Requesting Tips ( or Warnings ! ) About Replacing Galley Countertops

[YOG]

Hello all,

We recently bought a charming 1980 Bristol 40, intact with its less charming, 1980 beat-up melamine-like galley counter-tops.

I'd like to get rid of them! Has anyone out there tried this d-i-y? Did you do anything unusual or novel? Anything I should not do?

I've refinished and painted all manner of land-bound furniture and surfaces but would like to attempt something new as well as practical.
I was contemplating embedding charts or maps into polyurethane.....now that I've written it, not sure about this one.....

Please respond with ideas, and thanks in advance!

Yog

[cantxsailor]

No matter what you decide remember to use the old ones as templates for the new. It will make your job MUCH less of a problem........m

[YOG]

True - thanks!

[clifford sloan]

check out lowes and home depot for their kitchen departments where you can have them custom cut thin layered Corean to order. Use the old ones as templates and it's an easy DIY job. Not familiar with Canada's markets but any large DIY store should be able to give you price comparisons.
All the best !
Clif

[YOG]

Corian is an interesting thought, great!
Thanks.

[bstreep]

Try Solid Surface & Corian Countertop Material Supplier | Kitchen & Bathroom Counters. Look for Corian or Corian knockoff in 1/4". With a router (and a HUGE mess), you can duplicate your old ones. HOWEVER, just remember that solid counters do NOT like 90 degree angles. If your hatches have them, you will need to figure out how to round them, otherwise they will crack at the corners. This is on our project list - and I think it's very doable.

[Bash]

There are only two kinds of cruising boats in this world:

(1) boats with Corian counters;
(2) boats who the owners wish had Corian counters.

[Hillbillylad]

I'm hoping for a Cheoy Lee. Maybe that'll have a korean counter

[Charlie]

I looked at Corian but decided to go with Stainless steel for two reasons 1) price and 2) you are not supposed to put hot pans directly on Corian. Oh yeah reason 3) The admiral said stainless. Here is a link https://picasaweb.google.com/mckenzi...e/CounterTops# to my counter redo. In the pictures I have yet to plug the fiddles and sking the hatch covers. If I had to do it again I would use Corian or a knock off along with wooden fiddles. The reason is that you can set the sink below the counter and sweep things right into the sink. You don't have to buy any of the expensive epoxy to build up the corian. (That is what put the price of Corian over the SS)

The SS is pretty nice though.

[Sailorman Ed]

I replaced a 3 level plywood countertop in the head with a discarded Corian bar top from the Habbitat store ($10) set the sink under the Corian, looks better, easier to clean and more space on one level. The galley is next on my list. Cuts easy with carbide router bits. All the sharp outside corners are now easy on the body radii.