Eva Foam for Cabin Sole?

[Turnbuckle]

I'm thinking about a Vinyl flooring for the cabin sole on my Moody 30. Eva Foam Teak seemed to be a possibility until I saw this:

I don't have the budget or requirement for real wood, and laminate seems a little too tricky. Some kind of Vinyl would probably work - easy to clean, easy to lay, relatively easy to remove after a few years.

Has anyone used Eva Foam? Or does anyone have suggestions for alternatives? TopTeak seems ok, but it's Australian, and Mr Google can't seem to find an UK outlet....

Suggestions welcome....

 

[TernVI]

EVA foam is sold as 'progrip' for dinghies.
It offers great wet grip, but is easily scuffed.

For a cabin sole, you can do worse than non-slip paint or varnish, and a nice washable rug for use in port or benign conditions.

 

[Yngmar]

We've got two small pieces of EVA foam on trial on the steps to our cockpit (exterior). Very cheap direct from Aliexpress. They've been there since February and we're cruising in the Med, so lots of UV, not so much algae growth though.

Durability is pretty good so far. The foam is soft and pleasant to walk (and more importantly for me, kneel) on. It's easy to clean by wiping off with a rag and slightly soapy water, doesn't readily absorb dirt. It's less susceptible to cuts and scrapes than I expected, but not immune (easy enough to cut with scissors when applying). The adhesive backing is still all holding on - I expected that to come off in the Greek summer heat, which easily melts inflatable dinghies, but it didn't. Perhaps because the sample I used had white faux caulking stripes instead of black ones and thus gets a lot less hot than the real teak deck our boat has been cursed with.

The stripes are however extremely dumb. Apart from stripes being a relic from the days when people were silly enough to attach little strips of teak to their decks, the foam is solution dyed and they cannot yet put the stripes into a solid layer of foam. So instead the stripey EVA foam is made of two layers, a white/black one on the bottom that gives the stripes their colour, and a brown one on top, with gaps in it so you can see the stripe-coloured foam underneath. These gaps will hold water, dirt and needlessly expose edges of the foam, so it wears away faster. If you search around a bit, you can however also get it plain, without any stripes, in various colours (I've even seen ocean blue, if you're so inclined).

I'll probably not try setting fire to it, but I have tried some solvents on it, and being on the steps, it gets plenty of abuse. Cleaning alcohol seems to do a good job of removing stubborn stains (caulking, etc). and does not attack the foam. White spirit doesn't seem to bother it either. Didn't try acetone yet, but I expect that may harm it.

It was very easy to apply in a small area and pretty cheap. I wouldn't use it in high wear areas of the deck, like where we drag the dinghy over the foredeck - I doubt it would stand up to that well. But I can see myself using it in the cockpit area, and possibly indoors (although we're very happy with our hard laminate synthetic floorboards and see no reason to do anything there for a good long while).

 

[jwilson]

For a Moody 30 you might well get away with a single sheet at about £100 of teak/holly or cherry/holly laminate from Robbins. Add a 2.5 litre can of Evostik from Screwfix and you have https://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/boats/charter/saloon-table.jpg - this 35 footer took 2 sheets and one can of adhesive. Get all floorboards off and set one as the 'master' one to align to. Cut laminate an inch oversize each piece and glue down, then trim edges with a router roller bit. Alignment fiddly but not difficult with a bit of thought and an old bit of plywood and a wooden batten.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

I'm into my second season of EVA foam down below. Does not seem to smell if wet and cleans up fairly well.

A big bonus for smaller boats is it's so nice to kneel on accessing lockers etc.

And it's cheap and easy to lay.

As an aside, have you tried one of those contour tools yet ? Best tool I've bought for many a year.

 

[jiris]

I have a reasonably good experience with this stuff, much matching the above comments. I do would suggest not to use the "grooved" variety. The besides of being hard to clean, the peeling of the top layer starts in the grooves. The plain smooths usrface is more durable. Does't look as flashy though...

 

[Turnbuckle]

For a Moody 30 you might well get away with a single sheet at about £100 of teak/holly or cherry/holly laminate from Robbins. Add a 2.5 litre can of Evostik from Screwfix and you have https://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/boats/charter/saloon-table.jpg - this 35 footer took 2 sheets and one can of adhesive. Get all floorboards off and set one as the 'master' one to align to. Cut laminate an inch oversize each piece and glue down, then trim edges with a router roller bit. Alignment fiddly but not difficult with a bit of thought and an old bit of plywood and a wooden batten.

We've got two small pieces of EVA foam on trial on the steps to our cockpit (exterior). Very cheap direct from Aliexpress. They've been there since February and we're cruising in the Med, so lots of UV, not so much algae growth though.

Durability is pretty good so far. The foam is soft and pleasant to walk (and more importantly for me, kneel) on. It's easy to clean by wiping off with a rag and slightly soapy water, doesn't readily absorb dirt. It's less susceptible to cuts and scrapes than I expected, but not immune (easy enough to cut with scissors when applying). The adhesive backing is still all holding on - I expected that to come off in the Greek summer heat, which easily melts inflatable dinghies, but it didn't. Perhaps because the sample I used had white faux caulking stripes instead of black ones and thus gets a lot less hot than the real teak deck our boat has been cursed with.

The stripes are however extremely dumb. Apart from stripes being a relic from the days when people were silly enough to attach little strips of teak to their decks, the foam is solution dyed and they cannot yet put the stripes into a solid layer of foam. So instead the stripey EVA foam is made of two layers, a white/black one on the bottom that gives the stripes their colour, and a brown one on top, with gaps in it so you can see the stripe-coloured foam underneath. These gaps will hold water, dirt and needlessly expose edges of the foam, so it wears away faster. If you search around a bit, you can however also get it plain, without any stripes, in various colours (I've even seen ocean blue, if you're so inclined).

I'll probably not try setting fire to it, but I have tried some solvents on it, and being on the steps, it gets plenty of abuse. Cleaning alcohol seems to do a good job of removing stubborn stains (caulking, etc). and does not attack the foam. White spirit doesn't seem to bother it either. Didn't try acetone yet, but I expect that may harm it.

It was very easy to apply in a small area and pretty cheap. I wouldn't use it in high wear areas of the deck, like where we drag the dinghy over the foredeck - I doubt it would stand up to that well. But I can see myself using it in the cockpit area, and possibly indoors (although we're very happy with our hard laminate synthetic floorboards and see no reason to do anything there for a good long while).

Very many thanks for taking the time to give such a helpful response. I'm not discounting Eva now... but also considering laminate (see below). Will no doubt make up my mind soon but there's no rush.

 

[Turnbuckle]

For a Moody 30 you might well get away with a single sheet at about £100 of teak/holly or cherry/holly laminate from Robbins. Add a 2.5 litre can of Evostik from Screwfix and you have https://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/boats/charter/saloon-table.jpg - this 35 footer took 2 sheets and one can of adhesive. Get all floorboards off and set one as the 'master' one to align to. Cut laminate an inch oversize each piece and glue down, then trim edges with a router roller bit. Alignment fiddly but not difficult with a bit of thought and an old bit of plywood and a wooden batten.

Thanks. I had wondered about this. I think, in order to get all the lines equally spaced, I'd probably need two sheets. Was this stuff fairly flexible? Did you need absolutely smooth cabin soles (I've got a bit of prep work to do if so...

 

[jwilson]

Thanks. I had wondered about this. I think, in order to get all the lines equally spaced, I'd probably need two sheets. Was this stuff fairly flexible? Did you need absolutely smooth cabin soles (I've got a bit of prep work to do if so...

It's fairly stiff - get's delivered with 8 ft x 4 ft sheets rolled into about an 18 inch cylinder. I filled a few bigger depressions in original floorboards with polyester car body filler before gluing down. I already had a small hand router for trimming the edges. Most complex job is finding exact right position on "master" central panel so that no light "holly" strip on this or any other panel ends up on a straight fore and aft joint, which would look bad.

 

[Turnbuckle]

Most complex job is finding exact right position on "master" central panel so that no light "holly" strip on this or any other panel ends up on a straight fore and aft joint, which would look bad.

That's an interesting point! I had presumed that the exact opposite would be necessary - lining up all the light strips so they are in a straight line. If you have a pic, I'd love to see what you did (PM me pls).

Again, thanks.
T

 

[Turnbuckle]

It's fairly stiff - get's delivered with 8 ft x 4 ft sheets rolled into about an 18 inch cylinder. I filled a few bigger depressions in original floorboards with polyester car body filler before gluing down. I already had a small hand router for trimming the edges. Most complex job is finding exact right position on "master" central panel so that no light "holly" strip on this or any other panel ends up on a straight fore and aft joint, which would look bad.

Ah, apologies. Ignore my last. I now understand what you mean. No holly strips on fore and aft lifts.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

I'm thinking about a Vinyl flooring for the cabin sole on my Moody 30. Eva Foam Teak seemed to be a possibility until I saw this:

I don't have the budget or requirement for real wood, and laminate seems a little too tricky. Some kind of Vinyl would probably work - easy to clean, easy to lay, relatively easy to remove after a few years.

Has anyone used Eva Foam? Or does anyone have suggestions for alternatives? TopTeak seems ok, but it's Australian, and Mr Google can't seem to find an UK outlet....

Suggestions welcome....

I think you've convinced yourself to go for wood, but for anyone else reading - take a look at Flotex carpet. Designed for bathrooms etc., I've used it to make wooden floors non-slip in my Mum's place, and just for fun went with one of their range of 'wood' finishes. I've used to offcuts as doormats here, and it's very good at trapping dirt and so just take it outside and jet it off with a hose.

No teak&holly, but:-

Flotex 'natural' range

 

[Scillypete]

I replaced my manky old carpets with eva foam last spring, so far so good very comfy underfoot