KAIAN

The interior walls and ceilings of the vessel were covered with either a grasscloth type wall covering or in the case of the ceilings, naugahyde vinyl. Over time, these coverings failed, basically biodegraded with mould and mildew. One of the earliest things I did was strip it all out. For a time, I wasn't sure what would be the best way to recover the surfaces, I explored a number of different options and settled on laminate. The heads had been originally covered with this product and had stood the test of a marine environment. Now I've begun what will be a formidable task. We'll be recovering the entire interior that is not teak, in an off white formica to match the existing laminate present in the heads. Due to the irregular shapes that make up the interior wall and ceiling sections, I've had to use patterns to enable a proper fit of the panels. Making a pattern involves using 2" wide strips of thin plywood to form the perimeter of the intended shape to be cut. This template is then transfered onto a sheet which is in turn cut with a small router. I setup a 4'x8' table in the storage container to enable handling the large panels. Gluing the panels in place is a real pain. You only get one chance at getting it right, once the glue comes into contact, it's there forever. Brenda and I have had to perfect the technique of holding our tongues just right while we're doing it. Oh, that sounds kinda bad doesn't it.

Lost count of how many of these I've made.

Some are 10 to 12 feet long in order to avoid seams.

Brenda striping some teak. She's done just about every piece by now.

Here are some results, we're still putting up teak trim so all the pieces aren't in place yet, but it'll give you an idea of what it's coming out like.