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E27 Interior modifications?

Prestonrockstar

Junior Member
Hi all,

I have had my 74 E27 for about a year now and I'm still surprised that I don't really see any interior modifications out there by others. Such as widening a settee, or building a custom table, or crazy stuff like perhaps moving the bulkhead backward to shrink the salon and lengthen the vbirth (I'm sure most of that is structural so maybe can't be done). I scored my boat for almost nothing so I'm looking for ideas on increasing the comfort of living on a small boat like this for the next few years, before I'm ready to upgrade to a true liveaboard size. I would love to see links and photos of projects of all kinds!
 

cowlum

Member I
I built a removable double bed in the main room. Essentially the port side interior cushion is placed alongside the starboard to make one wide berth. When I cruise with my partner this bed stays in place the whole time. At most other times its back to the traditional berth layout.
I've also added lee cloths with the dream of long distance sailing but really they just stop my bags falling on the floor :)

I've owned my boat 5 years and spent 8 months total cruising on it and have not felt the need to modify things much.

I could get some photos of the double bed setup if you're interested.
 

Prestonrockstar

Junior Member
I would love to see photo's. Right now I am thinking about hinging a piece of plywood along side the startboard settee, so that when not used, it hinges down vertical, not really taking up much leg room, and when in use, swings up with a couple spring legs. And using the port side cushion. Essentially exactly how the original table operates.
 

cowlum

Member I
I have a small wooden beam that runs from the companionway step to a support on the toilet bulkhead. Between the beam and the starboard settee I have wooden slats stolen from a normal bed frame. When not in use, the beam lies in the stern quarter berth and the slats are placed into one of the starboard settee storage compartments. I'll get some photos within the week. Now that I have to take photos I wished I'd tidied up some of the rough edges :) but its still a nice setup..
 

cowlum

Member I
Wow. That's stunning, you're obviously a talented wood worker.
I think I'll copy that step into the forward berth. Save my shins.

A little thread drift here.. How is the electric setup?
My atomic is in A1 condition but like any engine requires a fair amount of pampering, thru-hulls, heat exchangers and other complicated garbage.
 

Prestonrockstar

Junior Member
Mark, that is absolutely excellent. I'll be seriously looking at these photo's as guides! Seriously thank you for sharing those. I love the cabinetry especially down the port side. So inviting.

Cowlum - I added a step up into my v-birth exactly like Mark did, except I didn't enclose it with the vertical piece, so my step is quite a bit thicker for strength. It's a dramatic improvement getting out especially. Do it :)

My electrics seem like a mess to me. It all works, even the original '74 radio, but wires are just everywhere, and it took a while to find a few drains on the batteries. Last month I replaced all the ground wires which fixed the motor from not starting all of a sudden. I'm slowly replacing everything and as I do, routing them nice and clean. I opted for building a tall aft mount for my solar panel because I don't have a dodger to lay flexibles.

My A1 I would say mine is in good condition. I bought the boat in March and I didn't trust it fully until about August last summer because it was overheating drastically. So many trouble shooting steps, replacing things, many calls with Bill at Moyer Marine...and after all the headache, it was the simplest thing, and also my original gut feeling that I ignored. The temp gauge was bad. /facepalm. But in all that, I got real familiar with taking apart the pumps, inspecting all the cooling passages, and understanding the freshwater cooling system. The cooling system, the T valve, and the path of flow was the hardest thing for my brain. But eventually the light bulb turned on. Pretty simple engine after I wrapped my brain around it. Haven't had to worry or mess with through hulls yet. I was told if they aren't turning pink they're fine.
 

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Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Thanks for the compliments. The v-birth step and galley extension were particularly useful additions. Turns out redoing the v-birth (ceilings?) was one of the best changes. I used to store stuff up there but after putting all the work into the refit i actually use it as a birth now and keep it clean!
 

cowlum

Member I
It took me a lot longer than I had anticipated to finish my current boat projects and start putting the interior back together for the summer. Apologies for the delay. This is the system i built about 4 or 5 years ago. The build aesthetic could have been better but the function is great. I removed the original piece of wood that was attached to the settee and replaced it with a similar piece cut to take the slats. If you look closely you can see its only the original width at the ends to hold the squab in place. The original settee wood has a thinner piece of wood bolted to it to work as a 'beam shelf' to support the slats. The only permanent modification to the boat is a screw hole where the support on the bulkhead is affixed.

Most of the time the boat is in this configuration whilst i single hand or cruise with my partner. When I take a crowd out on the bay I role up the slats and put them in the settee along with the block that clips onto the companionway step. The beam goes in where the oars are stored above the engine below the deck.
 

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Gary Holford

Member II
My E27 didn't come with a sink but I wanted to do something a bit different. Underneath there are LED lights which act as a night light.

sink pre sm.jpgsink after 4 sm.jpg
FWIW I remember seeing a E27 that had cutaway the bow bulkhead and used the head to create a queen size bed. They moved the head to the quarter berth as I recall. Very radical stuff.
 

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hi cowlum, Very nice! I like how you retain the open walkway from galley to v-birth/head. Do you have something holding the slats from sliding together or do they stay in place on their own?
 

cowlum

Member I
Hi cowlum, Very nice! I like how you retain the open walkway from galley to v-birth/head. Do you have something holding the slats from sliding together or do they stay in place on their own?

The extension is shaped exactly the same as the port side squab so the stern most slat cant move forward becuase the rails get closer. Just stern of the bow most slat on the beamshelves were a couple of stoppers but currently the slat rope is being used. The slat rope stops the middle slats moving.

One day, time willing I may rebuild it with nice thick canvas between the slats, mahogany for all other wood, nut caps etc. For now it works and I can return the boat to its original design at anytime. The original settee wood is unmolested.
 

cowlum

Member I
My E27 didn't come with a sink but I wanted to do something a bit different. Underneath there are LED lights which act as a night light.

View attachment 32917View attachment 32918
FWIW I remember seeing a E27 that had cutaway the bow bulkhead and used the head to create a queen size bed. They moved the head to the quarter berth as I recall. Very radical stuff.

Looks good. Mine is similar to your original, its almost wasted space. How do you supply the water pressure and where does the grey water run to?
 

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
I agree, Gary's head sink mod looks great. Lotus Flower had the original no head sink "hanging locker" setup. I added a counter top, pump faucet and some doors to the face of the half wall. If you can make your way to Owners Albums look under E27 albums for Lotus Flower I should have some photos there.

Regarding the grey water, I would strongly suggest plumbing the sink drain to the toilet supply. This way you can use fresh water to flush.
 

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Gary Holford

Member II
Looks good. Mine is similar to your original, its almost wasted space. How do you supply the water pressure and where does the grey water run to?
I added a small water pump that has a built in pressure solenoid. When you open the tap it starts pumping. The grey water I ran forward via hose into the bilge.
 

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Running the head sink drain into the toilet raw water supply allows you to switch between draining the sink overboard through that through-hull or closing that through-hull off and draining fresh water into the head for flushing. Works great.
 
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