Shower Refresh

Apropos has a nice separate shower stall (some boats have a wet head that combine the shower with the rest of the bathroom). The floor has a teak grating with a water tight compartment below it that gets pumped overboard automatically using a float switch to power a pump. The lower sections of the shower walls are tiled and the upper sections painted, with teak trim between. A seating bench has teak decking with caulk, matching the outside teak decks. Teak doors open to a small storage cabinet, and above that it is a teak shelf.

The main objective was to repaint the walls. The paint was most likely original and after over 40 years, was wearing thin and had lots of scuffs & scratches. I decided to first varnish the teak with 4 coats of Petit Flagship satin, then mask the teak to paint the walls. I used a special epoxy high-gloss paint for the walls. This paint is made for wet areas and can even be used for underwater. Four coats were required to get a nice even finish with a light sanding between coats. I cleaned the teak grating and seating area then coated with Semco. A new shower curtain needed to be custom sewn to shorten the length and I improved the curtain rail attachments. Lastly, I made 6 magnetic curtain holders (3 per side) to keep it closed during showers.

The pump used to pump the shower water overboard was an original Jabsco Par belt-driven diaphram pump (43 years old!). Apropos had 3 of these pumps (bilge, fresh water, shower) on board and they worked very well for many years. I used to carry re-build kits aboard and have rebuilt them. But there are more modern pumps available now that use less power and are higher performance. I replaced the hoses and pump with a Whale Gulper 220.

More Interior Varnish

I continued with varnishing the cabin teak that I started a year ago. The teak panels just inside the companionway (both sides of the steps) were the most worn due to UV exposure when the hatch is open. Both sides required heating & scraping the old varnish to get down to bare wood, then sanded for a more even coloring. I applied 4 coats of satin varnish to the vertical planks and 4 coats of high gloss varnish to the 2 grab-rails. Here are the before and after pics.

I removed the panels in the galley that enclose the engine bay to bring them home for refinishing. First I removed the hardware, then sanded with 80 grit followed by 240 grit sandpaper, followed by 4 coats of Petit Flagship Varnish in satin. I polished the hardware and coated with ProtectaSeal, something I’ve been doing with interior brass and bronze parts for years. The teak frame that holds these panels was refinished on the boat.

I’ll continue varnishing the interior throughout the winter until my spring projects take over. This spring/summer it’s time for another haul-out where I’ll re-paint the bottom, replace the cutlass bearing, replace the shaft seal, and service the Maxprop propellor. This is the last major work to get Apropos ready for her next big cruise.