So this year we took up an offer from Alan Dring of interior specialists Hawke House Marine to put together a short item on relining which, as he says, can transform an otherwise tired boat interior and pay dividends for the owner.

At the other end of the scale, the big boatbuilders tend towards specialist interiors by designers such as Andrew Winch.

They also have their own joinery shops and specialise in luxurious finishes using a wide variety of woods, such as lacquered American cherry and eucalyptus or honey maple and honey bird's eye maple.

Luxury is the keynote, as can be seen from our picture of the master cabin of Sealine's T51.

And luxury can be bought in the aftermarket, with many excellent products manufactured in teak that are easily added to an interior to give a touch of glamour.

Onward Trading offers a range of teak products from chairs and gratings through small racks and other items easily afforded and installed.

Delving into our new product files brings a wealth of bits that fall into this feature.

The sticky end With an eye to Alan Dring's article, take a look at Sika 'snew catalogue for adhesives.

It features sections on elastic adhesives and sealants, structural bonding and direct glazing adhesives, laminating adhesives, reactive hot melt systems, textile adhesives, UV stable elastic hybrid adhesives, fire retardant sealants, two component high strength adhesives and trim and floor covering adhesives, backed up with a range of equipment and accessories.

The physical properties and characteristics of each product are listed, together with uses and applications, colours and pack sizes, all displayed in individual sections.

Evo-Stik tells us its Nail and Seal is the only waterproof "grab" adhesive on the market that gives a flexible bond, making it ideal for use on boats.

They say Nail and Seal bonds more materials than any other product - even nonporous surfaces, so the broad variety of materials used in boats - steel, plywood, glass, acrylic, expanded polystyrene, etc, are all suitable.

Nail and Seal can also be applied to damp surfaces, providing they are clean, and curing is not affected by temperature or damp environment, says the company.

It is suitable for both interior and exterior applications and when used as a sealant, can be overpainted.

Galley Anders Magnusson works for the Swedish company Dometic Origo AB . And he's - not surprisingly - an alcohol fuel supporter.

The UK market is overwhelmingly LPG and alcohol is not making vast inroads.

However, when we asked UK Origo distributors E C Smith ifalcohol was catching on, they told us it was beginning to make its presence felt.

Magnusson says pressurised bottled gas cylinders and kerosene stoves are potentially hazardous, so "unpressurised alcohol fuel is the safest way to go".

Alcohol fuel is held in an absorbent material in the cooker's tank. And modern alcohol fuels burn without soot and with minimum odour, says Magnusson.

Made of grain-based, distilled alcohols, the mixture of methanol and ethanol has high energy levels, making it environmentally safe.

But a major safety factor is that tap water will extinguish an alcohol flame.

A new grid design on the tanks eliminates spills and makes filling very easy and pressure-free stoves are less expensive and simple to install.

They also require no costly hoses, tanks, adapters, regulators, solenoids or detectors.

The Origo 6000 is a combination, alcohol-fuelled stove and oven.

The stainless steel, freestanding oven's overall measurements are 465 mm wide x 562 mm high x 335 mm deep. The fuel tank holds 1.2 litres of alcohol and burns for 4 to 5 hours.

Lighting Davey & Company took on the UK distribution of the Danish Sorensen range of oil and electric interior lamps last year.

The lamps date back to the 19th century and are still made using the original patterns and manufacturing methods.

Available in either oil or electric, each lamp is individually numbered to give unique value to a beautiful and very practical product.

Taylorbrite , a division of the Taylor Made group of companies, has introduced a new series of cold cathode fluorescent reading lights.

Described as European styled, the lights are based on Taylorbrite's proprietary cold cathode fluorescent technology and offer, says the company, longer life, lower heat output and less power draw than comparable halogen or incandescent lights.

According to Mark Matousek, general manager of Taylorbrite: "They draw just 0.6 amps at 12 VDC and have a lifespan of over 20,000 hours.

Heat output is at or near ambient room temperature."

Unlike conventional fluorescent lights, he added, the CCF lights are dimmable, with power consumption reduced as the light output is lowered.

The lights will be offered to boatbuilders as OEM equipment, and sold in the aftermarket through major retail outlets, says Matousek.

Insulation Insulation is high on the list for many owners looking to add a little noise reduction and thermal protection.

According to 3M, its Thinsulate is one of the most widely used insulation products in the marine industry.

Fairline is one UK user of the product and other US boatbuilders - Pacific Mariner, Weaver Boatworks and Wesport yachts, to name but a few - offer glowing testimonials for the product.

3M says Thinsulate is light and less likely to retain moisture and offers thermal control as well as noise reduction. An added attraction, says 3M, is the material is hydrophobic and therefore not prone to mould; handy for the UK climate.

While Pacific Mariner uses Thinsulate insulation because of its sound-absorbing abilities, Jim Weaver, owner of Weaver Boatworks, adds the thermal perspective: "A majority of the population lives in homes that are valued significantly less than our $2 million Sportfishing yachts. It doesn't seem appropriate to build a luxury boat without offering the same thermal quality you would expect in your home."

Electrics Any interior fit-out will bring a check of the electrics, even if it's only making sure there are no dry connections.

Mastervolt reckons if batteries could talk, they'd ask to be charged and tell you when they were full.

The company offers three different products, one of which is the BTM 1. The Break Through in Monitoring is, says Mastervolt, a breakthrough because there is nothing available at a competitive price.

Monitoring volts, amps, amp-hours, the unit offers battery status in percentage or time of operation remaining.

Easily installed, the meter automatically learns the charging efficiency factor and behaviour of the boat's battery bank.

Merlin Equipment tell us in the past owners who don't want to spend hundreds of pounds on a battery charger have had to put up with either non-effective automotive chargers or poor quality Chinese imports.

But they say their new Dolphin range of chargers all this and from around £100 these units provide high quality charging in a neat, compact box.

The Dolphin units charge the batteries using a 4-stage charging technique. When first plugged in, the charger will develop its maximum output continuously until the battery reaches 80%.

Then it conditions the batteries and brings them up to 100%. Once fully charged, batteries are "floated" and can be left connected without supervision for long periods of time.

Dolphin chargers also incorporate a fourth stage called "power supply" mode.

Once batteries are charged it will keep up with all onboard DC loads.

This means, says Merlin, that lights, fridges, heating and pumps can be used continuously without the batteries going flat - ideal for those who want to stay overnight throughout the winter.

Contact details:

Onward Trading Tel: 023 8063 7810. Fax: 023 8023 0756. Email: info@onwardtrading.com Web: www.onwardtrading.com Sika Tel: 01707 394444 Fax: 01707 329129 Web: www.sik.co.uk<$>Evo-Stick Tel: 01785 272727 Fax: 01705 257236 E C Smith Tel: 01582 729721 Fax: 01582 723460 Davey & Co Tel: 01206 500945 Fax: 01206 500949 Email: chandlery@davey.co.uk Web: www.davey.co.uk<$>TaylorMade Tel: 01202 716469 Fax: 01202 716478 Email: sales@tmenviro.co.uk<$>3M Richard Mallaber, customer service rep. Tel: 0161 237 6130 Email: rjmallaber@mmm.com Web: 3M. com<$>Mastervolt Tel: 01794 516443 Fax: 01794 516453 Email: info@Mastervolt.co.uk Web: www.mastervolt.co.uk<$>Merlin Tel: 01202 697979 Fax: 01202 691919 Email: sales@the-merlin-group.com Web: www.the-merlin-group.com