Galley worktop

Nikia

Nikia

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I'm going to replace the tired looking "Formica " type sheeting on my galley worktops.
Can anyone recommend a suitable product, and adhesive, must be heatproof.
Thanks
 
How about compact laminate?

Check out Madz on YouTube (Channel name - Sail Life) --- click here

Madz does some really nice work, both boat work and documenting it on video.
 
I used Apollo Quicktops Magna for my last boat and I am about to order some more for this one. Comes in a sheet 6mm thick X 3m X 0.6m (make sure you specify the 6mm laminate top only). Easy to work and looks similar to Corian, but much less at £160 / sheet.

If you only have a small area then I do have some light beige off cuts from my last boat, free (collection) to a good home. PM me if interested and I can check the sizes I have.
 
Our boat survived 10 years in the charter market with Corian worksurfaces and still looks fine a few years later. Robust, easy to clean and no problems putting a sooty sizzling frying pan onto it. My apoplexy when a guest did this the first time was matched by my amazement that the marks just wiped off later.
 
RupertW said:
Our boat survived 10 years in the charter market with Corian worksurfaces and still looks fine a few years later. Robust, easy to clean and no problems putting a sooty sizzling frying pan onto it. My apoplexy when a guest did this the first time was matched by my amazement that the marks just wiped off later.
Click to expand...

I am interested in your comment about hot pans on Corian, as I thought that was a No-No? We are having our galley re-furbished and the worktop will be Corian but believed that it was not really heat resistant?
 
Leighb said:
I am interested in your comment about hot pans on Corian, as I thought that was a No-No? We are having our galley re-furbished and the worktop will be Corian but believed that it was not really heat resistant?
Click to expand...

Standard kit on my Dehler. About 8mm thick

22 years old and still like new, despite hot pans, kettles, plates etc.
 
Leighb said:
I am interested in your comment about hot pans on Corian, as I thought that was a No-No? We are having our galley re-furbished and the worktop will be Corian but believed that it was not really heat resistant?
Click to expand...

Surprised me too - I've never looked up the literature as it came with the boat but so far no problems with soot/curry/oil staining or heat.
 
I had a rather tatty heads unit and replaced it with Corian. My local Corian manufacturer had an off-cut of 12mm in the right colour and about the right size that I got cheapish, he just had to get the bowl, then assembled and polished - made a lovely job off it.

I took out the old bowl, tided up the existing worktop, some surgery with a jigsaw was necessary to get a cut out the right size for the bowl to fit, then dropped the whole new worktop on top of the old, sealing it down with Sikaflex (291?).

Hole for the tap fitting made with a hole saw. Still have to fit the fiddle.

90new head 0 .jpg
91new head 1 .jpg
 
superheat6k said:
I used Apollo Quicktops Magna for my last boat and I am about to order some more for this one. Comes in a sheet 6mm thick X 3m X 0.6m (make sure you specify the 6mm laminate top only). Easy to work and looks similar to Corian, but much less at £160 / sheet.

If you only have a small area then I do have some light beige off cuts from my last boat, free (collection) to a good home. PM me if interested and I can check the sizes I have.
Click to expand...

Thanks to everyone for replies, and the offer of offcuts, (beige won't work, but cheers for the offer) , pointing me in the right direction ?
 
NormanB said:
How about compact laminate?

Check out Madz on YouTube (Channel name - Sail Life) --- click here

Madz does some really nice work, both boat work and documenting it on video.
Click to expand...

I follow his videos too, he's very good at what he does. I can't find that stuff in the UK anywhere as mine needs doing too so i'm going the plywood/formica route.
 
Plus another supporter of Corian. After years of use in kitchens (2 homes) I fitted out my galley with Corian: worktops, fiddles, lids and dividers. I would not recommend Corian sinks as they require a lot of cleaning and can scratch deeply requiring repair work; they are not worth it. Instead have fitted underslung stainless sinks.

The below picture is the new Corian galley, not yet cleaned up after other works: -

31876549242_630e73950e_k.jpg
Pictures Hosted on Flickr
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tammany said:
Looks good, where did you buy it from?
Click to expand...

The bloke that fitted worktops to my last two kitchens did the job for me, the material was surplus and left over offcuts. We basically made templates for the worktops together and he then cut the sections, routed the profiles and glued it all together. The skill is getting all the pieces cut, routed to shape, glued up and then doing whatever it is that makes the glue lines disappear. The work top is made from flat sections, all the up stands / fiddles are glued on but to look at and feel with your finger nail you would think that it was moulded in one piece, most internal corners and fiddles, up stands have radiuses to make cleaning easy (there is one side where he could not get the router in to machine the fillet). After first fit it needed a lot of sanding on the underside and backside of the fiddles to fit against the bulkheads. Both sections were made in one piece and dropped in place. Corian is heavy so it might not be suitable as a direct replacement on lighter displacement boats that have a lighter ply top with a formica panel. My yacht's previous galley top was about 12/15mm ply with ceramic tiles on top which was quite heavy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Leighb said:
I am interested in your comment about hot pans on Corian, as I thought that was a No-No? We are having our galley re-furbished and the worktop will be Corian but believed that it was not really heat resistant?
Click to expand...

Corian say it is heat resistant to 100 degrees C and they don't recommend putting pans straight from the hob onto it but using a trivet. It's made from a crushed rock bonded together by acrylic, acrylic is the weak link regarding heat but makes it so adaptable to heat forming and sanding.

I think in practice it is more durable than they admit and most people can get away with putting hot things down for a limited time but be careful.

We are about to have some fitted to a sink area at work where we have one of those instant boiling water taps but we will have to have one of their new steel bottomed sinks as they don't recommend the normal Corian bottomed ones for boiling water taps as they are susceptible to thermal cracking.

It does come in different thicknesses so you could have a thinner one if you wanted to save weight.

__________________________
 
I had a lot of trouble with the galley top in both of the boats I've done. My thought process was something like-

-Shell I use marine plywood?
-I Can't It Will Damage easily
-Shell I varnish plywood?
-I can't it will still stain and come off.

-shell I use new formica?
-I can't find any locally

-Shell I use tiles
-it'll look stupid

-Shell I use Stainless Steel
-its a pain to instal and have cut.

-Shell I use a 2 pack Rustoloium worktop paint cover up.
- Just no.

This went on for a long time I decided that you should always keep the original formica as it takes a serioius amount of punishment.

The Corian sheeting looks great as well but again is it easy enough to cut?

signature.jpg
 
Corian works fairly easily with power tools, particularly a router. You can even plane the edges provided the blade is very sharp, although it does dull quickly. Your main trouble will be getting a source of offcuts.
 
I posted this up on a previous thread, the sink in the picture pulls out. It's made from Corian also sold as solid surface, Hi-Macs etc DSCN0525_1.jpg
 
I had my Formica replaced in the galley May 2016. I used Ipswich Plastics and got a sheet of Formica for about £70 + vat. It was 10' x 4 or 5' wide and I used the colour "Thistle". I removed the sinks which are original Penguin sinks and took them home and hand polished them. I got new outlets and plugs from Penguin, along with new taps from CAK Tanks, Kenilworth (SMEV DLTMMC marine tap and Whale lift pump). The Formica was bonded with Evostik contact adhesive. It looks like a new galley now, very pleased. Galley refurb 2016 - before.jpg

Tried to attach before and after photos but I think only before has attached, will try again.
 
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