Maintenance: Adding Cabinetry

Before our annual week-on-the-boat this year, I finally motivated myself to execute on an old idea: Convert two of Jenny G's storage spaces to wooden cabinetry.

The first idea was to convert the passive ice box below the helm seat to two drawers. One large drawer for a powered cooler and a small drawer for cutlery. After carefully taking measures several times and spending the weekend ahead making the cabinets, they were finally ready for installation.

Wow, I couldn't believe how many compound curves exist in a boat hull. Of course, as an amateur woodworker, I knew it would take me longer to fit them than a professional, but I didn't anticipate using the first two days of our vacation to get it done.

The main culprit for all the work was a brace, installed at the factory, to support the old icebox. Turns out that the brace wasn't level, but visually I couldn't tell that its slope increased from front to back, so I ended up sanding the drawers more than they needed to be but not enough to ruin the look. The most complicated trimming I did was to round the forward corner of the back edge on the cutlery drawer because I measured the depth at the aft side of the box, not realizing how quickly the hull is curving in toward the bow at the helm.

However, they are installed and finished now and we really enjoy having our forks and knives in a real drawer instead of a pouch inside the galley.

The second idea was to replace the inside face of the forward dinette cabinet with a door and create a divider for the compartment itself. Since I had the factory panel as home as a model, I was able to cut the compound curves with my table saw and jig saw and, to spoil the plot, the frame installed in five minutes...a full one day, seven hours, and fifty-five minutes faster than the drawers.

Now, The Admiral and I can store a few articles of clothing on the boat, so that we will no longer have to move luggage around each night for bed.

Were these upgrades worth the time? Only more time will tell as we get used to having them. I'd like to think I would be faster the next time, but we have upgraded the one of one boats that we own.

There is one last idea: Replace the rear dinette inside face with a small drawer and face to cover the water tank. If I get really bored this fall.....