Linoleum Squares on Cabin Sole?

sailortonyb Allied Mis · Sep 4, 2008

Carpet

We found that carpet was almost impossible to keep clean. We threw out the original carpet, which I believe was a Catalina carpet.
The other disadvantage of carpet was that it kept the boat hot in the summer.
What we did was buy small areas rugs from Wally World in the winter for about $20. This would keep our feet warm during the cold months. In the spring, we just threw the rugs away. We liked the bare fiberglass sole during the warmer months, it kept the boat cooler. We lived aboard, so the rugs got pretty dirty in a relative short period of time. We threw them out in the spring because for the price, they were not worth storing.

Tony B

JohnS12875 · Sep 4, 2008

!!! WARNING!!!! TREE HUGGER POSTING !!!!

(Okay, if I were a *real* tree hugger, I probably wouldn't be using a truck as my daily.)

Tony,

I try not to get too anal about recycling and such, but you could consider getting your throw rugs from thrift shops. Even cheaper than Wally World, and when you're done with it, you can give it back to them and claim it as a donation on your taxes. It's win-win for everyone. Less stuff in landfills.

But hey, sometimes you just want that nice fresh "new" smell. Do as you like.

As for rugs on boats, do you roll them up and stow them while under way? I'm not sure I'd trust them to walk on them in any but the calmest seas.

william24424 · Sep 4, 2008

Teak and Holly

My vote is not to use vinyl squares.

sailortonyb Allied Mis · Sep 4, 2008

JohnS, thanks for the reminder.

We always roll up the rugs and get them out of the way. I have tried several non-skid backings under the rugs and they didnt help when under way.

We live aboard and the admiral as well as myself like new stuff on the boat. Besides, it keeps someone in China employed. LOL
Seriously, though, we dont actually throw them away. I make several "Good Will"
trips per year. I rarely ever throw anything away. If I cant give it to Good Will, I give it to my neighbor. He takes just about everything to recycling yards. Even the packaging. We dont go camping any more, but I still cut and box my wood scraps and give them to others that go camping. Makes great kindling. As for my saw dust and shavings, I give them to potters that do raku low temperature firings.

Tony B

Hermit Scott · Sep 4, 2008

flooring

Hey Tony, it's been a while since I heard from you. About the carpet, in my boat there are button snaps fixed into the floor. I didn't know if it came from the factory like that or if someone did that.
Bob mentioned that he likes to look in the bilge everytime he gets on the boat. Since I only see my boat once a week and just getting to know it, I like to inspect it also.
I think I will cut some carpet to go from the vberth to the front of the engine compartment and over to the bilge cover. Then I will cut another piece to go on the other side of the bilge cover to the port bench(settee I think it's called, some one please correct me). Then have the edges sewn at a carpet store.
Ross you talked about putting the cabin sole down with screws on oak beams. What wood did you use for the sole? Why did it have to be on beams, why not directly to the fiberglass? I want to lay wood also through out but there are curves in the floor(it is not flat). I would have to use pretty thin wood and glue it and weight it in place until dried. Is that how the wood soles are fixed to the floor? If so how thin is the wood? I laid the fake wood planks, that are made of flexible vinyl, in my kitchen in my shop apartment because someone had some left over. Those things look pretty convincing and they are tough too, but I don't know if I can bring my self to do that in a sailboat. It just doesn't seem right for some reason.
Scott

sailortonyb Allied Mis · Sep 5, 2008

Scott

I hope things are well with you guys. I havent been on here much lately.
To answer your question...The button snaps were factory installed to hold down the carpet.
Also, listen to Bob. We lived aboard out Catalina 30 and we checked the bilge at least once a day and tested the flaot switch. So, if you go with carpet, do it in a manner that will allow EASY access to the bilge cover.
As for wooden floors, the Cat 30 has such uneven floors with all of the curves it would not be practical and would look pretty bad.
Its a matter of taste and everyone's vary. In our Cat 30, the sole was in 'like new' condition. I remade the cover boards with teak and holly and we thought it looked good.

If you have a dog on board, the carpet would get really ratty looking quickly.
My GF was always cleaning the carpet. She was so glad when we threw it out and just put in throw rugs.

Sooooo, how is the engine re-build coming along?
Ared you still in the water or are you on the hard?

Tony B

Hermit Scott · Sep 5, 2008

TonyB Fake Wood Planks

I just ordered the rest of the parts today. I'll pick them up next weekend in Corpus. I put a couple more pictures of finished engine parts, nothing spectacular, on the myspace page.
I don't know if I told you but I scuba scraped the bottom with a 4" hand scraper to make sure I didn't peel off any paint since it will be in the water another month. No catalina smile, and the paint was smooth from the bottom of the keel to the water line. I found one blister about 2" diameter though. I ran my hands over every square inch of the hull, it seemed really good. We'll see when I get it out of the water.
I'm going to get a Makita 9227 this week and 'Maine Sail' polish the cockpit.
I'll keep posting pics as I go along.
I have to say one more thing about the fake wood planks, I covered the counter top in my kitchen with them. Water is on them everyday. I put them in like 4 months ago and they haven't peeled at all, they seem to do very well in a wet enviornment.

BobM · Sep 6, 2008

Carpet and floor tiles

I had carpet in my last boat. Smaller Lancer's typically had it. The trouble isn't in being the first guy to put it down...its being the next guy who has to change the carpet and deal with all the carpet adhesive

My parents just put down linoleum that is patterned to look just like wood. I have to say that I was pretty amazed at how good it looks. Unless you get down on the floor you might not even notice it is linoleum.

I have put down a number of stick down tile floors. The biggest problem I have seen is that dirt accumulates at the joints between the tiles. For that reason I typically look for something that has a dark edge (black)or machined edge (to look like tile). When I have done that the dirt is less noticeable. Also, the tiles stick pretty good, but for a flexible surface I'd go with the thinner ones rather than the expensive thick ones. The thick ones are more likely to pop up while the thin ones do a pretty good job of conforming to curved surfaces. I had a house with the wildest floors you ever saw and the tiles still stayed down. The floor was ribbed like a washboard. They are also extremely easy to remove and typically don't leave much residue behind. If you get one that is stubborn try heating it up and then putting it down. Use an iron or just leave it on the deck in the sun then replace it. Another good thing is that it is easy to replace worn areas with new tiles as long as they are from the same lot. The same lot is important if you buy more than one box as the physical dimensions can vary by about an eighth of an inch.

Regarding teak and holly soles. My current boat has a teak and holly sole and it seems to be shot. It is stained dark (water?) around the edges near the galley and is lifting in about a 1 x 2 foot area. Based on that lifted area, which I promptly glued down, it is too thin to sand and and refinish. It is probably a sixteenth of an inch or less...paper thin. I haven't decided what to do yet. I'd hate to put down a new teak and holly sole and have it get stained like the current one. Apparently water can bypass the deep bilge, due to the engine beds and was directed onto the sole where it sat for a while.

Hermit Scott · Sep 6, 2008

Floors and such

Formica 160 water based floor adhesive, Formica is the brand I guess. That's what I used to put down those tiles. You can use a wet rag to clean it up while it is still wet, however once it dries it's water proof. The cracks in between are touching in most places and since the adhesive dries, there is nothing sticky in between to trap dust and dirt, just the crack itself. On a flat surface there is no crack, they touch. I have almost talked myself into installing them in my boat, almost.
Just to clear something up when you say "teak and holly', the teak is the wide dark planks and the holly is the light colored wood in thinner strips? The tiller to my c30 was never used, because they had a pedastal steering unit installed. It was stored in the stern of the boat for 29 years or so. The glue disappeared. I had 8 or 10 pieces of teak and the lighter colored wood, I guess holly. I sanded any old glue remaining, glued one section back at a time with about 10 clamps on it at a time. Over a few days I got it all glued back together, I sanded the outside and I am ready to refinish it. I don't know what I am gong to do with it but I am ready to refinish it. There are a few schools of thought on what to put on it, so I guess I will leave it the way it is until I can decide which school of thought I belong to. OR? Is there one predominating way to finish teak if it is used for a tiller?
Scott

sailortonyb Allied Mis · Sep 6, 2008

The Tiller

The tiller is probably an emergency tiller used when and if the cable for the steering system breaks. Stand in the back of the cockpit and look down at the sole. There should be a socket there for an emergency tiller to fit into. Mine was made for a pipe to fit into it. Ckeck to see if your wooden one will fit.

Tony B

Hermit Scott · Sep 6, 2008

tiller

The pulpit is mounted about a foot in front of the top of the rudder where the tiller mounts to. So if I mounted the tiller handle, it would have to be almost straight up in the air to move left and right. I want to have an emergency tiller handle but it would have to have a 3' extention to be able to go over the pedastal.
Did your C30 come with a pedastal from the factory? IF it did, how was your emergency tiller arangement?
I bought a chemechal stripper and some denatured alcohol tonight I will strip the teak inside and I guess put varnish on it. I prefer to put urethane on wood but I want something I will be able to strip off and redo 5 or 10 years from now. I don't know if anything will take urethane off.

sailortonyb Allied Mis · Sep 7, 2008

Tillar

My pedeatal for my wheel was factory installed and my emergency tiller handle was a short length of pipe. The pipe was also from the factory, but if you dont have one, make one.
When I used to strip for a living ( yeah, picture that), I used industrial chemicals. The main ingredient was methyline chloride. I'm sure it was more concentrated than anything that is available to the general public. If I were to do it now, I would look at the labels in Wally World or any paint store for the highest concentration of Methylene Chloride. This time of year, stripping is not a problem as the chemicals are very heat sensitive. In 90* weather, the chemical works just fine. In anything less than that, the chemical is less active. In 65* temperature, you can bathe in the stuff and not burn your skin.
Be aware that the fumes will knock you down. Methalene Chloride is strong stuff.

Tony B

Linoleum Squares on Cabin Sole?

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