Ripped out bamboo wall coverings, cut out original wooden shelves, re-furbished sink, new faucets, new filter systems, new cabinet, installed new electric remote-controlled Raritan head, ripped out all old sanitation hoses, repainted floor, re-finished teak grate. Built new drawers and cabinets with solid mahogany. Replaced circuit board and cleaned out previous Raritan Marine Sanitation Device to get it working again. All new sanitation hoses installed.
After ripping out old covering, replacing solar vent fan (which poured water in while underway), ground down ceiling
Starting point
It was a good head, as well. The Raritan toilet worked well, but needed a rebuild. The bamboo wall panelling was seperating in some locations and falling off. The ceiling material was sagging. The plastic sliding doors sometimes popped out. The sink was feeling it’s age. The Marine Sanitation Device did not work. The head smelled. The drain did not work well.
So the demolition began:
Old manual toilet came outNasty, smelly cleanup…Ceiling liner came downCeiling coming downMore ceilingWall liner behind the bambooAft head shelves cut out, walls ground down and sanded, new divider put in.Walls stripped, old toilet still in place, shelves out, sand, sand, sand…Back wall is solid mahogany! Who knew?Removed solar fan. It worked well, but in heavy seas, water poured in. Surprise! (if you were sitting there).Roof top of Amel Maramu is thick!Removal of top side of solar fan. Fibreglassed the replacement.
As with the forward head, the big guns had to come out — angle grinder to remove the mold and old glue from the walls, multi-tool , circular saw, jigsaw, orbital sander, etc. to remove shelves, prepare walls, get ready for construction.
Forward wall in aft head was also moldy, covered in glue, but beautiful mahogany behind. Well For half the wall.The bottom portion of the forward wall is fiberglass. NOT easy to work with to clean up.Added new valves for safety. Odd that there never were any.As part of bamboo removal, found more than a few nails. Had to come out for sanding.Really came to value the suit, respirator and safety glasses – again.Time to start custom building.New Raritan Elegance electric toilet, new hoses, MSD system working, painted hidden walls, new tiles — smelling fresh!
Time to start custom drawer builds, once again. Think. Design. Re-design. Re-think. Measure x5. Build.
Plywood for drawers, cut to design.LOVE these drill jigs!
Jigs are critical to good, solid, drawer-making.
And for gluing and screwing (I’m a poet!), clamp till hard! Er – solid.Newly finished floor drain. Helps so much with cleanliness.A bit of adjustment, sometimes, to get smooth action, but well worth it.Raritan electric head pump and filtration system for sea water.The bluetooth remote flush system works!!!Drawers coming together. Heat vent relocated, refurbished and in place. Bluetooth flush system installed and working.Mahogany faces done. New electric head with built-in macerator works well. Sink refurbished. Custom shelf to wall for toiletries & to protect TP finished. New faucets installed and working well.Shelf top finished. Geeking out over the electronics. For the purists – don’t worry – the forward head is still manual. Only the aft one is electric.New drinking water filtration system installed.
Buy mahogany, prep, prep more, prep again….
New fixtures – shower head, drinking water tap, soap dispenser, re-painted sink.Intentionally artistic mixture of mahogany colors. Also – I used up all of the local mahogany, so had to figure out how to use a variety of shades!Yes, I did finish the drawers for protection.
Overall, I’m quite happy with the finished product. (Added note – the wall tiles are not holding up. I will replace those at some point.
