Dinette Table Corian Replacement

[bajturner]

Looking for some advice/ideas.

Over the winter, the Corian on the dinette table in the cabin cracked. It appears either moisture in the wood expanded until sufficient pressure built to break the Corian, or different expansion/contraction rates was the culprit. Regardless, it is severely cracked; beyond repair. It's the first Canadian winter for this boat, having come from Chicago in the fall. Guess it was a bit of a shock for all the materials! The mirror fell off the door to the head as well.

I have spoken to a number of kitchen and countertop places and this is non-trivial. For one, the Corian used (1/4" thick, Aurora color) is not common, and I would have to buy an entire pallette (no thanks)! The 1/2" is more or less available, but it will increase the weight substantially (20lbs or more), and will cost about $500. It will also cause a mismatch in the height should I ever use it as a bed (doubtful), but I can work around that.

Anyone have any experience or thoughts to share. I guess I will bring both the tables in next fall...

Thank you,
Brian

 

[tbirdvet]

My boat uses teak as the table. Could you go that route?

 

[Henry Boyd]

I replaced mine with a cherry one. Here is a picture. I made it with fiddles on the sides as there is no chance it will be ever used as a bed board. However the thickness of the table is a match.


on the boat

on the workbench

Henry

 

[jrirvine1]

Can you post a picture of the damaged table? There are several ways to repair solid surface materials. One method that may work in your case is to rout out the bad section and replace with a scrap of accent color material in not only the damaged area but also as a perimeter border.

 

[northern]

On our 28 footer mine went and I replaced it with a laminate.
20 pounds is the weight of 24 beers so the weight adder should not effect things.

 

[fwebster]

I am not a fan of solid surface materials for anything other than counter tops. I would use this as an excuse to enhance the interior of your boat by upgrading to real wood with a nice grain. Henry's cherry table is one example, here is another, also cherry:
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[bajturner]

Thank you for the ideas everyone. The teak and cherry tables are very nice, and laminate is an option I am considering. My goal is to come up with something that will be functional with my family (4 and 6 yr old girls), looks good, not outrageously expensive, and does not negatively affect resale value. Given I am not a great at woodwork myself, I would have to have a wood table made and I am guessing that would not be cheap. If I find a really close laminate that would be cost effective, but may cause concerns with prospective buyers (I plan to trade up in a couple years).

As for the weight of the thicker Corian, I am not worried about the affect on the boat overall, just the table mount itself. A few boats I have seen had mounts that came off, but that's probably from leaning on the table.

One post mentioned repairing the Corian. Unfortunatley, there are about 3 or 4 main cracks, and then at the centre about 5 or so small ones. It almost looks like moisture in the table froze and expanded until enough force popped the Corian.

I may go with a close match laminate for now, and get a new cherry table priced and go that route if not too costly. I could always replace the Corian later if it turns out to be the most feasible option.

Thanks again,
Brian

 

[bajturner]

In case anyone is faced with a similar issue in the future, here is an update. I got a new table made. Mahogany (veneer with solid trim). Quick and dirty just in case I didn't like it (overnight, actually!). Just need to put a few coats of polyurethane on it and we are good to go!

Corian replacement: $500-600 for 1/2", a thousand or more for 1/4" (min buy)
Laminate: ~$100
Solid hardwood: ~$500
Veneer w/ solid trim: $200

The solid hardwood would have allowed for rounded corners that matched the original, but I'm not a huge fan of them anyways.

Old and new:


The new one looks bigger because the post mount is under it, which raises it off the floor and closer to the camera. They are identically sized.

Here is the old, cracked one if anyone is interested:

There are a bunch more small cracks you can't make out in the picture.

I can always keep an eye out for 1/4" Aurora Corian in case a future owner wants the stock look.

Will post more pics on the boat post-finish.

May do the v-berth now...!

Thanks again for the help and ideas.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Is it me, or is the 'new' top not the same shape as the old? The one with the beveled corners looks nothing like the top in my 280 galley.

Henry

 

[Asureyez]

If that top is real Corian, I don't see why if could not be repaired. I've hand that stuff spliced and diced in my home. The guys hot glue on blocks to set their bar clamps to, then mix up a matching color resin and squeeze it in to the void, and draw their clamps to hold the pieces together tightly. Then when the resins sets, about 20 minutes the clamps are removed, the blocks knocked off and the surplus resin and glue shaved off with razor blades. Then the whole thing is wet sanded and buffed to look like new. The welds this guy did were impossible to see without a magnifying glass.

I wish I'd seen this post earlier becaise what I see I think could have been repairs for a $100 bucks and a drive to the shop.

 

[bajturner]

Is it me, or is the 'new' top not the same shape as the old? The one with the beveled corners looks nothing like the top in my 280 galley.

Hey Henry,
I think it is a bit of wide angle lens distortion you are seeing. The new top is actually identical to the original in size and shape, except it has beveled corners instead of big rounds.

Brian

 

[bajturner]

I wish I'd seen this post earlier becaise what I see I think could have been repairs for a $100 bucks and a drive to the shop.

Hey Chad,
I had hoped this could be repaired, but after taking it to several counter top places, including one that does factory warranty work for DuPont, the conclusion was drawn that a repair was not feasible.

In the photo you can see only 2 or 3 of the large cracks. There are also about 8 to 10 more hairline cracks that would make a repair really difficult. There is essentially no void to fill.

If I do come across a feasibly repair I may still do it since my investment in the replacement table is pretty low.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Brian,

Check this link to Great lakes Skipper:

http://greatlakesskipper.com/produc...x-26-12-inch-polished-oak-boat-table-top.html

It looks to be the 280 dinette top. The dimensions sound right, but I can't check right now.

Henry

 

[bajturner]

Check this link to Great lakes Skipper...

Wow, that certainly looks like the right table...and the dimensions match-up. The pre-drilled holes seem to be for a smaller diameter base but that wouldn't matter. I wonder if it is pre-finished or not. If not, a coat of stain and some finish and it would have been perfect.

I guess I should have waited a few more days to leverage the never-ending knowledge base here! Thanks again.