Replacing cabin sole in 1979 Hunter 30

[Robert1224]

Hello fellow Hunter Sailors,

It's finally time to replace the cabin sole on my Hunter 30. Looking for ideas and experiences from those that have done this. What worked, what didn't work and recommendations for solutions. What material you would recommend and what adhesive you used to attach the new sole. Were you satisfied with the results?

Also, if you have pictures of the completed job I would certainly enjoy seeing the final results.
Thanks,
Kind regards, Bob

 

[RoyS]

Bob, I am in the middle of this same project on a similar C33. The original plywood floor was water damaged near the companionway. I tore the entire floor up. You will probably find what I found. The plywood is glued down to the fiberglass liner with silicone calking. Prying up the flooring is hard but doable. The problem you will find is that the silicone is still stuck to the fiberglass liner. Nothing will stick to silicone and nothing will dissolve it either. I have been working with PlasDeck in Ohio. They suggested grinding off the silicone with a coarse paint remover disc and an angle grinder. Makes a hell of a mess inside your boat with dust everywhere. The flooring I selected from PlasDeck is a 1/4" thick PVC mahogany plank lookalike. This product is usually made for the outside deck but I chose it for my cabin sole. The procedure is for you to make a template and to send it to PlasDeck where they digitize it and recreate your selected floor in the exact shape of your template. They ship it back with the necessary adhesives all rolled up on a pallet. The adhesive they supply is a polyurethane applied with a notched trowel. My new floor is still in my garage so I cannot as yet fully answer your questions. I enjoyed working with PlasDeck, however. If you go this route, expect to spend about two thousand dollars for the material. It is a boat after-all.

 

[Jim Legere]

Roy is 100% correct. I did the cabin sole on my 1983 H37C. The silicone is a b**ch to get off. I used lacquer thinner to soften the silicone and broad blade paint scrapers to remove it. Multiple passes. Stinky work. Get a good respirator with organic vapor cartridges. And nitrile gloves. When it looked like I had it all off, I used DAP Silicone Remover and a stainless steel pot scrubber, followed by one more wash of lacquer thinner and a paper towel wipe. Good luck!

 

[MikeHoncho]

I wonder if a 3m adhesive/decal removing wheel would work for the silocone removal? I have parkay flooring in mine up to the privacy door for the bathroom. I've considered tearing it up and putting down the vinyl click flooring (gluing it down) but I'm thinking I'm going to refinish what I have. Its in good shape just aging.