aft cabin sole the most difficult
I am also in the process of refinishing the cabin sole in my 88 28.5. I found that removing the sole just in front of the engine compartment the most difficult, requiring removal of several parts of the forward engine compartment. Once removed I was bewildered to find that there was about 1 inch of bilge below which apparently has no way out, but rather just slosh to and fro while underway wetting the bottom of the sole, which is unfinished. I also had the daunting task of relaminating the plywood as the individual layers of teak(I think) veneers had separated(but the wood itself was in good condition with no sign of rot) around the edges making the sole quite spongy(apparently the boat had several inches of water in the aft portion of the salon for about 2 weeks following a hurricane). I have been successful in restoring the integrity of the individual pieces by essentially pouring system 3 epoxy between the veneer layers and the placing several weights on the whole thing while the epoxy sets up. They are very strong now. Sanded with a belt sander using 100 grit and finished with orbital and 220. BEWARE the surface veneer is very, very (and I do mean very) thin, on the order of 1/16 of an inch or less I think. Anyway, 2 of them are finished now and look beautiful and are very strong. Does anyone know about this water under the aft cabin sole, just forward of the engine compartment??
