Author Topic: P323 Dinette Table Clamping Bracket  (Read 9117 times)

m_boone

  • P323
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  • Model: P323
  • Vessel Name: Blue Sky
  • City: Philadelphia
  • State: PA
Re: P323 Dinette Table Clamping Bracket
« Reply #15 on: September 20, 2020, 06:56:48 PM »
I used to have a commercial photo studio and we used laminate instead of the rolls of paper one sees in some studios for product photography backgrounds (sweeps). The paper was always a problem with ripples, stains and creases.

The laminate lasted forever.

So I have a lifetime supply of 4X8 sheets I've almost gone through with shop projects.

Yes I laminated it with old-school contact cement to the old thin plywood panels that previously had been vinyl wrapped. Using a router to trim the edges isn't difficult with the special cutter with the ball bearing guide.

If I didn't have the material in stock I'd buy the thinner material available for the sides of cabinetry instead of the heavier counter-top version. Every ounce above the keel matters!

I'd also likely skip the plywood and just use the lightweight laminate alone. Be careful it will cut you like a chainsaw!

You'll find some of the wood screws will have lost their grip so a wooden match stick or rolled up sliver of WaWa bag will make them grip again.

ALMA's antenna cable is the thicker version (RG213?) and it goes down the mast and exits through a hole in the side of the mast along with the spreader, bow and masthead light wiring. It ends 2 feet later under the mast wiring terminal strip into a junction barrel connector to the the radio side of the cable. It isn't in the coachroof interior at all. Our FM radio antenna is a expensive but close-out purchased antenna that is inside tape that is stuck under the side deck right forward of the Nav Station.

PS- Since you're near me in Philly I can install that Heli Coil for you. I'm in Cherry Hill.

PPS- My table's pole has a hole drilled below where the table's bracket ends and there is a bolt that acts as a safety stop should the table try to fall. The bolt is the same as a bolt used to hold a dodger frame to its foot bracket. You can see the silver bolthead just under the casting in the photo-

Thanks for all of those very good tips. I removed the original headliner panels along with the table assembly. The panels near the hatch were all rotted. In fact, one panel just crumbled into two pieces and I can't use it as a pattern for replacement. I haven't decided on what I will replace the panels with but I am leaning towards trying to keep it as original as possible. 

The antenna coax on Blue Sky comes out through a hole high in the mast, near the coachroof, and then goes to a junction box that is screwed to the bulkhead. From there, the FM coax is sort of draped over the galley door towoard the port side radio. I like the look of yours better - much better.

I'm right up the road from Cherry Hill in Moorestown - small world. Thanks for your offer to heli-coil that casting. I'll PM you soon.