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Install new cabin sole

carroll

Member II
I have a 1973 27' Ericson . The p.o. put an indoor-outdoor carpet on the bare fiberglass cabin sole. I would like to replace it with some form of wood flooring or a facsimile there of . Does anyone have any suggestion of how to do this and what materials to use. There are certain problems that i foresee , such as how to make the bend at the front of the head door , how to secure the wood to the fiberglass and what material to use? Is there a video that shows such a project?
 

MMLOGAN

Member III
New Sole

Carroll,

I just completed this project. If you would like to discuss it. Send me a P.M.

Matt
Wind Chaser E35-3 #187
 

MMLOGAN

Member III
Cabin sole

I have a 1973 27' Ericson . The p.o. put an indoor-outdoor carpet on the bare fiberglass cabin sole. I would like to replace it with some form of wood flooring or a facsimile there of . Does anyone have any suggestion of how to do this and what materials to use. There are certain problems that i foresee , such as how to make the bend at the front of the head door , how to secure the wood to the fiberglass and what material to use? Is there a video that shows such a project?


Carroll,

It appears as though my PM messages are not working. Can you email at mmlogan@aol.com?

Thank you,

Matt
Wind Chaser E35-3 #187
 

MMLOGAN

Member III
Cabin Sole E35-3, Tounge and Groove method

Okay, since there is more than one interested party. This was the process for replacing the sole in our 1984 E35-3.20131102_102225.jpg
We removed the old floor (above) and ground off any snapped screws. The old sole was not glued down and this part of the project was easy to complete. After cleaning everything with simple green and hot water (many passes), we found multiple spots where the TAFG was installed in such a way that it would trap water and not let it drain the the bilge. We built up these spots using west systems epoxy and Silica and then finished these areas with gel coat. In the picture we have not washed off the green curing agent (below) from the gel coat application.
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Our original floor came up in pieces so we used 2 inch by 1/8 inch door skin strips and a hot glue gun to create templates (above). We transferred these outlines to 1/2 inch marine grade plywood. We laid the templates out in the boat and confirmed alignment at all of the joints.
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Once satisfied with the layout, we temporarily installed all of the pieces (above). This allowed us to cut all of the bilge hatches and mark out the center line of the floor. We used the center of the mast as the center line for the hatches and the eventual center line for the flooring. The next step was to replace all wiring and plumbing that ran under the original floor.We replaced bilge hoses, fresh water lines, bilge pump wiring and installed new pull wires to all points that may need to be reached in the future (below).
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We purchased raw teak strips from Diamond Tropical Hardwoods via Ebay. We bought 1/2 by 3 inch strips in various lengths none shorter than 36 inches. Kevin at Diamond was a great resource and put together a package that worked great. We machined the teak using a T&G bit. We had maple left from a previous project and we used it in place of holly. Since the maple strips are so narrow, we could not use the T&G bit but instead used a diamond shaped bit.
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End of part one.
 

MMLOGAN

Member III
Cabin Sole E35-3, Tounge and Groove method. Part 2

Once we had completed the machining, we started with the hatches. We enlarged the openings, width wise, on all of the hatches to match our new machined flooring (below). The forward most hatch in front of the mast was shortened about two inches so it no longer ran under the door to the head.
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When placing the flooring in the boat it was important to line the maple strip up with the center of the mast as this was the site line. By measuring from the center of the mast to the edge of the settee and then matching this measurement at the rear most point of the settee, we were able to verify that the center line was true fore to aft. After trimming the hatches openings so that hatched fit and laid correctly in their respective openings, we removed the sub-floor, installed backing material around the hatch openings and then put a coat of epoxy on all sides of each piece of the sub-floor. With the sub-floor installed for the final time, we were ready to start laying out the T&G flooring.
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We notched the longest pieces of T&G to fit around the hatches left and right. This gave us a square starting run to complete the flooring port and starboard. We used epoxy and screws on this first run. All of the other courses were glued with epoxy only with the exception of a strip here and there that needed additional restraint. This process went very fast. Matching the odd angles below the V-berth and next to shower pan took much patience and cursing. We used a 3/8's inch strip in these places to create a stop for the end of the runs. All of the other areas were covered with the 1/2 wide trim that we ripped from the new teak boards. Sanding, sanding and more sanding. Teak is soft compared to maple. It was a delicate process to smooth the floor without leaving the maple higher than the teak. When you walk barefoot on the floor you can just feel the height difference. Not an unpleasant feeling.
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We used Bona Floor Poly. This is an oil based finish. I really liked working with the product. It went on well and so far it has seemed to stand up to wear and tear (full summer of usage). Ask me again in a couple of years. We applied the first and second coat without sanding. We sanded, 220 grit, between each coat after the second and ended up putting down 7 coats. All coats with the exception of the last was cut with brushing thinner.
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The only deviation from the original floor layout was the addition of one hatch directly under the campanion way ladder. This allows access to the outlet/inlets beneath the engine bilge area.

This was a long project but one that has been noticed more members of the family then anything else. Even those that would not notice if we had stepped on to the Queen Mary instead of the Wind Chaser have remarked.

My favorite picture of the project?
IMG_1162.jpg
This shows the joinery and sub-floor.

Matt
Wind Chaser E35-E #187
 
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