Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

Before I start my "rant" I would like to say hello. I am restoring Triton #439 in central Pennsylvania. Eventually we'd like to end up in the Chesapeake with the other Tritons out of Annapolis.

Now for the "rant."

I was working on getting old paint removed from the main salon setees when my attention turned to the bulkheads.

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHY PEOPLE IN THE 60'S SEEMED TO ENJOY THE IDEA OF COVERING REAL WOODGRAIN WITH FAKE WOODGRAIN?!

OK. I feel better now.

Matt

Welcome! Glad we could help you with the rant :)

I don't know about the 60s, but that reminded me of a time I was in Tennessee and was touring an antebellum mansion. Of course it was huge, and opulent. After a while I noticed a pattern: The doors were painted in "faux ___ wood," the baseboards were "faux marble," etc.

So I asked: "If they were so wealthy, why not real wood and real marble?"

The guide replied, "Oh, hand-painted faux cost more, so it was more desirable."

Of course that's not why the Triton had the faux woodgrain laminate, but talk about weird priorities.

Can we see your Triton?

Rachel

LOL. Rachel, that made me think of something I heard here in Charleston the other day. Certain features of the old houses here were really worthless, but indicated the owner had the money to be able to afford it and what Tim told me about houses in Maine which was brick houses were colder but indicated more wealth than wood. The rich have their needs I guess. ;)

Rachel wrote:Can we see your Triton?

As soon as I get my butt in gear I'll get some pictures posted. It's certainly not that I haven't had time - I moved her to my back yard in October, 2007. I have been lurking on this site for quite a while. Just soaking it all in.

Matt

It's always a surprise, but there are houses with Walnut trim that has been 'grained' to look like other woods from the day they were built. I've seen doors with varnished hardwood stiles and rails and grained panels.

Our architect's office has been in the 1929 Fidelity Building in Philadelphia since about 1998. It has interior office doors and frames made of steel which are grained to look like Mahogany. My employers did not realize it for years(!). Some of my fellow employes didn't believe it until I handed them a magnet.

Quetzalsailor wrote:

Our architect's office has been in the 1929 Fidelity Building in Philadelphia since about 1998. It has interior office doors and frames made of steel which are grained to look like Mahogany. My employers did not realize it for years(!). Some of my fellow employes didn't believe it until I handed them a magnet.

That's probably a fire code thing for public buildings. Not that they were necessarily overly discerning and hence fooled, but there are some very good faux wood grains. Armand LaMontagne, the famous wood carver of sports heroes does wonders. He painted the basswood end grain of the base of Larry Bird to look like the surface grain of the old oak Boston Garden court.

Metal doors were assumed to be fireproof but the real reason for their general use would have been cost and durability. From the turn of the last century until the advent of the 'International Style' you could buy highly detailed metal doors and frames that were shaped like wooden doors and frames. Sad to say, those metal doors do not meet current Code. The fire stair and the elevator doors have been replaced with rated doors.

Until about 8 years ago the building was owned by the banque du jour and was to a very great degree original; it's now owned by a real estate company whose allegience is to their bottom line.

Rachel wrote:The guide replied, "Oh, hand-painted faux cost more, so it was more desirable."
Rachel

As Henry David Thoreau said: "The head monkey in Paris puts on a traveler's cap, and all the monkeys in America do the same."

Whatever the fashion, we're all dedicated followers - except for this crowd, of course!

I think the answer here is PRODUCTION. The the Triton was being banged out of the factory at one per day during peak operation. The goal was to get it done fast and cheap. If you look at the Triton production history and the boats they all came out a little different. As Tom Potter put it, 'they used whatever they could get'. In as far as making B/C plywood look good vrs. slapping on a little bit more plastic - they went plastic. New boats are the same way too. The stock Alerion 28 - all formica down below.