A Head Looking Back

Some folks were interested in more information on the white lamination I made to the head area so I added more pictures and information. 

The picture toward left displays the white (plastic) counter type formica on the back wall of the head area. Notice the oak laminate around the port light. The same but older and cracking apart oak laminate was on the back wall. I wanted less maintenance and a cleaner look and because all the walls in the head had white formica except for two walls prior to my ownership of Great Ketch, I decided to make the entire head area white. Moreover, Nat Herreshoff typically had the inside of his boats white. The large opening allows one to access the engine room. The panel to the engine room is oak veneer and will be changed to white during the winter of 2020.

I removed the oak veneer panel that surrounded the port light in the head area as well. Using the panel I removed I was able to make a new template and make the white laminate panel. The process I performed was to epoxy the white laminate onto a thin sheet of plywood 1/8 thick. The plywood was epoxy sealed first,then I epoxied the white plastic to the plywood, followed by trimming the edges with a router and then file. When the template was complete I glued it to the wall so that I can remove it later if required.

Braces on Wal

Picture displays braces pressing the larger laminate to the back wall.The process was the same as outlined above. I made the braces from by cutting small squares from plywood and screwing one screw only through the plywood to the top of the wood brace. A foam pad was glued to the plywood and each brace post was cut a little longer than the measurement from back wall to the opposing wall. I wanted to ensure that the brace can be wedged between the walls with enough pressure to hold the template against the wall having the white lamination.