Compadre originally had two matching cabinets facing each other in the saloon: One to port with two doors and one to starboard with five drawers. At some point in her history the starboard cabinet was removed and a wood-burning fireplace was installed in its place, as shown below.
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| Saloon looking forward with fireplace. |
This was a reasonably clean installation, but really not a smart idea with potentially flammable seat cushions just a few inches away. One of our first projects after acquiring Compadre was to install forced-air diesel heat, so we had little use for a smoky and possibly dangerous fireplace. Plus our goal is to keep Compadre as original as possible while being a comfortable and safe boat. So we decided it was time to pull out the fireplace and rebuild the original cabinet.
The following pictures show the progression from fireplace to finished cabinet. We knew the dimensions and design of the original cabinet from Compadre's deck plan. I removed the fireplace and Jeff Galey at Port Townsend Shipwrights built it's replacement.
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| Fireplace gone. Front framing in place. Backside is patterned |
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Teak corner post detail.
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| Ready for drawers, paint and varnish. |
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Finished restoration
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| They match! |
This was a very satisfying project, not only because we were able to return part of the boat to it's original design but also because of the storage space we gained (always a consideration on any boat). And course Jeff and the other craftsmen at Port Townsend Shipwrights were great to work with and did a fine job.
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