Penn Yan 26' rebuild progress......

I started by basically gutting the interior of the boat. The two main objectives were to update 1975 'systems' with new, and then do a cosmetic makeover of the interior. One other task that had to be incorporated was the conversion of the aft cabin bulkhead from a canvas curtain to a solid wall with door. Let me first show you some of the interior guts.

A mess, eh? Not exactly. This is the place where I pulled the galley out. You can just peek the holding tank in the fore cabin with the drain hose coiled in the bottom and the vent line coming through the bulkhead by the helmsman's feet. Near there, I'm mounting a 3-outlet heater from a hot rod supplier that will run off the hot water of the stb. engine. I'm also putting in another depth sounder for the upper helm.

Just aft of the foot box is a big notch where they had a 110v frig. I was quite happy to toss that along with the dumbass electric cooktop. (who the hell wants to find shore power every time you want a Tea?!) You'll be pleased (if you haven't gotten this deep into your boat) that all the main cabinetry and bulkheads are all real, 3/4" marine ply. The glassed stringer that's notched (where the hose is coiled over) is solid mahogany. These folks were damn serious when they built this boat! I'm going to paint the cut with epoxy to make sure it's sealed forever.

This is the aft view on the stb. side. You get a better view of the cutout for the frig. I since filled the notch in the fore/aft bulkhead and am working on a rear bulkhead with a lead/foam/foil sound barrier that goes between the engine room and main cabin. The brown thing on the left is an air shaft--a wonderfully crafted detail! I apologize for globbing on some putty, but it shook loose and after this picture--no one will ever see it again--in my lifetime! I've still yet to resolve how I want to route my hyd. hoses for the steering and clean up the engine cables and wiring loom--it's hard to hide a 3" conduit on a 26' boat.

This is Port side forward--an interesting view. You'll notice I've kept the inlet for the crapper (even tho' the not-Kosher, thru-hull violates all my sailboat principles.) I've added a strainer and perfumer. One little safety deal is the plug I've chained to the thru-hull--you gotta have them. It's a lot easier to plug a hole when you've got the bung handy--not in some damn locker--SOMEWHERE!! Note the white stuff sticking out this way from the bulkhead. That's headliner perforated vinyl/foam combo. (Probably the very first thing I did was have a party for myself taking out every sq.in. of that gawd awful, gold shag carpeting! Jeez--I can't imagine any boat being sold 'except maybe to guys who drove up in Crown Vics!) The perf'd stuff goes up against the hull and I'll use Teak & Holly (simulated, made in India plywood)for both the locker, settee, helmsman, and cabin soles. The only guilty feelings I'm having is switching from all the mahogany already in the boat to Teak for paneling, trim and soles. Oh well.

The water tank was the first disappointment. The 'vent' was a 1/16" hole drilled in the top of tank about where I installed mine. There was no way to get into the tank to clean it--and it had all sorts of crapus in there. Yuk. I put in the white access port and found the inside was gelcoated, so just used bleach and some other fancy chemicals, and now it' fine. It's only about 15gal., but this is just a weekender anyway. I had to make a couple of wood supports, but really nothing to speak of.

Now we've got some hardware to look at. I routed the F.W. inlet up to the port, side deck because I wanted it far from fuel and waste. I'm keeping the vent line inboard (hidden behind a side wall) and have topped it with bug screening. I'm also bug screening the fresh air shafts 'cause we have lots of Mud Dauber/wasps around here. I've got a new pump with accumulator tank, and you'll notice the H.W. heater. I've not sold out to the dock--I'm only using the heat exchanger portion with hot water from the port engine to take the sting off a deck shower. (my wife would rather not always put her hands in cold water either.) I figger'd I better poly-insulate the H.W. line to the sink and shower if I ain't gonna be plugg'n in like a RV.

The yellow paint edges(some kinda zinc chromate?)the rear fuel tank. This one sits well out of the bilge water and in 25 years doesn't seem the worse for wear. I'll paint the edges with POR 15 and the little bit of rust on the welded seams will be history. (the center tank is another story: I don't like stuff that sits in bilge water that you can't see the bottom of. Out it comes when I change the manifolds and a 55gal plastic one goes back in.

Now, it's back here where I found a few serious short comings. The bottom rear of the vertical settee back and rear, vertical edge of the galley module...the plywood panel behind the step..and the rear of the base for the dinette were all rotted pretty well. (I'm making a 3 X grp27 battery box and step combo to replace the little step.) You gotta figure that after 25 years and maybe the guy before you not paying attention to his canvas--a little water will get over the fwd. lip of the cockpit sole, so it ain't a big deal--espc. since I'm goona board up the whole back bulkhead anyway!? (so far the only major problem with this boat was the G.D. gold carpet!) All the new wood going back in is marine ply with a deck stain/waterproofer.

Here's two views of this--I had to cut out the rear support for the sidewindows because they were too short (fore-aft) to cover the upper sides of the rear bulkheads I'm making. That was also interesting--this was a 'real' 1+1/2", 10-12 ply, chunk of marine ply. They capped it 3-sides with aluminum trim and faced it with teak Formica. (the back edge was a teak boarding handle) It was all rotted out under the Formica at the bottom, and it was a bitch to get out. ....you gotta to buy one of those $50 sawzall's from Harbor Freight. Hell, I got about ten disposable (I ain't plan'n on die'n before them!) power tools for the price of one small table saw.

So, you wanted to know what the original galley looks like, no?! T'is it. I'm re-doing the whole concept. I'll keep the format but will have a pull-out drawer for the cooler. I got a Origo 2-burner, alchol stove and a fancy round sink that cost a bunch. We'll cap it with a piece of Corian and have more storage--with perhaps a little nicer cabinet work for the drawer and door facings. I've found a 4X8 plastic sheet that looks like the finest glasswork you've seen and will combine that with teak to modernize the look. What the Hell--a new boat this size costs a Ton!

I wish I had more time. I can only put in a few hours a week even tho' I own my own business, and it sits out back of my shop. Still, I find this part probably more fun than spending $100 running a bunch of civilians who are prone attract rain showers and get faint around our part of the Chesapeake.

I'll do this again when I get something I think is intersting. (wait 'till you see my new head set up!) One thing: Please understand--I don't know squat about what I'm really doing. I'm not a mechanic..not a carpenter..not a boat builder..not a plumber (maybe I got rid of the 110 'cause I'm not an electrician!..and am smart enough not to fake it.) I'm just some Joe who knows the right places to get in trouble--and am having fun doing it.

Jim Cancil Salisbury,MD 23Sep99