...but dont want to spend over $300 for a single 4x8 sheet of it, then read on!
A few weeks ago, my dinette table, which folds up against the bulkhead when not in use came crashing down during a sail when the latch became unfastened. The heavy formica table came crashing down right on top of my teak/holly floorboard and bilge cover.
Although the gouge was not large, it was deep. The floorboard's strength was compromised and seemed like it would not hold should someone put all their weight on that weak spot.
I bought a nice piece of 4x8 1/2 inch MAPLE plywood at Lowes for about $40. The maple is a lot nicer and cleaner looking than regular construction grade ply.
The board was cut out with a sabre saw and I filed and sanded the piece to fit the bilge and smooth the surfaces. I also had to buy an electric planer to "rabet" a 1 inch border around the under side of the board so that the height of the board would not protrude over the cabin floor since the original board was about 1/8" thinner than the 1/2" sheet I bought.
I then used blue tape to make the three "holly" strips about 1/4" wide and about 2 1/2 inches apart. I made sure to press the tape in good with the side of the roll. I then used Minwax Golden Oak colored stain over the strips. After two light coats dries, I applied two coats of clear satin polyurethane.
When that dried, I removed the tape and lightly sanded the areas where the tape had roughed the wood up a bit.
I then put two coats of Gunstock colored stain on the whole board being sure to wipe it off quickly so that it would not stain the previously poly coated "holly" strips.
After the stain dried, I applied a coat of poly to the whole board. Here's a picture after the first coat of poly.
A few weeks ago, my dinette table, which folds up against the bulkhead when not in use came crashing down during a sail when the latch became unfastened. The heavy formica table came crashing down right on top of my teak/holly floorboard and bilge cover.
Although the gouge was not large, it was deep. The floorboard's strength was compromised and seemed like it would not hold should someone put all their weight on that weak spot.
I bought a nice piece of 4x8 1/2 inch MAPLE plywood at Lowes for about $40. The maple is a lot nicer and cleaner looking than regular construction grade ply.
The board was cut out with a sabre saw and I filed and sanded the piece to fit the bilge and smooth the surfaces. I also had to buy an electric planer to "rabet" a 1 inch border around the under side of the board so that the height of the board would not protrude over the cabin floor since the original board was about 1/8" thinner than the 1/2" sheet I bought.
I then used blue tape to make the three "holly" strips about 1/4" wide and about 2 1/2 inches apart. I made sure to press the tape in good with the side of the roll. I then used Minwax Golden Oak colored stain over the strips. After two light coats dries, I applied two coats of clear satin polyurethane.
When that dried, I removed the tape and lightly sanded the areas where the tape had roughed the wood up a bit.
I then put two coats of Gunstock colored stain on the whole board being sure to wipe it off quickly so that it would not stain the previously poly coated "holly" strips.
After the stain dried, I applied a coat of poly to the whole board. Here's a picture after the first coat of poly.
