This page
describes C34 owners' cockpit upgrade projects.
Please contribute yours!
Salon Dinette
Dinette Table Revision
Here's a photo of another, more practical Dinette table. If
we plan to have more guests than the v-berth and aft stateroom
can handle, the original table can be re-installed for the
additional sleeping space. It sure makes it easier to access
the storage areas!
I re-cycled an old kitchen table top by shaping it to the
size that looked proportional by cutting it with a jigsaw.
Then, after roughing up the original Formica top with
sandpaper, I used a brush-on contact cement, and glued a piece
of 1/8" birch plywood to the top. I left a small overhang
around the edges so I could sand it down to the same size as
the table base below it. Contact cement is very unforgiving,
and if you don't position your project exactly right on the
first try, it's impossible to remove. So I left myself a
margin for error, and then just sanded it down.
I experimented on a scrap piece of the birch plywood, and
after mixing a blend of oak and red mahogany wood stains, I
stained it to match the interior wood shade. It took 3-tries
to get something I was happy with.
To give it a finished look, I bought some rounded teak
corners and straight teak edge molding and attached it to the
edges using a waterproof wood glue, Titebond II. The hard part
was getting all the pieces to fit flush up against each other,
but that's just a matter of fitting, sanding, fitting, and
then sanding again to get that perfect fit.
Then it was 5 coats of marine spar varnish.
After a season of cruising its held up well. Although, this
winter I think I am going to pour a layer of self-leveling
clear resin over the surface to better protect it. It's a
product called EnviroTex Lite, and can be found at most paint
stores, or at www.eti-usa.com
Bob
& Cheryl Kuba
1994 C34, #1291
"Quiet Island"
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