refinishing cabin floor

[Peter]

The bright shiny finish on the cabin floor of my Catalina 36 is beginning to show wear and I would like to refinish it. Do I need to sand it down to the bare wood or can I just put a couple of coats of varnish/lacker on? What is the best type of finish to use?

 

[Gord May]

A born-again sole

If the cabin sole is "just beginning" to show wear, you can probably just lightly sand it smooth, and revarnish. Although it's always better to work from bare wood, your sole might be just a veneer (over plywood), with only a few sandings in it.Regards,Gord

 

[Les Murray]

Did this last year

My sole was probably a lot worse than yours since mine is an '86 with the original finish. I had to sand my floors all the way down because of water under the finish. Obviously, going to bare wood will give you a more uniform finish. Be careful though that you dont sand through the top layer. The floors are plywood with a thin holly and teak veneer.I used some Helsmans Spar Urethane for the floors. Two or three coats does the trick. This is more durable than regular floor urethane. You may also want to seal the underside of the floorboards as well. Mine were mildewed and delaminated in areas from water. I used a couple of coats of bilge paint. Some people epoxy the bottom.Good luck.Les Murrays/v Ceilidh'86 C-36 #560

 

[Raymond Ortega]

I re-did mine two years ago

My 1984 Hunter 25.5 sole was generally in good shape, but had obviously not been cleaned or treated since new. I cleaned it with crud cutter and amedium scrub pad. Once this was rinsed and dried completely, I applied three coats of Cetol. This gave it a pleasing amber cast but you might prefer to use the "light" Cetol. Other than wiping it off and sweeping it, I have not had any problems with it at all.