cabin sole replacement

[Elessar]

I want to replace the carpet with a teak and holly finish.

The floor area is approximately 4sqM, but of course is not square There are also 2 hatches approx 80cm square to cut in the floor

I was thinking of the interior version of tek dek or similar as the thin planks will be easy to lay.

I could buy a big sheet of faced ply, but I don't know how I'd get it in if it fitted the boat, if you see what I mean.

I also thought of just a sheet of laminate and bond that to the ply floor, but the fitting still seems hard.

Any experience of any of the above? Interested in how to fit, what it's like when down and how much it cost.

thanks

 

[Cloven]

The cabin sole on my boat is is three pieces allowing access to various bits under the sole - transducers, water valves etc. Each of these pieces can easily be taken in through the companionway hatch. If you go down this route, why not make a template out of very stiff card or thin ply until you are happy then make up the final pieces.

Hope this helps.

 

[lw395]

I think it's desirable to be able to lift the cabin sole to clean under it, this is a lot easier if its in sections. If you have problems with anything in the bilge, it's nice to be able to remove the sole in sections. I found I was quite irritated by the tendency of my cabin sole to bend and creak when people walk around, so maybe next time I would laminate 'posh' ply over a frame or ply substrate to make something stiffer. It its in sections you need the stripes to match or it looks naff.
So maybe make it from 'cheap' marine ply, then when you're happy with the fit, cover with thin stripy ply or laminate.
The robbins stripy ply is quite dear imho! You could have oak for that!

 

[Elessar]

Thank you both.

I could fit it in 3 sections on top of the existing floor but I wasn't clear enough about the construction or what I wanted to replace - I should have said cabin sole covering replacement.......

I totally agree about the ability to lift the floor, but under the carpet there is a substantial, bonded in, ply floor. I will only be replacing the carpet not the ply, so whatever I do will be bonded to the existing ply.

When I sailed the ability to lift the sole and completely get to the bilges was great, but I think the bonded floor is more common in powerboats (the 3 I've had certainly have been the same), I guess it stiffens things up for landing! At least it doesn't creak at all.

 

[nigelhudson]

If you are using sheet material it's very important to get an accurate template so use dimensionally-stable material that's easy to cut - hardboard or thin ply are good options. Even if you are using strip material such as Tek-Dek Interior it may be easier to make up mats using the templates and lay like sheet material rather than trying to lay the strips in-situ.

 

[Wino]

What ever you fit make sure that you apply the same covering to both top and bottom faces or you are just asking for it to warp. Apparently the covered side is less affected by damp, while the uncovered one gets a full whack, then expands. Ask any sheet timber supplier...

 

[pmyatt]

Our cabin sole creaks and have been told by a local carpenter that it's a result of the panels being too tight fitting because when I varnished them, the edges were not taped to prevent runs over the edge. Lift-out in 2 weeks so will attend to problem then - hope he is right.

 

[pratkins]

Using an existing plywood cabin sole as a pattern, I made up a completely new one and it looks great. I took 1.5" x.5" blackwood strips and .25" w x .5"thick strips of huon pine- both are Tasmanian timbers (B/wood a hard timber and HP a softer pine) but could easily be substituted.These were epoxy glued together into x 3 wider portions which in turn were glued together to form the required width x length etc. On the under side I further glued and fastened cross members for strength(not where there were floors!). In the galley, I had three pieces to fasten to span the galley width. These are screwed down and can be removed, but no join is apparent. The saloon was done with less. You can judge for the effect in a photo on my website. [image]http://pratkins.webs.com/sailinginpeterrobyn.htm[/image]