Cabin Sole Replacement

[daynardi]

We have a 1985 E32-3. Cabin sole is badly rotted around mast step. Entire sole looks pretty ratty. I'm considering ripping out and starting over.

As I start planning this project, I have some questions:

1. Does anyone know the construction of the sole in a 1985 boat? I have the impression that the teak holly is only 1/4" thick and that it is installed over a sub-floor of other material (probably marine plywood). Is this correct, or is the teak holly the full thickness (about 3/4")?

2. Even if the original floor is a single layer of plywood, I might replace it with a thin (and cheaper) finish layer of 1/4" teak-holly over a non-finish structural sub-floor. The sub-floor could be marine plywood or possibly some kind of composite panel. The material would need to be strong enough to span between the "frames" of the structural grid without sagging. Does anyone know if a synthetic panel such as "starboard" would be suitable for a concealed structural sub-floor?

3. Treating the sole as a finish applied over a separate structural panel opens the option of using a fake "teak-holly" marine vinyl floor instead of expensive T.H. plywood. Vinyl floor sounds yucky, but I'd rather be sailing than refinishing a wood floor every spring, so it is tempting. Does anyone have experience with marine vinyl products such as "PlasTeak" flooring? If I installed a vinyl floor, would I risk excommunication from the Ericson community?

 

[Loren Beach]

The return of the Sole discussion

Many of us have refreshed our "soles" in the past years.

Some searching will find the threads. Here are a couple of them:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?2423-cabin-sole-replacement

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...emoval-of-glued-down-cabin-sole&referrerid=28

Happy carpenter-ing !

 

[Christian Williams]

Your 1985 E32-III sole is probably glued to the TAFG. Removal is by destruction with chisels and prybar, and grinder to smooth the old glue.

The sole is thin T&H ply, maybe 1/4 inch. It fits neatly into a recess in the TAFG, which restricts the thickness.

Where it bridges bilges openings, the lids are reinforced with a thicker layer of plywood.

A new sole should be screwed down, not glued (I say) , and can be made in any number of sections you think best (about 5).

It's a woodworking job. A very careful pattern is required, which you can make with the pattern material sold by Sailrite before the old floor is removed.

The raw sections then needs two coats of CPES and maybe seven of varnish. So you need a garage-like workplace.

My 32-III had new floorboards as an "insurance claim". The cost of the T&H cut to pattern was $1200, unfinished. I did the rest. Not hard, but varnish takes time to dry and transporting the sections is, well, awkward.

There are lots of threads here about refinishing and replacing the cabin sole. It's a bigger job than it ought to be, because Ericson didn;t make the floorboards removal on many models. My E38 is a good example of that, too. They considered the floor "furniture."

I personally would hate to see T&H abandoned on a 32-III, since it looks so good and is the base personality of the cabin.

The job will be a couple of grand if contracted out, and a couple of hundred if a winter owner project.

 

[907Juice]

Cardboard template

I haven't done this project but have been thinking about it. To piggyback Christians comment, when I do, I plan on making the template out of cardboard just like you do for nice countertops. Lots of duct tape, a small knife, and easy to find large cardboard boxes is all you need. You don't like how it looks, throw that section away and try again... Then you can do the rest back in your garage with all your tools and lights.

Juice

 

[supersailor]

The teak and holly 3/4" ply is $420 a sheet. half and quarter sheets can be purchased usually from back east. On the east coast, you can get the same sheets for about $240. Shipping a sheet to the west coast costs $170. Think we are being shafted out here on the west coast?

Saving some of the sole can save you significant amounts of cash. I narrowed what I actually needed down to a 4X4 that I had cut in half by an eastern yard and shipped for $200 total. The rest of the sole was saved. The materials for a complete replacement on the 34 would be around $1,000.

 

[Christian Williams]

That (partial replacement) is a really good point. Although the veneer can't be sanded much, sometimes it can be cleaned up and the contrast of the teak and holly strips enhanced. If the result is "character," rather than former ugliness, a few coats of Schooner varnish can redeem it further. A good vanish job reflects the light differently, ties all the colors together, and can be very effective.

If the T&H laminate is still viable, even ply that is literally water soaked and falling apart can be saved.

See this blog entry and the video:

 

[Mark F]

Hi daynardi,

The E27 did not have a factory installed T&H sole. I got tired of replacing carpet as it got dirty, stained and funky. Initially I thought about T&H ply but the curved edges of the sole seemed like a hard thing to deal with ply. I was close to pulling the trigger on vinyl but dealing with the bilge hatches and the finish of the hatch edges seemed problematic. I milled up some mahogany and maple (my interior is mahogany) into tongue and groove 3/8" thick boards and glued them down. It was pretty involved but not that tough of a project. The nice thing about working with individual boards is fitting is easier - you're not committed to large chunk of expensive plywood. The thin boards were fairly easy to bend into place where the sole edges curved.