Pearson Yachts Forum
Pearson Boats - Common Systems => Interior Structures => Topic started by: Blue Heron on January 20, 2015, 07:58:48 PM
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Our cabin sole is tired, and I am looking for options. I have considered trying to replace it with a new teak and holly plywood veneer, but I am a bit hesitant to tackle that.
Has anyone had success either replacing the wood floor, or installing something else?
Any tips/tricks/advice much appreciated!
Thanks
Chet
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Last October, I removed all the flooring. Split and remove bungs, remove screws, pull floor up in three major sections. Took them home and removed all the old finish with a heat gun. Palm sanded it with 200 grit. Now putting on coats of semi-gloss urethane. Gotta tell you, looks like a million bucks. I have a talented friend who was going to make me a new floor in oak with ash inlay, but the old floor has been resurrected. Can't wait 'til spring to install.
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The teak and holly deck is significantly thicker than what's on modern boats, I have never measured the thickness; but I think it is 3/8's thick.
You can refinish the deck in place with an palm sander and one of those tiny detail sanders.
I have done mine twice in 33 years and it looks great.
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The teak and holly deck is significantly thicker than what's on modern boats, I have never measured the thickness; but I think it is 3/8's thick.
You can refinish the deck in place with an palm sander and one of those tiny detail sanders.
I have done mine twice in 33 years and it looks great.
Not on mine. The veneer is paper thin. In places with water damage, the holly strips have peeled off, exposing the plywood beneath. A floor replacement is on my to-do-list.
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I guess I got lucky, solid cabin deck. The floor access hatches are solid as well
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One of the things that sold me on #74 was the lack of plywood cabin sole. More important to me than the finish was the loss of headroom...
Are your bilge hatches fiberglass Pelican? Mine are heavy plywood with vinyl covering. I DID replace the teak hatch supports with aluminum angle.
I've often thought of making fine teak bilge hatches since the finishing and maintenance would be manageable since they could be brought home...
'Admiral nixed that one- "Why create aggravation?" Gotta love that girl!
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Last October, I removed all the flooring. Split and remove bungs, remove screws, pull floor up in three major sections. Took them home and removed all the old finish with a heat gun. Palm sanded it with 200 grit. Now putting on coats of semi-gloss urethane. Gotta tell you, looks like a million bucks. I have a talented friend who was going to make me a new floor in oak with ash inlay, but the old floor has been resurrected. Can't wait 'til spring to install.
Bill1188 - I wish I could get away with that, but I have a couple sections (one beneath the main cabin hatch which must have leaked for a while before I bought it) that are pretty badly de-laminated, and a number of the holly strips have been dislodged. What's the floor like like beneath the wood you removed? Is it a nice pan that a person could just carpet over?
Sounds like your floor will look fantastic when you re-install...post pictures!
Thanks,
Chet
Thanks
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I guess I got lucky, solid cabin deck. The floor access hatches are solid as well
Yep, you did get lucky! Mine is just like that described by Dolce_Vita.
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Blue Heron, mine is a white pan under the floor. My wood is lucky, no delaminations and sufficient thickness. I am going to screw the floor back down and replace the bungs. Should look like new. Carpet would not be bad. White floor finished in non skid might be an option. I am going to leave the table pole out. Without it the interior seems twice the size.
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Bill1188 - I wish I could get away with that, but I have a couple sections (one beneath the main cabin hatch which must have leaked for a while before I bought it) that are pretty badly de-laminated, and a number of the holly strips have been dislodged. ...
Even if the wood is delaminated, you can remove it carefully and use the pieces as a template for cutting the replacements. Will save a whole lot of time.
Mine, like yours, has delamination near the ladder and under the deck hatch. The deck hatches used to leak badly when we bought her, but are tight now after we rebuilt them.
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My bilge hatches are solid teak and holly, with a marine plywood cut out on the bottom to fit correctly on the cabin sole. The teak and holly lies on top of a glass sub deck. My entire cabin sole is all teak and holly, no glass.
The teak and holly sole was an upgrade option,as were many aspects with the P323. The standard cabin sole was glass. I would guess that your boat was factory glass and along the way an owner added a teak holly overlay.
I have seen the factory glass cabin sole boats and it looks like there are obvious spots for an overlay. I don't think you could cover the entire sole with an overlay, just spots; but I could be wrong.
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My bilge hatches are solid teak and holly, with a marine plywood cut out on the bottom to fit correctly on the cabin sole. The teak and holly lies on top of a glass sub deck. My entire cabin sole is all teak and holly, no glass.
The teak and holly sole was an upgrade option,as were many aspects with the P323. The standard cabin sole was glass. I would guess that your boat was factory glass and along the way an owner added a teak holly overlay.
I have seen the factory glass cabin sole boats and it looks like there are obvious spots for an overlay. I don't think you could cover the entire sole with an overlay, just spots; but I could be wrong.
i think mine is likely the factory option. My entire sole is also teak and holly, with the only visible pan being in the head area where there is a teak grate over the shower pan. My floor is also pretty thick, for instance, when I remove the small cutout/hatch around the mast, it is probably at least 1/2" thick. I'll take a better look at it, and maybe post a couple pictures next time I get out there (a couple weeks).
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Even if the wood is delaminated, you can remove it carefully and use the pieces as a template for cutting the replacements. Will save a whole lot of time.
Dolce_Vita, If I go forward with the replacement, that is exactly what I hope to do. I am just a bit worried about being able to make the bilge cut-outs with a nice tight fit, with the edges trimmed out and all. That part looks to be some pretty nice craftsmanship! Actually, the whole floor was very nicely done...it is a shame that the previous owner let it go for that long.
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Blue Heron, mine is a white pan under the floor. My wood is lucky, no delaminations and sufficient thickness. I am going to screw the floor back down and replace the bungs. Should look like new. Carpet would not be bad. White floor finished in non skid might be an option. I am going to leave the table pole out. Without it the interior seems twice the size.
Thanks for confirming that. I too have thought about removing the table pole, but, being able to position the table like that is so darn handy! I often position at a standing table height for working on various projects, and the ability to spin the table sideways allows use from the starboard side settee as well. I always raise it to the ceiling when not in use too, so, I am afraid I would really miss it if I took it out.
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At 6'5", if I put the table to the ceiling, I'm going to keep hitting my coconut on it. I am going to go with a new table positioned with the floor and table flanges spaced withe the fluted pipe. That way, I can put the whole thing away to really open up the cabin, use the table, and place the table for the double berth.
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Blue Heron, I have the same cabin deck configuration and a head grate.
I also would like to get rid of the table, but I do not know what to replace it with
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You guys and gals will get a kick out this...Just for kicks I asked the boatyard to give me an estimate to replace my teak and holly sole and they came back with $8000. I guess they really don't want to do it.
LOL!!!
Chet
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That is pretty far out there!
5 1/2 years ago, when we bought our boat, the cabin sole was badly delaminated in places. Based on estimates then, we got a $2000 adjustment off of the NADA "blue book" price.
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Bill1188- was the floor just screwed down? Or also glued?
BTW, I found a guy who owns a company that works on a lot of old Lyman boats and does LOTS of custom woodwork. He will use my old pieces for patterns and make new pieces for me. Also, I'm thinking about just going with Teak veneer as opposed to Teak and Holly veneer. He says it will save me some money by reducing his labor hours (he won't have to line up all the holly strips). I saw some pictures of cabin soles done in the teak and looks great too. Also, mentioned that when I install the new pieces, I might want to consider using decorative bronze screws as opposed to covering the screws with wood bungs. I also saw pictures of this, and looks good as well...they do this on Lyman boats and use special Lyman inverted bronze washers. That way, the pieces can be pre-finished when I install them, as opposed to having to sand and re-finish inside the cabin. He claims that the bronze will get a patina when aged and they basically blend right in with the teak.
Chet
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Bronze screws instead of bungs, what a great idea! I too struggled with coming up with a way to pre finish the pieces to minimize the mess in the boat, and this sounds really promising.
Do you have any pictures you can post, or sources for the screws?
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I took the floor out of my boat last fall and refinished over the winter. This is what I am going to do to install. I eliminated at least half of the screws to the floor, blanking off the holes with teak bungs cut flush with a Japanese Saw. The remaining holes will mount the floor at strategic points. I am flush mounting countersunk washers obtained from Lee Valley, a supply company for furniture making hobbyists. I am then going to epoxy in machine screw inserts in the respective holes in the floor pan. Then when I drop the floor panel in, I can machine screw it to the floor. I went with brass washers and marine screws. This will make it so easy to remove the floor down the road, rather than chipping out a bunch of bungs.
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Ed, this is a snapshot of what I think he uses as far as screws and washers. Available at www.lymanboat.com. Also, I've asked him to email photoes of the cabin soles he has installed with the screws, and I will post if I get them
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Bill, when you removed your floor, was it glued as well as screwed?
Thanks,
Chet
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Floor was not glued. Once the overwhelming number of bungs were chipped out, the screws had to be removed. Use your best Phillips screwdriver as to not round out the heads. Floor came out easy. 37 years of dirt took awhile to clean up. Heat gun off the old finish. Light palm sanding so as to not go through the veneer. 8 coats semi gloss polyurethane. All in as of last weekend. Looks like a million bucks. I also removed the table pole as it is not structural. Furniture maker friend made me a new table, complete with fiddles. Being able to stow the table when not in use, and not having the pole, makes the cabin feel twice its size.