New V-Berth Project

Lance Jones · January 17, 2012, 07:01:08 PM

I have been working on adding battening to our V-Berth to - give it a bit of a warm look, help cut down on condensation and actually comfort when you roll on to the cold liner in the middle of a cold night!

efhughes3 · January 17, 2012, 07:20:21 PM

I'd love to see pics when you're done!

Kevin Henderson · January 17, 2012, 08:16:10 PM

I think this would be a wonderful project to complete. The warmth and finished look it gives could be a welcome addition. Are you also considering the bulkhead in the aft cabin as well?

Has anyone else done this project to their C34?

scotty · January 17, 2012, 09:51:28 PM

Ohhh, nice idea. I wonder what it would look like with a mahogany veneer? (door skin?)

lazybone · January 18, 2012, 01:32:50 PM

I lined the vee berth and the rear berth on Lazybone about 15 years ago. I cut down several ash boards on the band saw too match the existing battens in the main salon. They are thin enough so all I did was put some squares of double sided 3m adhesive tape and dabs of silicone. The tape holds long enough for the silicone to dry. Looks and feels much better than white liner.
Sorry but I don't have any pics and I'm wintering in Pennsylvania and won't be back to Maryland till April.

Lance Jones · January 18, 2012, 04:07:49 PM

Ok. I've gone as far as I want to with this project for now. Each side has eight 1.75 inch strips of battening, spaced 1/16th of an inch apart. That brings the top edge right up to where the v-berth shelf support starts. Still pondering if I want to take it higher later....

Each strip is secured with four 3/4 inch #6 pan head screw inside a wood washer stand-off.

Tools: Hand Saw, Drill with 1/8th inch bit, screw driver, tape measure, and something to measure the angle at the junction of the hanging locker/drawers and the forward bulkhead. This angle changes at each end as you move up the side.

Procedure:
1. Remove all cushions and bedding.

2. Measure the distance between forward bulkhead and the hanging locker/drawers (depending on the side). Remember to measure along the curve.

3. Copy angles at the aft and forward ends. I had 2 adjustable measures that I used (1 for forward angle and 1 for the aft. That way, you're only up in the v-berth one time per strip)

4. Transfer one angle to the batten and cut.

5. Measure distance and copy second angle and cut. I left about 1/4" short to allow for the removal of forward bulkhead if needed.

6. Install strip. I measured 6" from the rear for the first hole and then spaced the next two about 2' apart and then measured back 6" for the forward hole. I drilled 4 holes in both the strip and the v-berth liner using the 1/8th inch bit.

7. I spaced mine about 1/16th apart and used three nickles spaced about a foot aft, centered on and a foot forward of the screw hole. This allows you to achieve a straight line spacing along the entire length.

Rick Johnson · January 18, 2012, 04:18:45 PM

Damn glad you posted this. I had just written Kent at Catalina about how I could do this. Where did you source the battens?

Cheers,

Rick

Lance Jones · January 18, 2012, 04:47:48 PM

Rick,
I sourced them at a marine specialty store called Home Depot. They have various widths. I went with the 1.75 as it still looked good; but, wasn't too wide and could be easily bent to conform to the compound bends on the hull liner. I'm working with hand tools only. The joy of living aboard!.

Ralph Masters · January 19, 2012, 08:10:04 AM

Lance,
How much space is there between the liner and the hull??

Ralph
Ciao Bella

Lance Jones · January 19, 2012, 08:35:06 AM

Ralph,
Good question. All I can say is that when the pilot hole broke through the liner, it almost instantly hit the hull. I'd say 1/4" or less.

Rick Johnson · January 19, 2012, 05:17:37 PM

My response from Catalina Yachts asking about the need for firring strips:

We screwed the ash battens right into the hull liner which runs about 1/4" to 3/8" thick. If you are concerned you can add the firring strips, but we never found them to be necessary.

Good Sailing,

Engineering Department
Catalina Yachts

scotty · January 19, 2012, 07:05:55 PM

Looks great!

Lance Jones · January 20, 2012, 12:01:08 PM

Thanks! I've decided to raise it by 2 more strips. Pictures when done.

Ken Heyman · January 20, 2012, 12:09:38 PM

nice job !

Ken

Ron Volk · January 20, 2012, 06:30:43 PM

Lance,

You mentioned the width of the battens as 1.75" but didn't mentioned the thickness of them. Also, I was looking at my local Home Depot but couldn't find anything like you used, what kind of wood is it and what Lengths did they come in?

Thanks,

By the way it looks very nice.