Cal 28 MK II Sole

Mar 9, 2014
5
Cal 28 MK II Lake Norman, NC
Greetings,
I am a newbie Cal owner. My teak and holly sole is damaged. The bilge access boards along the centerline can be refinished. However, the rest of the wood is damaged and needs to be replaced. It appears that the boards/plywood are secured by some sort of adhesive to the fiberglass. How does one remove the wood without damaging the fiberglass underneath?
Thanks
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
what you have is a classic example of someone adding something to the boat without any forethought as to what happens when it needs servicing.... this is done way too often by way too many people.........:bang:
the fiberglass is tough. it has a non skid pattern that will have the adhesive in the rough pattern of it... a real pain to get clean.

you are going to have to get a sharp scraper and try and get under it to lift it up.... depending on what the installer used, a lubricant like WD40 may help the scraper cut in to the adhesive, as if its something like 3M 4000, it will kind of grab the blade and not allow it to be scraped or cut too easily. lubricating the blade will almost always make the task easier....

if its something like liquid nails they used, your kinda on your own there as I dont know of anything that will get thru that stuff except a grinder...


on our 25, the PO used 3M non slip tape on the cabin floor, and the adhesive on that stuff is some of the best available, especiaslly when it gets into the non skid pattern of the floor... after I got down to just the adhesive left, I found easy off over cleaner would cut it faster and better than any other high powered solvents available, as the really good solvent would flash off too quick and it would leave the glue residue smeared, whereas the easyoff oven cleaner dissolved it, and it remained dissolved and liquefied so I could wipe it up off the floor....

you will probably end up cutting a piece of carpet to overlay the messed up floor after you get the damaged wood out of it..... best of luck.
 
Mar 9, 2014
5
Cal 28 MK II Lake Norman, NC
Thanks Centerline!
It sounds like I may have a difficult task getting that wood out.
I may attempt to get some teak and holly plywood (1/4") and put it on top of the existing wood.
 

Rob Y

.
Jul 12, 2004
8
Cal 28 Croton-on-Hudson
Hi, I don't know what year your Cal 28 is but I have a 1986 model and I did this job of removing the cabin sole and replacing. It's not easy but like most things, I think it's worth doing right if you're going to do it at all. It is glued down with what I believe to be a polyurethane adhesive. I bought a power tool called a "Fein Multimaster" and used the scraper bit, working it under the sole and gradually cutting through the adhesive. That was several years ago. Nowadays similar tools are made by Dremel and others and they are much cheaper than the Fein. I also used some pry bars of different sizes to pull up the sole bit by bit. I had to break it into pieces to get it done. Let me know if that helps or if you have any other questions.
Rob
 
Mar 9, 2014
5
Cal 28 MK II Lake Norman, NC
Rob,
Mine is an 86 too. I thought about getting quarter inch teak and holly plywood and installing it with adhesive on top of the existing wood. My wood is not damaged badly enough to make another layer a problem. Do you think that might be an effective solution? Wheere did you get the replacement wood?
Thanks,
Chuck
 

Rob Y

.
Jul 12, 2004
8
Cal 28 Croton-on-Hudson
Sorry for delayed reply... I guess the forum is not sending me email notifications when someone writes to me.
The problem (as I see it) with adding another layer of wood is that the sole will be too high in spots. It's recessed into the floor so as to be flush with the fiberglass near the head and around the galley, etc. So I saw removing the old sole as the only "right" way to do the job.
I bought the sole from a guy in Arizona who does custom-made cabin soles. I sent him templates for all the pieces (there are 7 I think) and he made them and shipped them to me. He did a terrible job though and I had to modify nearly all of them before I could install. So I don't recommend that route. The stuff is available from specialty lumber yards. Also you might consider a modern teak and holly substitute made of some sort of plastics. This is what some newer boats come with. Not quite as nice looking as wood but pretty close and a hell of a lot easier to care for. Never needs re-varnishing.
I'm happy to talk about all matters Cal 28. I've had my boat for 10 years and done project after project. I've learned a lot. Feel free to email me: ryedowitz@hotmail.com