The New Salon Berth - Seating Reborn

As I uncovered the damage done to the galley, I noticed that the dry rot had migrated into the starboard salon furniture and berth.  This included the shelving unit above the berth below.  Fortunately, the damaged areas were essentially limited to the exposed plywood, although I found some rotted ends of the teak ceiling.

Starboard Salon Seat - shelf bottom and ceiling removed to the hull

OK, what to do?  Well, as I looked at the berth design, I was not overly impressed with the way the berth provided seating support for one's back.  If you sat on the starboard berth, you would almost fall back into a full reclined position.  Without big bulky cushions, the starboard would be total unworkable AND be a lousy sea berth.

After a few sessions of just looking and thinking, I came up with a very simple retro fit.  First the rotted shelf bottom would be removed and used as a template for a new bottom.  This shelf bottom would extend out beyond the cabinet front by a few inches to met a sloping back of the new berth back.  Within the berth back would be extra storage space.  The berth itself would be slightly reduced to form a comfortable seat, but, more importantly, a secure sea berth.

I was able to procure some sapele striped mahogany plywood from Boulter Plywood, and using some extra merranti plywood for internal supports the framework came together nicely.  I installed new insulation on the hull, and used Reflectix for that purpose:  the Reflectix obtained at either Home Depot or Lowes provides a suitable radiant heat barrier and an R factor of about 3.5 to 4.0 when doubled up.

New Starboard Salon Berth with Reflectix insulation and ceiling

With storage being provided behind the berth back, I needed to construct hatches for access.  I didn't want hinged cupboards which would be uncomfortable to lean back on.  Even though the seat back was canted back about 15 degrees for comfort, I needed the hatches to stay put.  Drawing from some traditional woodworking, I made mahogany pins for the back of the hatches.  These pins apply enough pressure on the seat back to hold the hatch panel in its space within the seat back.

The openings and hatches were made of sapele mahogany trimmed in teak .  When the final finish is applied there will be 5 coats of varnish.  However, the teak trim will be glossy with the main panels being done in either hand rubbed or satin vanish.

As it is getting into Fall, and I would like to save some travel time going back and forth from New Hampshire to Marion, MA, I need to be able to use the berth for sleeping.  I am sure I will get that chance in October.  With the sun setting earlier, I need as much working time as possible

Finished Starboard Salon Berth - access panel hatches have been removed and new seat mahogany seat front trim was added

The berth is done with the exception of plugging the screw holes and finish varnishing.  That will be a task for next year, I am sure.  I am very happy with the outcome, and it feels real good to actually build something back up rather than to continue to tear something out!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!