Composite cabin sole

[Ceirwan]

Has anyone out there replaced there old plywood cabin sole boards with some kind of composite material?

After 32 years the original sole is shall we say past its best, the teak & holly has taken some hammer, and the boards themselves have taken on water, and warped etc.

I'd like to replace them with something a little lighter that won't ever rot, the plan is to line with a teak & holly effect marine vinyl, as some of them look pretty good these days.

I was thinking maybe a honey comb structure such as nidacore, but was hoping to get the thoughts of someone who's already done it and how they got on with it.

(I do realise that plywood is the easy option, and that it will last another 30 years etc etc. I just like to improve things where I can)

 

[William_H]

No I have not made sole boards however I did fill much of the bilge of my little boat with foam and put carbon fibre over the top the intent being to give me another cm of head room. Not so successful although still there. The cf cracked where it got most abuse at the entrance and had to be covered with more patches. It needed carpet over the top.
Anyway that is not what you are asking. The options are polyurethane foam sheet about 1cm thick. or honeycomb. Cover this on both sides with fibre glass cloth mat or woven rovings or carbon fibre cloth. Just how much glass or cf depends on the spacing of supports but i am guessing to replace 10mm plywood you would need one layer of woven rovings or 2 layers of mat or perhaps 4 or 5 layers of glass cloth. I am thinking 2 layers of cf. Vacuum bagging would be the best but I would try just plain layup. Paint a layer of resin onto the foam or honeycomb before the glass.
I think polyester resin would be OK though you might consider vinylester resin. Obviously it will all depend on cost of materials. I can only suggest you replace one of the worst of the plywood panels with composite and see how it goes. You may want to down grade the glass or beef it up after testing. good luck olewill

 

[Tranona]

Has anyone out there replaced there old plywood cabin sole boards with some kind of composite material?

After 32 years the original sole is shall we say past its best, the teak & holly has taken some hammer, and the boards themselves have taken on water, and warped etc.

I'd like to replace them with something a little lighter that won't ever rot, the plan is to line with a teak & holly effect marine vinyl, as some of them look pretty good these days.

I was thinking maybe a honey comb structure such as nidacore, but was hoping to get the thoughts of someone who's already done it and how they got on with it.

(I do realise that plywood is the easy option, and that it will last another 30 years etc etc. I just like to improve things where I can)

Difficult to improve on plywood - still used almost universally for this application.

If you don't want "real" teak and holly then consider using a laminate top layer, such as is used on many modern boats, particularly Bavaria who have been using it for over 20 years. Make your boards from ply- good WPB is fine, paint the underside with Danboline with extra coats on the end grain and glue the laminate to the top face. You can get the laminate from Robbins in Bristol. The laminate does not wear (my Bavaria looked like new after 14 years, 7 of them with heavy use from chartering) and will outlast you, particularly if you find the leaks in the boat and keep it dry!