Currently rebuilding the aft end of the
interior in a '69
Pearson.
Boats from the beginning to at least the '70s had a
wood interior tabbed to the
hull. Later, they began using
fiberglass soles with the interior built outside the
hull and lifted into the hull and tabbed into place. Full FRP linered interiors are a bitch to modify at all and have a decent appearance when you are done. The furniture/bulkheads act as reinforcing for the hull which is one area where you can greatly increase the strength of the hull as the factories typically only used light tabbing.
If you elect to gut the interior, take a ton of pictures before you start. Photograph every joint and cranny and how the interior was assembled before you remove one piece of
wood. Measure every everything and make rough sketches with measurements preferably in a notebook for later reference. Note permanent reference points and locations from them for the the rebuilt interior. Try and preserve as much of the woodwork as you can for later use and/or patterns.
For me, the fastest way to cut through the tabbing is with a
cheap angle grinder,
sanding pad and 60 grit paper. A sawmill would probably
work fine but you will still have to grind the remains of the tabbing. For the
rebuild, a professional quality saber saw is a necessity. Buy a Milwaukee screw driver
Cordless - Drills - Power Tools - Tools & HardwareÂ*at The Home Depot Bult about half the interior of our W32 and installed a couple thousand screws by hand before discovering
electric screw driver. My right hand and arm still haven't recovered from all hand
work with a screwdriver.
Having said the above, don't tear into the interior unless it's rotted beyond saving. You have no idea how much work is involved in putting the interior of a
boat together. If you are addicted and can't control yourself, tackle small areas at a time and don't move on until that section is finished. We built a
power away Westsail 32 kit, essentially a big bathtub with a
motor. From start to launch, took a year with still a bunch of work to be done. We lived in the boatyard. I worked full time and that wasn't 8/5 but 16/7 on the
boat and my wife helped before and after her job. Took us another year of more leisurely labor before we left for SoPac. Along the way managed to shorten the fingers on my left hand in a table saw screw up. Stretch that out for part time work and we're talking years, even decades to gut and
rebuild a boat. You will still regularly find W32 kits purchased in the '70s
for sale, still unfinished, today. We built our Westsail in a yard that was mostly
ferro boats. Went back 10 years after our launch and only one of those 20 or so boats had been finished and launched. Most were in the same condition as when we launched a decade earlier. Most were on their 3rd or more owners and/or were totally abandoned. Home building is the land of broken dreams.
BTW, you won't save any
money doing all the work yourself and quite possibly will have way more
money in the boat than if you'd bought one in good shape in the first place.
Having said the above, I'm doing it again. Bought the boat with all the goodies I wanted and immediately started rebuilding it to my liking. It's an addiction. Have replaced and added to all the
hardware on
deck. Tore out the SPOTs dumb
diesel engine conversion and redid it. That's what got me into rebuilding the
galley. Nearing the completion of the
galley and swear that's the end of modifying the boat. Really, really, really need to quit working on the boat and go sailing.