Replacing Galley Floor

[Peter Piper]

I have recently purchased a Hunter passage 450 and have noticed that the galley floor is quite spongy. I believe that the timber floor has become rotten, possibly due to moisture from the fridge. Has anyone replaced the galley floor and what is the best way to approach this? I believe once the floor is removed I may be able to find the source of the moisture and find a way to solve this issue. Any help or advise would be much appreciated.

 

[Bill Roosa]

I had a similar problem with the sole at the bottom of the companionway ladder. I sorted through the oak 3/4" cabinet grade plywood at home depot for one with nice straight grain. used the old piece as a pattern and marked the holly strip locations. Cut out the piece and routed out the grooves for the holly. I used aspen as it is white and has almost no grain. After staining the sole piece I glued in the holly strips. then took a jack plane and surfaced the holly down to the same level as the plywood. Finished with 7 coats of polyurethane and it has worked great for 3 years now. no hint of the springiness the old sole had.

 

[Peter Piper]

Thanks Bill, I'm still deciding whether to cover the new floor with simular Vinyl to keep it looking origional. My biggest issue will be if I need to remove all of the cabinets to remove the floor and how this should be done. Particularly since the Corian bench top seems to be wrapped in a solid peice over most of the cabinets. It could be a duanting task pulling it all apart.

 

[Steve Dion]

Our H'31 had a beatup sole in the galley area. We covered igt with Loncoin. This stuff will out-live fiberglass and cockroaches.