[Rhodes22-list] Agile's interior

[Graham Stewart]

I thought I sent the final update on my Rhodes 22 interior rebuild last June
but so far as I can tell I just sent it to myself. So I am sending it out
again. My apologies if this is a duplicate.
Graham
_____


A long time ago I was asked to post pictures of Agile's interior when it was
completed. Well I have finally finished the interior and can post those
pictures.

There is nothing fancy about the interior. Certainly nothing like the
amazing carpentry of Peter Nyberg. My goal was to be efficient, cheap and as
maintenance free as possible. There are a few bits of teak - mostly left
over from my previous install but all surfaces now are white Formica
cladding over the original or replacement plywood. Much of the trim is
aluminum and PVC. 

As I mentioned before, I shortened the galley by about 8" in order to
install a hanging locker. I use it for safety vests and rain gear but
occasionally a garment bag with good clothes when we are cruising and want
to get dressed up a bit.

Instead of an ice box built in to the counter I use a portable cooler that
sits between the seat and the locker in front of the companion way. This
works very well for me. The cooler is quite large, portable, provides a step
into the boat, takes up previously unused space and, as it unexpectedly
turned out,  also serves to hold the companionway doors in front of the
galley storage drawers when underway. That locations turns out to be very
convenient, takes up no space and also serves to keep the galley drawers
closed when on a port heel. 

For water I found a 23L (6 gal) jerry can that just fits under the sink. I
installed a deck fill for water but have not connected it to the tank. It is
easier for me to take the tank to the water than bring water to the tank but
the deck fill is there when or if I or a subsequent owner needs it. On my
boat the holding tank deck outlet was within a foot of the potable water
deck fill on the starboard side deck. I was very uncomfortable with that
arrangement so when I rebuilt the deck and replaced the holding tank I moved
the tank outlet to the other side (port) of the boat.

The drawers are just plastic drawer units that I bought for $35. It will be
interesting to see if they last  more than a few days. They come in a unit
of three drawers and that was too high to fit so I cut off the bottom drawer
and put in a spacer that gives me a 4" space under the unit which, as it
turns out, is just the right size to store my portable three burner propane
stove. We never cook down below so using a propane stove is not a problem
and using a portable stove saves space on the galley counter.

The floor is completely rebuilt from the hull up. The old stringers were in
bad shape and the structure under the compression post was crushed and
rotted so I had to replace everything. The new stringers are made of
pressure treated pine 5/4" deck boards that have been encapsulated in
multiple coatings of epoxy. The floor sits on the stringers and on aluminum
angle pieces running the length of the cabin at the base of the side seats
and under the galley. It is bolted down to the stringers using metal insert
nuts and to the aluminum rails using aluminum insert nuts. Previously wood
screws were used and over the years the screw holes became enlarged or worse
and the floor boards were always loose. Hopefully this arrangement will
address that problem.

The floor itself is 1/2" interior grade plywood that I coated in several
coats of epoxy and painted with a marine grade paint. The top is covered
with a vinyl cushion floor that is attached with contact cement. It should
be very low maintenance and nom-skid. It also brightens the interior
considerably from the dark stained wood that was there before. It has gone
through one severe winter and there are no signs that the cushion floor is
lifting - so far. There was some discussion on the list about whether 1/2"
floor boards would be adequate. I have found it to be quite adequate with no
sense that they are soft. Maybe the 3/4" boards would be better if the
people using the boat are much heavier that Deb and I. The advantage of the
thinner boards is that they are lighter and much easier to manhandle when
they need to be removed. Also, at 6'3" I appreciate every fraction of an
inch of head space.

I put the electrical panel on the main bulkhead. It is really unused space
and makes it very easy to service the panel from the back. I added a small
unit I got from Amazon that provides a power outlet that I use to trickle
charge the battery with a small portable solar charger. It also has two USB
charging outlets and a voltmeter. I really like being able to monitor the
battery charge so easily. Instruments and lights are the only items that
draw power and I replaced all lights with LEDs. I decided that all I really
need is a little garden tractor battery. I used big deep discharge batteries
before but found that inevitably they were shot after a few years. I am
hoping that with the low draw and ability to monitor its state that this
inexpensive battery will suffice. We will see.

Window frames are made of PVC trim pieces.

In the final analysis the interior is a pretty bare bones interior but the
boat being a 1976 has always been a modest boat and does not justify going
to great expanse to refurbish. Lord knows I have already spent lots on it. I
did splurge on new interior cushions as the old ones were utterly shot. That
spruces things up a lot. The hull interior, where exposed, is covered with
indoor/outdoor carpeting.

Graham Stewart
Agile. R22, 1976
Kingston Ontario Canada


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