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I am in the process of redoing the interior of my 28 FBC. I have gotten rid of the large closet just behind the v-birth and relocated a large top opening refrigerator there. The top of the refrigerator is the same height as the galley countertop. I move the AC unit from under the front dinette seat to the dead space between the refrigerator and the hull. I will be redesigning the dinette area to include a U shaped bench seat with storage underneath.

I have chosen to use 1/2" birch plywood in the construction, mainly because its readily available and nicely priced. I have no experience however in staining or interior painting.

What do you all suggest? My main needs are that I want something that will hold up to lots of use, looks good, and will appeal to the wife.

I have heard everything from stain and finish coat with epoxy to paint white with an oil based paint.

As always thanks.

Troy,

Are you removing the two drawers under the dinette? If you do, you gain considerable floor space, and you can push the "bench" further back.

If you are looking for a simple but good looking finish, skip the birch and by a sheet of okume plywood and a can of teak oil. Works well for interior finishing

Cam

Conchy Joe,
The amount of weight you are adding to the starboard side concerns me. B28's typically list to starboard due to factory battery placement on that side and weight of the dinette when occupied. Also, refrigerator placement forward in the former locker area adds bow weight that B28 do not like. If I remember correctly, Yannis placed the refrigerator to port and against the head bulkhead further aft. You may want to position comparable ballast weight in the proposed areas and make sure you are not loosing cruising speed before you start construction. Just my 2 cents.
Harry

On my B33, which had formica on all the flat surfaces, I removed the formica, filled any areas where the underlying plywood came apart and stuck to the formica, and covered it with teak veneer. This isn't the cheapest way, with a 4'x8' sheet costing about $135 each in 2011, but then you have real smooth teak, that you can oil or varnish, whatever she likes. If you go the veneer route there is a simple application technique that does not use crappy contact cement. There is an endless variety of veneers available, costing a lot less than teak.

When I redid the Anna E., I used ply, faired with epoxy and painted it with a Brightsides (a 1-part paint). It came out like this:



I'm redoing the interior of Crows Nest, and I'm going to do pretty much the same thing. Ply, epoxy, and paint. The mistake I made last time was not covering the ply with f'glass cloth or maybe Formica. After a few years, if the sun hit it right, you could see a little grain coming through. With Crows Nest, it'll be ply, epoxy, f'glass or laminate, paint. I used the teak trim because I liked the way it looked, and it hid my mistakes really well. The white paint to me was important to brighten up the interior. Just an idea. Keep us posted. Good luck.

Troy,
I agree that reefer placement where the storage closet was is too far forward. When I was redoing mine the fridge went close to the stock location next to head wall. The fridge itself may not be heavy, but when you fill it and every other space on the boat for a trip I think performance will suffer. When I installed all the other stuff I took the approach that if it weighed more than a PFD it was going to be mounted on engine space/cabin bulkhead. Compressors, fire extinguishers etc are all mounted as far aft as possible. V berth storage is nothing but PFD's. The photo Yannis posted of the starboard side is very similar to mine.

Now for material, I recall using birch plywood form Home Depot for the same reason you are. Maybe it was finished ply but either way I threw some varnish or urethane on it and am fine with it. I was more concerned with function than finish. I think I used 5/8 thickness. I think 1/2 or even 3/8 inch would be more than enough. I unknowingly overbuilt and it cost me some weight.

Set the galley counter top all the way to the window or under it. You will gain lots of floor space and really open up the cabin. Mine is vertically flush with the step up in the cabin sole. I used home depot counter top and cut it to the proper length.

Just a few pics to give you an idea of the kitchen project. If you have your reefer custom made, as I did, DON'T make the mistake I did in that it was a bit wider than the cabin door!!! We had to cut it in two parts and re-assemble it inside.
Kevin, great couch you have there, I like the fwb cabin open space too.
Troy, the 203 cm that my couch measures is plenty length wise. What if you reconstructed the stb storage space with the A/C on the floor and the rest for storage. You might miss that space if you remove it altogether.
I agree with Cam; plywood with a stained teak oil plus a teak trim for the front edge; once the pillows are put in place you just see the teak trim and you have a real...Feretti effect Ha ha ha.









Front cabin bulkhead; I incorporated the angled floor bit INTO the cabinet.











Amazing what Ikea can do for you ! Their kitchen drawers come in Bertram cream color! The rear panel (behind the bottles) is 6 mm ply covered with teak.

I always thought the bathroom was a space waster on the 28. I was kicking around the idea of re arranging the footprint and recessing the bowl into the interliner against the port side with the sink above it. Or maybe catty corner the bowl and sink. No reason for all that elbow room and frankly I like the tight quarters when underway, gives the guys walls to wedge themselves against so they can take better aim. The forward wall can then be brought aft freeing up a foot more port side cabin space. The door to the head can be angled at a 45 or better yet a curved door will open up the cabin even more.
Good luck with the redo!

IRGuy wrote:If you go the veneer route there is a simple application technique that does not use crappy contact cement.

Thanks to explain this application technique without contact cement.
Olivier