UNDER THE GALLEY

I began replacing rotten pieces under the galley today.  I tackled the lower shelf first.  A new shelf was cut out of marine grade plywood using the old shelf as a template.  This proved quite effective as I was able to not only get the shape of the plywood exact, but also able to pre-drill screw holes that matched the old holes for attachment of the shelf to the hull.

The original shelf attached to the hull with a series of screws along one edge of the shelf while one end of the shelf was attached to a cleat mounted to a bulk head.  The cleat was not attached well and had rotted out.  I decided to attach the shelf to two new cleats made of star board so that the cleats would not rot out again.  I also located the cleats in a different location so that there was more support for the shelf compared to the original support.

First, I temporarily positioned the shelf into its intended position and marked the top edge of the shelf on the adjacent fiberglass.

I then installed two cleats below this line by a distance of the thickness of the shelf.

The shelf was then fastened to the hull and the cleats.

Then it was on to the top shelf.  The top shelf was in reasonably good condition, although very dirty from years of use.  The support cleats were not in great conditions, so I decided to replace them.  Two new cleats were fabricated out of starboard and fastened to the adjacent bulk heads.

And then the shelf installed and screwed to the cleats.

Then everything was taken apart.  I will next be priming this entire area (fiberglass and shelves) with Interprotect 2000e and then finish coating the area with a coat of paint.