A few finishing touches were needed to complete the galley this season. The two hatches for the refrigerator and freezer and the sink side storage locker had to be attached along with some plumbing and trim. The solid surface pieces were lined up and glued to the insulated painted plywood pieces with thickened epoxy. Flush mounted stainless steel piano hinges were attached to the hatches to mount them in the galley.
The refrigerator hatch and the sink side storage locker are inset flush with the counter top so they needed a latch to open them. The freezer hatch can be opened by grabbing the front of the hatch. The latches were inset using a router to cut it into the top of the solid surface material. I used a small 1/4 inch round router bit and set it to the thickness of the latch body which was about 1/8 inch. I had one chance to make the right cut. If I messed it up there was not another piece to replace it. I carefully measured the latch to make sure I routed it perfectly square. I set up some guides boards with clamps and took it slow and it turned out great. The stainless latches had square corners so I rounded those over with a grinder a little at a time until they fit the routed corners. Part of the latch was thicker so I had to use a wood bit to make a deeper circular ring for that to fit into. A third deep hole had to be made to fit the latch.
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Routing the latch |
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Latch routed with rounded corners |
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Latch screw holes drilled |
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Surface mounted latch complete |
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Gluing on the freezer solid surface with thickened epoxy |
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Storage locker next to the sink |
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Freezer hatch attached with piano hinge |
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Refrigerator hatch attached with piano hinge |
Gas struts were added to the refrigerator, freezer and sink side storage locker to keep the hatches open. There is nothing worse than having to hold open the hatch while digging into the bottom of the freezer. Two struts were needed on the heavier freezer hatch. A variety of struts of different lengths and strengths can be purchased on Amazon.
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Struts attached to sink side storage locker |
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Hatch struts all attached |
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Refrigerator hatch complete |
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Galley with all hatches completed |
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Sink side storage locker with recessed latch |
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Freezer hatch attached with flush piano hinge |
I added a faucet and drains to the sink in the galley. I used a hole saw to cut the 1 1/4 inch hole for the faucets. The supply lines were led down and attached to the supply lines below. The drains were hooked up to the PVC that leads down to the gray water sump in the engine room. The sump pumps out automatically through the bilge pump hose when it gets full.
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Sink drains installed |
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Faucet hole cut with hole saw |
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New galley faucet |
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Galley sink complete |
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Sink drains and sink supply lines |
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The fresh water pump was installed below the galley sink |
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The gray water sump was mounted in the engine room |
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The head sink and shower drain line were attached to the PVC drain line |
One last feature added to the galley was a pantry at the end of the freezer and just aft of the mast. This area was unused so it was a great location for some added storage which is easily accessible. It was built about eight years ago and had been sitting in the closet until the galley was completed. Special air tight containers were purchased to fit on the shelves. This will be handy for storing flower, sugar, rice, pasta and other staples.
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Pantry floats off the floor |
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Aft view |
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Side view |
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View from forward of the mast |
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Front view |
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Detail of the cut around the countertop |
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Piece added to extend up to the headliner |
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Piece added on |
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Glued and clamped |
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Full galley view |
The galley came together nicely but is still not completely finished. We bought an electric induction cook top to use for cooking. Some sort of gimbaling cabinet needs to be built to house that and possibly a convection oven. This will be in place of a gas stove. We no longer wanted to carry propane on the boat. Apart from that the galley is looking ready to go. All the trim and major projects are completed.
Sail On /)
Mark
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