Refinishing the Interior of a 1979 Cape Dory 27

[atcowboy]

I'm considering refinishing the interior of my boat. It's looking a little tatty and I'd like to spruce it up and stop it from getting any worse.

I am basically thinking of using TotalBoat Halcyon everywhere. A few coats of gloss, and if I think that gloss is too much one coat of satin over it.

I really don't think the interior of my boat has ever been refinished and that I am looking at aged factory "finish" and these are my feelings/observations;

- The ceilings (wood paneling along hull of boat - just to be clear) look like they are natural pine.
- All the teak trim/fiddles looks like it's just raw teak. Fiddles near the stove/companion way where they have been touched for 40 years are darker than all the rest, presumably from body grease.
- The companion way stairs look like they are a super dark teak/wood, which I've seen on other cape dory's so I think it may have been oiled or stained at the factory? It is all a fairly even color so I do not think this is staining from grime.
- The plywood bulkheads looks like at one point in the past it may have had a single extremely thin coat of some type of finish applied over it, but really it just looks like it was never finished. If there is a coating, I doubt that it is from the previous owner.
- The plywood "furniture" so *not* the bulkheads doesn't really look like it has a finish on it.
- The table top looks like it has been finished very thinly with something.

The sole has definitely been finished by the PO with some type of varnish that has worn through, however. I don't think this is factory applied, as there was no effort to mask anything. The sloppiness of this job (bubbles, uneven, grit, no masking etc.) is so "distinctive" and easy to spot it's why I don't feel anything else has been refinished by the PO, basically because nothing else has been butchered.

So now that I've described how I think my boat is finished and that I think it is "factory finished" how to go about the prep work?
Should I just scrub the wood where years of body grease has been ground into commonly touched parts and then a light sanding and go? What I don't want to do is wash/sand discolored areas to find that there was a finish or stain I was unaware of and then have to intensively sand EVERYTHING.

- AT

[csoule13]

Very much looking forward to this thread unspooling, but man, I'd be pretty stoked if my 27 looked that good below deck. Nice job of making her look comfortable.

[csoule13]

After re-reading, I can tell you the ceiling slats, assuming they are factory original, are unfinished ash. I took some of them off about two years ago, cleaned them w/ a two part teak cleaner, and put on a few coats of wipe on poly. The wood had some water stains which mostly came off.

I have the remaining ones off and at home now, and figuring out if there is a better way to get them cleaned up. But I was assured by the folks on the board, they are ash.

[John Stone]

You might find some info at the link that might be of use to you.

http://www.farreachvoyages.com/

As far as brightwork and refinishing wood there is no more of an authority on the subject than Rebecca Whitman. Try her book “Brightwork, The Art of Fnishing wood.”

https://www.amazon.com/Brightwork-Finis ... 0071579818

[Jim Walsh]

The interior looks pretty nice so your projects are going to be a matter of making her look better than she did when she came from the factory. It’ll be nice to see updates as you make progress.
After seeing two dog beds on the starboard settee I’m looking forward to seeing your canine (feline?) crew members.

[jbenagh]

I'm with Jim: very nice interior already!
I followed Rebecca Whitman's instructions on cleaning my cabin sole and steps. I used oxalic acid, washed it a lot, then varnished the sole with Interlux 2 part polyurethane. I only did the horizontal part; I wish I did everything not vertical. I still have plans to do that some time
Jeff

[atcowboy]

Thank you everyone for the compliments on the boat as she sits! It feels really good. I agree a lot of it is in good shape which is why I'd like to keep it that way and think that applying some finish is the way to do that. Of course, advice about that is appreciated because once you apply finish, you need to maintain that. Maybe the discolored areas just need a good cleaning as the wood has stood up for 41-42 years....

The comment of "making it better than it came from the factory" - does that support my thought that there was pretty much no finish from the factory? If I had to guess the sole and the table were factory finished and nothing else. And as previously stated, I think the only re-finish from the PO at this point is the sole.

As per popular request, pictures of the kids...

- AT

[atcowboy]

Just more pictures.

[atcowboy]

You might find some info at the link that might be of use to you.

http://www.farreachvoyages.com/

As far as brightwork and refinishing wood there is no more of an authority on the subject than Rebecca Whitman. Try her book “Brightwork, The Art of Fnishing wood.”

https://www.amazon.com/Brightwork-Finis ... 0071579818

Far Reach was definitely and inspiration in buying a CD. You have a very enviable boat.

That's a very expensive book... even on Abebooks.com it's $65, no copies on thriftbook.com...

- AT

[Keith]

I bought my copy from Thriftbook last fall for $32.25. It is a very good reference book. I had discovered almost all of her techniques on my own over many years of varnishing but I did pick up a few new tricks. So you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Keith

[fmueller]

Your 27 interior looks about like mine ( in good shape ) except I don’t have the nice companions.

I’m satisfied to just apply teak oil yearly to all the surfaces except the sole which gets a coat of varnish every other year. Over time the wood has taken on a nice deep even look. The wood up around my electronics is finished and so is the companionway , but that’s it. Takes me about 3 hours to go thru the whole interior, and I’m liberal with it - just wiping off excess. I get teak oil from West Marine.

Just speaking generally, in the time I have owned my boat, the interior has not degraded much ... or at all. Good house keeping and the oil application seem to be all that is necessary. I buy inexpensive shop rags - or those packages of recycled clothing cut up to be rags, so I always have plenty on hand. These in lieu of paper towels .. by having a few at hand always, and tossing after rinsing and reusing when they finally get too funky .. go a long way toward keeping the surfaces of the boat nice. Salt water is the enemy, not fresh water. If I were ever to apply varnish it would be a semi gloss or satin I think, but just the oil has a really nice vibe ... my two cents. I usually have blankets spread around like you do ... to save wear on the cushions ... but here are a few recent shots ...

Cheers

[atcowboy]

Your 27 interior looks about like mine ( in good shape ) except I don’t have the nice companions.

I’m satisfied to just apply teak oil yearly to all the surfaces except the sole which gets a coat of varnish every other year. Over time the wood has taken on a nice deep even look. The wood up around my electronics is finished and so is the companionway , but that’s it. Takes me about 3 hours to go thru the whole interior, and I’m liberal with it - just wiping off excess. I get teak oil from West Marine.

Just speaking generally, in the time I have owned my boat, the interior has not degraded much ... or at all. Good house keeping and the oil application seem to be all that is necessary. I buy inexpensive shop rags - or those packages of recycled clothing cut up to be rags, so I always have plenty on hand. These in lieu of paper towels .. by having a few at hand always, and tossing after rinsing and reusing when they finally get too funky .. go a long way toward keeping the surfaces of the boat nice. Salt water is the enemy, not fresh water. If I were ever to apply varnish it would be a semi gloss or satin I think, but just the oil has a really nice vibe ... my two cents. I usually have blankets spread around like you do ... to save wear on the cushions ... but here are a few recent shots ...

Cheers

Your interior does look very nice, hopefully we get a chance to compare this year during the cd27 meet. The factory and possibly the PO using an oil would be a great way to explain why I don't see a finish! Do you apply the same teak oil to the ash ceilings?

I'm a big fan of boiled linseed oil on my tools, so I'll go read up about teak oil on my furniture. This is very possibly the way I will go as the upkeep is so much easier!

I may still varnish the ceilings for a nice bright pop to make the space seem bigger (and since they get active wear in the v birth) but oiling the interior seems like a great and quick finish. My current plan with any varnish applied would be a some count of gloss coats (until I like the finish or I'm tired of finishing or out of time) and if I don't like the gloss, a coat of semi gloss over the top of it. This give one the benefit of hedging your bets and it happens to be the recommended way of applying a semi gloss varnish finish.

It's also interesting to compare between different boats of the same models. It looks like you removed your table from the bulk head. I've thought of doing this, or removing the fold out leaf (only). Is that a 3pc set of weems and Plath instruments where the table would be? Very salty. On that same bulk head on the starboard side there is a beefy piece of teak trim at the top I do not have. Maybe you added it as a wire conduit? And your stove kick-out is different then mine. I do not have a drawer there. If I had to guess you also have added a wooden bump on the starboard side above the sink for a heater off some type.

-AT

[fmueller]

Yah - those are the cheapo Weems & Plath tide clock, barometer, and thermometer. So far they work fine. I love the tide clock. They look "ok" ... just could not see $600 for "brass".

I don't even know what you mean by ash ceilings. I'm not seeing them in your pictures I don't think - my ceilings throughout are just white hull liner material ... I've got the ash sideboard slats behind the settees and up in the v-berth. Mine are lightly varnished from the factory I think, and I just keep them clean ... they seem immune to degradation of any kind. Basically I decided some time ago if I was going to spend time with varnish, it would be on the exterior ... I don't think I'd use linseed oil on the interior ... too much buildup. I'm pretty sure CD just stained the plywood that constitutes most of the furniture in our boats besides the trim. Get a bottle of teak oil and give it a try ... it just adds a little "cared for" look to everything and is probably good for the wood. Far be it from me to discourage "improvement" but I decided to spend limited energy on exterior issues since the interior seemed fine and holding its own against father time, which is never the case outside.

You've really got canine safety figured out ... maybe you should say "CD 27, Kennel Model"

[Jim Walsh]

Yah - those are the cheapo Weems & Plath tide clock, barometer, and thermometer. So far they work fine. I love the tide clock. They look "ok" ... just could not see $600 for "brass".

I don't even know what you mean by ash ceilings. I'm not seeing them in your pictures I don't think - my ceilings throughout are just white hull liner material ... I've got the ash sideboard slats behind the settees and up in the v-berth. Mine are lightly varnished from the factory I think, and I just keep them clean ... they seem immune to degradation of any kind. Basically I decided some time ago if I was going to spend time with varnish, it would be on the exterior ... I don't think I'd use linseed oil on the interior ... too much buildup. I'm pretty sure CD just stained the plywood that constitutes most of the furniture in our boats besides the trim. Get a bottle of teak oil and give it a try ... it just adds a little "cared for" look to everything and is probably good for the wood. Far be it from me to discourage "improvement" but I decided to spend limited energy on exterior issues since the interior seemed fine and holding its own against father time, which is never the case outside.

You've really got canine safety figured out ... maybe you should say "CD 27, Kennel Model"

Those “ash sideboard slats” are known as ceilings in nautical nomenclature.

[fmueller]

Had no idea Jim ... !!!

When you think about it, with enough heal, one side or the other becomes the "ceiling"