While reading all of these sole replacement threads, I was reminded of my recent musing about sole refurbishment in our E-27. The 27 has a molded fiberglass sole which we have covered with a carpet. The admiral and I have long lusted after the teak & holley soles we see in other boats and were contemplating installing it in ours.
The project, as I envision it, would require gluing down a T&H veneer to the existing sole. Since I am 6' 1" and the headroom is 6' as it is right now, I do want to keep any added thickness to a minimum. The fiberglass sole would be sanded down, a template made, veneer cut to fit and then expoxied down and finished. The access hatches to the bilge would require a little more work, but that should be fairly easy.
Has anyone undertaken a similar project? Any comments, or ideas about how this would work out? I am a fairly handy guy, but have never done any veneering. Would vaccum bagging be necessay or could sandbags work to hold the veneer in place while the expoxy does its thing?
Thanks for any comments.
-Mitch
The project, as I envision it, would require gluing down a T&H veneer to the existing sole. Since I am 6' 1" and the headroom is 6' as it is right now, I do want to keep any added thickness to a minimum. The fiberglass sole would be sanded down, a template made, veneer cut to fit and then expoxied down and finished. The access hatches to the bilge would require a little more work, but that should be fairly easy.
Has anyone undertaken a similar project? Any comments, or ideas about how this would work out? I am a fairly handy guy, but have never done any veneering. Would vaccum bagging be necessay or could sandbags work to hold the veneer in place while the expoxy does its thing?
Thanks for any comments.
-Mitch