New cabin sole anarchy

[Pinching]

Grizz,

I replaced the cabin sole on my 1988 Carroll Frers 41.  Used the old boards as patterns, tapered edges as needed.  Epoxy coated underside and added 6" tape on the tapered edges underneath.  The underside is exposed to bilge water like crazy.  I used regular varnish  (probably Minwax or similar) on the pretty (upper) side and added some short non skid strips near the nav station to keep the navigator in place.  Fastener holes were over drilled then epoxied then fastened.  Just used flat head SS fasteners no bungs.  This is an old MHS boat so no worries about squeaks or such sillilness.

The sole was replaced in 1998 and is still going strong without delam.  Much of the teak veneer has faded under the sun

I've sanded and revarnished about every 3 years or so.  The non skid strips are also replaced.  I avoid removing all varnish so I don't sand through the thin veneer

Most of the walking surface is varnished teak/holly plywood (ours was only 1/2" thick).  It has not been a terrible surface in terms of being slippery.  What is a terrible surface are the sail turtle bags on the cabin sole -- they are usually pretty soggy on distance races when it's frisky out. 

P

 

[Pinching]

 

[Grizz]

Grizz,

I replaced the cabin sole on my 1988 Carroll Frers 41.  Used the old boards as patterns, tapered edges as needed.  Epoxy coated underside and added 6" tape on the tapered edges underneath.  The underside is exposed to bilge water like crazy.  I used regular varnish  (probably Minwax or similar) on the pretty (upper) side and added some short non skid strips near the nav station to keep the navigator in place.  Fastener holes were over drilled then epoxied then fastened.  Just used flat head SS fasteners no bungs.  This is an old MHS boat so no worries about squeaks or such sillilness.

The sole was replaced in 1998 and is still going strong without delam.  Much of the teak veneer has faded under the sun

I've sanded and revarnished about every 3 years or so.  The non skid strips are also replaced.  I avoid removing all varnish so I don't sand through the thin veneer

Most of the walking surface is varnished teak/holly plywood (ours was only 1/2" thick).  It has not been a terrible surface in terms of being slippery.  What is a terrible surface are the sail turtle bags on the cabin sole -- they are usually pretty soggy on distance races when it's frisky out. 

P

Thanks Pinching! Yep, the underside gets pretty wet. Your replacement looks great.

 

[slug zitski]

I prefer semi gloss varnish 

stays clean , doesn’t show defects 

 

[SloopJonB]

That's gotta be the most offset companionway I've ever seen.

 

[PaulK]

Thanks PaulK- the PO had the sole refinished before i bought it, and the coating failed extensively because of moisture intrusion. I’ll be doing the work in my basement over the Winter, so moisture shouldn’t be an issue,

Basement is where you should probably avoid doing the work.  That's where I did mine. 

 

[Mid]

That's gotta be the most offset companionway I've ever seen.

it's the tradesman's entrance ya dummy 

 

[asmo]

We specify Bona Traffic HD Anti-slip for wooden floors in the buildings we work on. It’s designed for high traffic commercial applications. It looks great, is completely waterproof, incredibly durable, and anti-slip. In houses it works great to seal wooden floors around showers and bathtubs. Still learning about boats but am pretty good with buildings. If I were redoing my cabin sole I’d seriously consider this:

https://www.bona.com/en/products/professional/coatings/lacquers/wood-floors/bona-traffic-hd-anti-slip-ml1-3x495l/

 

[rustylaru]

We specify Bona Traffic HD Anti-slip for wooden floors in the buildings we work on. It’s designed for high traffic commercial applications. It looks great, is completely waterproof, incredibly durable, and anti-slip. In houses it works great to seal wooden floors around showers and bathtubs. Still learning about boats but am pretty good with buildings. If I were redoing my cabin sole I’d seriously consider this:

https://www.bona.com/en/products/professional/coatings/lacquers/wood-floors/bona-traffic-hd-anti-slip-ml1-3x495l/

Traffic has many great properties in terms of surface durability. I had a hard time getting to bond straight to epoxy surfaces. So you either have to use a bonding coat of Bona dri-fast poly under it or shellac. My problems my have come from not letting the epoxy 105/207 cure for long enough before over coating.

But nothing in this world will pan/level out on a flat surface as well as traffic. It feels like cheating

 

[SloopJonB]

FWIW We use Bona maintenance products on our hardwood floors and are very satisfied.

 

[Diamond Jim]

I’m uneasy about magnets of any size on a boat with a magnetic compass. 
There was one foggy day in Downeast Maine.  Loran had not been invented…

 

[Grizz]

Traffic has many great properties in terms of surface durability. I had a hard time getting to bond straight to epoxy surfaces. So you either have to use a bonding coat of Bona dri-fast poly under it or shellac. My problems my have come from not letting the epoxy 105/207 cure for long enough before over coating.

But nothing in this world will pan/level out on a flat surface as well as traffic. It feels like cheating

The adhesion over epoxy is a concern- especially because I've already purchased the epoxy! The tech person I spoke with at Gougeon suggested Z-Spar Captain's varnish. Bona sounds great, but if I've got to buy the dri-fast and also a gallon of Bona Traffic HD, on top of over 200 bucks worth of epoxy, my little 3'X8' cabin sole will be eating into my beer budget big time! 

 

[rustylaru]

The adhesion over epoxy is a concern- especially because I've already purchased the epoxy! The tech person I spoke with at Gougeon suggested Z-Spar Captain's varnish. Bona sounds great, but if I've got to buy the dri-fast and also a gallon of Bona Traffic HD, on top of over 200 bucks worth of epoxy, my little 3'X8' cabin sole will be eating into my beer budget big time! 

Gougeon are so helpful when you call them on the phone. It's kind of rare in our world.

Consider that spar varnish is very soft and flexible to allow it to move with expanding and contracting wood. Polyurethane like say minwax fast drying for floors is considerable harder and therefore better abrasion resistance. If you seal all sides with 3 coats of 105/207 you have isolated the wood from movement so use a poly. 

I was coating the underside of some new hatches yesterday and tried something new for me. For the 1st coat of epoxy I used a squeegee instead of a roller and got a much more even result. Don't think it will work on second or third coats but its nice to get one coat super even very quickly. 

 

[Grizz]

Gougeon are so helpful when you call them on the phone. It's kind of rare in our world.

Consider that spar varnish is very soft and flexible to allow it to move with expanding and contracting wood. Polyurethane like say minwax fast drying for floors is considerable harder and therefore better abrasion resistance. If you seal all sides with 3 coats of 105/207 you have isolated the wood from movement so use a poly. 

I was coating the underside of some new hatches yesterday and tried something new for me. For the 1st coat of epoxy I used a squeegee instead of a roller and got a much more even result. Don't think it will work on second or third coats but its nice to get one coat super even very quickly. 

Thanks rustylaru- I’ve heard people mention that. I’m new at this- what kind of squeegee?

 

[SloopJonB]

Auto body filler tool

 

[Grizz]

Auto body filler tool

Thanks Sloop- I own a few of those!