Pilothouse Interior Wall Treatment

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cbigma

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The recent thread on Cupholders Here reminded me to post this project.

My first reaction to the cupholder debate was, "Cupholders? Sure, I got 'em" Several screwed into the Port wall along with a papertowel holder, utility hooks, and a knick-knack shelf. :shock:

Portside.jpg

More on the starboard side, screwed into the wall, along with a teak binocular holder, cell phone holder, and pen/fid holder. :shock:

helm2.jpg


Before you fellow Parker Owners threaten to burn me at the stake, look closely.

port1.jpg

These are "false walls" Made of 1/4 inch plywood on a 1X3 fir frame that I can screw into to my heart's content without even so much as even scratching gelcoat. The Cupholder Dilemma drove me to it. I am a two-fisted coffee drinker. Each trip out I need two travel mugs full of steaming black coffee. One to give me courage to jump into seawater which is less than 60 degrees, and one to help me recover afterwards. 8)

The day after I bought Perseverance from Stonebuster, I realized that if she and I were to have a happy life together, we would have to find a way to install many cupholders in her Pilothouse.

The concept is really simple. Build a false wall from a lightweight material that can be attached to the "real wall" without damaging it. Use this false wall to attach any number of cupholders, hooks, shelves and anything else you'd like. :D

Cut a piece of 1/4 inch plywood to fit the wall(s) you want to cover. Then frame the piece of plywood by attaching (glue and screw) 1X3 pine strapping around the back edges. This holds the 1/4 inch plywood out from the wall to keep screws in the things you attach to the plywood face from touching the "real" wall. Along the bottom, turn the strapping 90 degrees to form an "L" with the plywood. This will serve as the "foot" which will be fastened to the bottom of the "real" wall.

Now you need to upholster the false wall with fabric that closely matches the OEM Parker fabric. Of course, if your Pilothouse does not have a fabric covering, then you can skip this step. I used some fabric I found at a local fabric store. If I were to do it again, I would find matching OEM fabric by calling Robin at Parker Marine, or just asking you guys here on ClassicParker.com. Just stretch the fabric into place and secure with staples on the reverse side.

To fasten the Port false wall, I installed three screws along the bottom of the false wall by drilling three holes in the fiberglass wall "overhang" that sticks down at the bottom of the port wall. See photo below, it is the lip that runs along, just above the lifejackets shown in the photo. This lip allows you to screw into it without ruining an "exterior" wall and the associated gelcoat.
portunder.jpg
portunder1.jpg

The top of the port false wall is held in place by slipping it under a
"knob" that I made using a piece of poly tubing screwed into the teak trimpiece just above the curtain.

portknob1.JPG

On the starboard side I fastened the wall along the bottom lip just as the port side. On the top, there was no fastener to use like the port side, so I sewed the corner in place using a curved mattress needle and some stout thread.
sew.jpg


I didn't carry the starboard wall all the way forward, but I have what I need, my coffee, my binoculars, a cell phone holder, and lots of space to screw anything else I can think of later. :D

Helm.jpg


I am not above mounting screws directly into the beefy Parker Pilothouse overhead. Here is my 4 Cell Maglite mounted right up over the Port Seat, ready for use.

maglite.jpg
 

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Great idea John ... I like that Mag-Lite idea :) !
 
Nice work. :wink:
Until you showed the false wall, I thought those walls were the real deal. :)

I keep a mini-mag light in my cabin... in a cupholder. :D
 
Beautiful work! Any issues with your Maglite becominig a missile hazard in heavy seas?

Jim
 
JimH":k3zu9n01 said:
Beautiful work! Any issues with your Maglite becominig a missile hazard in heavy seas?

Jim

Haven't had any issues yet Jim. Mag makes some really solid stuff.

magmount.jpg


It takes more than a quick swipe of the paw to get this light down from it's perch. It's almost annoyingly tough to pull down to use.

Not sure I would have tried it with anybody else's OTC hardware but Mag though. 8)

If you wanted some peace of mind, I suppose you could put an elastic band at the top of each clip to squeeze the prongs together even more, but then you'd probably have to cut it down when you needed it. :shock:

John.
 
Hmmmm...

Shallow drawers...I could see that....hung down below the edge of the fiberglass wall.....great idea!

Couple of rows of maybe 6"wideX6"deepX2"high

Or maybe longer and deeper for bigger stuff?

Great idea Daniel, maybe you could put together a set in teak!

Sounds like a good winter project.
 
danielb":2b4sq150 said:
I was thinking of using teak as trim and fabric as you had done.
Thanks
Dan:

I was on Cbigma's boat today and saw the false wall firsthand ... it really looks factory and awesome! A useful and unique idea too!
 
danielb":6hnm49ec said:
I was thinking of using teak as trim and fabric as you had done.

Daniel,, I really like the freedom of being able to fasten stuff up on the walls whenever I want without worrying about damaging the "original" finish. I think your teak trim idea is great. I'm sure someone here on CP has a source for the OEM Parker fabric. 8)

The most challenging part is fastening the top. I bet you'll come up with a creative way to handle that. Keep us posted!

Dale,, thanks for the kind words...

............John
 
cbigma !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John, congrats...that is one sweet "cupholder" unit :D ! It sure looks factory made !!!!! If you show it to Parker, mabe they'll name a factory option look-a-like after you..."The Cbigma Option" 8)

Better yet, take a patent out on that beauty :wink: !!

Wish I was that handy...again, congrats :)

Mac
 
Hey Mac,,

You know what's truly amazing? There are five pages of listed projects here, going back to the first day of ClassicParker.com. :lol:

More than two hundred Parker-specific "how-tos" since our "opening day" in late February! That is almost a project-a-day!! :shock:

And this is just in the "Projects" forum alone, not even counting the others! :)

Some of the most creative stuff I have ever seen done to a boat. Not sure if it is because Parkers are so versatile, or because Parker Owners are great at thinking "out of the box"? Whatever the reason, I hope it continues. 8)

The ClassicParker KnowledgeBase continues to grow rapidly. Thanks to all you Parker Owners willing to share your projects. This is what keeps our site thriving.

John
 
Clearly my "I made a hole in my pilothouse wall and put a hook in there" project is the most advanced on this site. I am hoping Dale can rig the search so that it comes up first every time. It may not be do-able, though.
 
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