Nick_H
Well-Known Member
Some of Princess' flybridge layouts are baffling. My boat has a saloon for six, cabins for six, dinette for six, and a flybridge table barely big enough for four /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. So, inspired by the layout on jfm's Sq 58, I decided to change things. Whilst I was doing it, I also decided to make the fly a bit more plush, with teak decking, teak table, and Sunbrella seat cushions.
This is how it looked before:
You can see there's no way to seat six for food:
Making the table bigger involved moving the BBQ unit from behind the helm seats, and re-positioning it against the port side flybridge wall, where there's plenty of space. This would leave the square edge at the back of the helm seat moulding showing, so I got a GRP company to cut it down and fair it off.
The other problem with extending the table is that the stbd side cool box is higher than the seating, so would stop people sliding along, so that had to be cut down as well. This picture is the same thing on Hurricane's boat, as I don't have a photo.
For the teak decking, I made up templates in a thin rigid foam, the sliced them up to bring them back on the plane.
KJ Howells then made up the decking panels to my templates, eight in all. The panels were excellent, and fitted perfectly.
I found a South African guy to help me lay the panels, and i'm very glad I did as he was fantastic. He started by masking the area to avoid having to clean up too much glue. He then laid a very thin layer of sikkaflex.
With the glue laid, the panel is then lowered into place, starting at one end and flexing the panel to avoid trapping air underneath. I was concerned he was using about half the spreading rate of glue that sikkaflex reccommend, but sure enough when the weights were placed on, there was a small bead of glue squeezed out around the perimiter of the panel showing a good contact. Each of these weights is 25 kgs!
The other panels were then done in the same way, leaving the border of the removeable floor panel, which was filled with thin teak strips later, so it can be routered out if the engines ever need lifting. Then the table leg was re-fitted in a different orientation, and the new teak table top fitted.
Once the glue had set, caulking was applied around the edges and between the panels, as necessary
The BBQ unit was then re-installed in its new position, the Sunbrella upholstery was added, and my gorgeous new steering wheel, shamelessly copied from Absolute, was the finishing touch.
The final result
We've now lived with it for a bit and its so much better. The flybridge feels more spacious, and there's plenty of room for a banquet for six, using foldeable chairs at the front end.
In the evenings, with the teak and sunbrella being so much warmer, it feels like a classy lounge bar, and in the day we're not blinded by the glare from all that white.
I kept the cost right down by doing a fair bit myself, and bringing most of the stuff from the UK to avoid crazy French prices. I've also tested BMI Baby's baggage policy to the limit /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
The only bit left to do is to convert the cupboard under the BBQ into a fridge to replace the coolbox taken out, but that can wait till the end of the season, as we're now busy using the boat as much as poss.
I'd also like to thank jfm for all his help, as mid way through I had to have a minor op and couldn't fly, so he did some measuring up for the panels, and gave me regular updates on progress. This is after helping with the purchase structure for the boat and finding me the berth in Antibes!
This is how it looked before:
You can see there's no way to seat six for food:
Making the table bigger involved moving the BBQ unit from behind the helm seats, and re-positioning it against the port side flybridge wall, where there's plenty of space. This would leave the square edge at the back of the helm seat moulding showing, so I got a GRP company to cut it down and fair it off.
The other problem with extending the table is that the stbd side cool box is higher than the seating, so would stop people sliding along, so that had to be cut down as well. This picture is the same thing on Hurricane's boat, as I don't have a photo.
For the teak decking, I made up templates in a thin rigid foam, the sliced them up to bring them back on the plane.
KJ Howells then made up the decking panels to my templates, eight in all. The panels were excellent, and fitted perfectly.
I found a South African guy to help me lay the panels, and i'm very glad I did as he was fantastic. He started by masking the area to avoid having to clean up too much glue. He then laid a very thin layer of sikkaflex.
With the glue laid, the panel is then lowered into place, starting at one end and flexing the panel to avoid trapping air underneath. I was concerned he was using about half the spreading rate of glue that sikkaflex reccommend, but sure enough when the weights were placed on, there was a small bead of glue squeezed out around the perimiter of the panel showing a good contact. Each of these weights is 25 kgs!
The other panels were then done in the same way, leaving the border of the removeable floor panel, which was filled with thin teak strips later, so it can be routered out if the engines ever need lifting. Then the table leg was re-fitted in a different orientation, and the new teak table top fitted.
Once the glue had set, caulking was applied around the edges and between the panels, as necessary
The BBQ unit was then re-installed in its new position, the Sunbrella upholstery was added, and my gorgeous new steering wheel, shamelessly copied from Absolute, was the finishing touch.
The final result
We've now lived with it for a bit and its so much better. The flybridge feels more spacious, and there's plenty of room for a banquet for six, using foldeable chairs at the front end.
In the evenings, with the teak and sunbrella being so much warmer, it feels like a classy lounge bar, and in the day we're not blinded by the glare from all that white.
I kept the cost right down by doing a fair bit myself, and bringing most of the stuff from the UK to avoid crazy French prices. I've also tested BMI Baby's baggage policy to the limit /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
The only bit left to do is to convert the cupboard under the BBQ into a fridge to replace the coolbox taken out, but that can wait till the end of the season, as we're now busy using the boat as much as poss.
I'd also like to thank jfm for all his help, as mid way through I had to have a minor op and couldn't fly, so he did some measuring up for the panels, and gave me regular updates on progress. This is after helping with the purchase structure for the boat and finding me the berth in Antibes!
