune on mahogany and milling som planks myself.  Vastly different looks and vastly different price points.


    Bryon

  • December 28, 2019 9:29 AM
    Reply # 8406886 on 8390373

    We didn't have to replace the head liner  when we got our W28 (factory finished) it had a Ash ply head liner that was left bear . It was stained from cooking , we had a pretty bad galley fire one night and the head liner was burnt through the first ply layer in a few spots . I was able to just sand it and squeegee in some West epoxy . After that I painted it with Interlux Hatteras off white . I was very happy with results . Then to finish off I replaced old (cheap) florescent light fixtures with ones from Alpenglo . mswesti loves them they have a high/low white and red beam .

     https://www.alpenglowlights.com/



    Last modified: December 28, 2019 1:59 PM | Anonymous member
  • December 30, 2019 6:04 PM
    Reply # 8430597 on 8390373

    Sandpaper (lots of it,) elbow grease, plus several coats of high gloss varnish - can brighten up the darkest dungeon. 

    When we acquired CAPRICA, the interior was oiled teak and whatever wood, with a good amount of kerosene stove soot, and black mildew.

    Sore arms, and hallucinogenic episodes from breathing too many varnish fumes gave us a bright and shiny interior.


    Ed and Karen 


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    Last modified: December 31, 2019 9:08 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
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