Our 95 C30 had the original interior when we bought her three years ago. It didn't look bad, but the foam in the salon cushions had lost some if its spring and we wanted thicker, more comfortable berth cushions for sleeping. We weren't sure what we wanted, just that we wanted something different from the usual blues that you see in most boats, so we went to the Annapolis Boat Show looking for ideas.

I was also looking for ideas for upgrading our exterior canvas. A nor' easter that blew through right after the show meant the canvas upgrades would happen sooner than I'd planned.

Interior

With a name like Island Time we were originally thinking of going with a tropical print with palm trees or hibiscus flowers. But after seeing boats that used printed fabrics we thought they looked too busy.

Then we stepped onto the Passport 615. It had a light green Ultraleather interior and woodwork almost the same shade as ours. The combination yielded a rich understated look that we liked.

Graham Bowes from Passport Yachts was a true gentleman and offered to send us the color codes for the custom Ultraleather after the show (style 303, color 4510 celery).

A complete renovation of your interior isn't something you do everyday, so I wanted to make some changes while we were at it. I'm a big guy, and one of the things that always bothered me about our boat was that the port settee was too narrow and that's exactly the place you want to curl up with a book.

But if you make the seat wider all the way around it will be too hard to slide around the table, which would mean modifying the table etc., etc. The compromise I came up with was to widen the port side seat by four inches. This created a notch in the seat where it slips behind the table in the upright position. No problem there. But I also wanted to add additional lumbar support to the seats. 

If you widen one seat without widening the other the seams for the lumbar support will be offset. The notch shown here makes up for that offset allowing both the lumbar support and the wider seat. So far no one has noticed it unless I point it out. The line shows where the factory cushion would have ended. 

This design also eliminates those buttons that have a tendency to catch on your shorts and dig into your skin.

I never thought the flat backrest cushions were very comfortable. The new cushions angle out at the bottom. This slight change makes a huge difference. Behind the cushions I changed from snaps to velcro for securing the backs, so getting to things stored behind seats is easier.

New carpet, and a small foot stool round out the salon. The result is a clean modern look that really updates the boat.

Berths
When we were aboard a friends boat we noticed the dark sheets he was using in the aft berth had the effect of making the salon seem bigger. 

We kept that in mind when picking the fabric for the berth cushions and chose a patterned evergreen. The combination of light colors in the salon and dark in the berths makes the interior feel significantly larger -- not a bad thing in a 30 footer.

The foam is 3 inch medium density and is surprisingly comfortable to sleep on. 
No more sore backs when we wake up in the morning. We had fitted sheets made 
to keep the cushions looking good.

It's surprising how much a little shopping around can save on a project like this. The pillows came from 
Bed, Bath & Beyond and Lowes patio department, the foot stool from Bed, Bath & Beyond. 
The fancy pillow covers from Camping World. Surprisingly all were found on clearance.

Exterior

It's a good thing we were looking for canvas ideas at Annapolis. The weekend after the show a nor 'easter tore out the seams on our dodger and sail cover. At best we'd hoped to get another year out of them so I wasn't all that upset -- until I priced a new cavas package. 

When I started breathing again I decided I'd need to look for some bargains. What helped is we'd decided on Pacific Blue for the exterior canvas -- a common color.

The first bargain find was the sail cover. When I dropped my sails at the loft for cleaning there was a new sail cover for a Catalina 36 on the clearance table. The owner of the loft said he'd cut it down to fit my boat for $100. Cool, one down.

Another clearance table find was a generic bimini kit in Pacific Blue for $100. For another $100 the canvas shop installed zippers to go around the back stays. So for $200 I'd scored a bimini! 

Some friends at the marina had just gotten work done by a retiree named Walt who does canvas work in his basement. Walt works at his own pace. But if you're willing to wait he charges only $10/hr plus materials. I took over my old dodger with the shredded seams and left it with him. $300 and a couple of weeks later I had a new dodger. I took it down to the boat and spent a day cursing,  punching out canvas for twist locks and installing snaps but it sure looked good when I was done.

Since his work was so good and his price so reasonable it started me thinking. One of the things I'd really liked on some of the boats at the show was the Sunbrella cockpit cushions on the more expensive boats. They really give you a custom look.

What I had in mind was breaking the long cockpit cushions in two. They'd store more easily and mounted with snaps would make getting into the cockpit locker less of a chore. The problem with the vinyl factory cushions was the foam. We stay aboard for days at a time. If it rains the factory cushions act like a sponge, sucking up water and taking forever to dry. I wanted to use a combination of Sunbrella, 2" dry fast foam and Phifertex so water would drain through and the cushions would dry quickly.

We opted for Royal Blue with tan piping to give a slight contrast with the Pacific Blue canvas work. The two inch foam is comfortable, it looks great and the snaps mean they're secure on the boat. With the break in the cushion, getting into the cockpit locker is easy, and Walt even made burlap bags to hold the cushions when they're stored below. The burlap breathes in case the cushions are a little damp when you put them away so you don't get mildew. 

Total cost? $200 for the foam, $40 for the Phifertex, and $300 for Walt to supply the Sunbrella and labor. We're thrilled with the way it's all come together.

What's Next?

Topside I'm going to have Walt make a connecting piece to go between the dodger and bimini to provide shade and keep the rain out at the dock.

I removed the folding door to the v-berth and will replace it with a curtain to make the doorway easier to negotiate and we'll make matching curtains for the aft berth. 

Our interior is varnished teak with a contrasting ash bead board behind the shelves. I'm going to carry this forward into the v-berth using wood I already have in my shop. Mahogany bead board on the bottom half of the v-berth, ash bead board for the top half and I'll widen the narrow shelf that circles the berth and add a rail. That'll give us extra storage for all kinds of small items.

Finally I'm kicking around the idea of using one of the new faux teak & holly floors.

Why lavish so much attention on a fifteen year old Catalina 30? Well I enjoy the work and I get a lot of satisfaction just being aboard now. She is now very much a semi-custom boat. She doesn't feel like every other boat, she feels like my boat. 

About Screens & Greens

Green is one of those odd colors on computers. I've looked at the pictures of our interior on three different monitors and every one looks different. So the color you see here may not exactly match what's on our boat.