We are replacing the cabin sole on our H33 this year. Can anyone that has done this,
weigh in on the adhesive they used? Maybe 3M-5200?
weigh in on the adhesive they used? Maybe 3M-5200?
Replacing the cabin sole on our H33 this year. Adhesive???
- Thread starter azambella
- Start date
OMG, please NO adhesive!
All floors need refinishing. How will you ever remove the floor when the time comes. Any surveyor worth his salt will down grade the value when he sees the floor is not fastened with screws.
5200 would be the worst choice, save that for hull to deck joints, or maybe keel stubs only.
your boat,your choice
All floors need refinishing. How will you ever remove the floor when the time comes. Any surveyor worth his salt will down grade the value when he sees the floor is not fastened with screws.
5200 would be the worst choice, save that for hull to deck joints, or maybe keel stubs only.
your boat,your choice
I concur I just replaced a portion of my sole. They were in place for 35 years with stainless screws. I unscrewed them and the sole popped right up. Plus you need to have some space for water to move to the bilge under the sole. See the attached picture where the sole goes.The soles sits on the edges with screws going in the edge. The second picture is the new piece installed. Note the screw heads showing, you chamfer the holes so they sit below the surface of the sole. I did not get to put the teak plugs in to cover the screw heads as of yet, but that will happen soon. I had to stop working and go sailing!
Azambella, I don't see your photos so I don't know how your cabin sole is now. So I put out two answers to this:
1. If you are bonding finished flooring material to 'underlayment'/'subfloor' plywood: EPOXY. Use nothing that can grow old and admit water. Use nothing water-soluble (like standard flooring adhesive). Use no products from HoDePo. This is a vital bond which, if compromised, or done poorly, will directly cause the rotting of the 'subfloor' plywood. The number-one reason for rotten cabin soles is water allowed to remain trapped between the plywood and whatever's on top of it (carpet, rubber mats, poorly-bonded teak & holly, etc. (This was what was wrong with my boat with I got it.) Even standing bilge water does not do this kind of damage.
Hatches need to be cut into this for access (never eliminate any access to any part of the bilge). Each piece should be treated like water damage to it can destroy the boat.
Avoid parquet flooring, worthless short oak boards, and other flooring products from HoDePo unless they are solid wood or plywood (no waferboard) and unless you use true marine-grade adhesive (epoxy, with a little thickener added) to bond them. It's not a house; it's a boat. Get out of the house store. Go get boat stuff.
2. If the finished-sole boards are being set into a fiberglass liner, or are otherwise themselves the whole sole (i.e., no 'glassed-in 'subfloor' under them), like the photos HMT2 posts: nothing. These must be removable. Tack them in with little screws. Fasten Perko bullet catches (part #505) to the liner and allow them to snap into place (HMT2's look like they used to have these). Make ample (7/8") finger holes to lift them out-- these make good drains. Make it simple and cheap, easy to remove them, as NJLarry says. If the bilge floods, let them float free.
If you must drill into the fiberglass liner to fit hardware, treat the screws with 4200 to keep the water out of the liner's layup. If you feel clever, install threaded inserts and use flat-head screws down through the top.
This is really the best-case scenario. The very best is that you can make these out of anything at all-- they don't have to be teak & holly. Mine are mahogany cabinet-grade plywood saturated in epoxy and done in spar varnish. Do not avoid the epoxy, especially on the bottom (and edge-grain!). These should be sealed completely in epoxy, then finished in high-wear (spar-grade) varnish or something else. You can even add nonskid compound to the varnish (this has been done for generations and is a very traditional aesthetic). Again, no products from HoDePo will suffice for a true yacht. I varnished the steps of my companionway ladder in Captain's Varnish, I step on them every day, and they are still looking good 3-4 years since the last coat. You don't get that with Minwax-brand homeowner-grade varnish.
1. If you are bonding finished flooring material to 'underlayment'/'subfloor' plywood: EPOXY. Use nothing that can grow old and admit water. Use nothing water-soluble (like standard flooring adhesive). Use no products from HoDePo. This is a vital bond which, if compromised, or done poorly, will directly cause the rotting of the 'subfloor' plywood. The number-one reason for rotten cabin soles is water allowed to remain trapped between the plywood and whatever's on top of it (carpet, rubber mats, poorly-bonded teak & holly, etc. (This was what was wrong with my boat with I got it.) Even standing bilge water does not do this kind of damage.
Hatches need to be cut into this for access (never eliminate any access to any part of the bilge). Each piece should be treated like water damage to it can destroy the boat.
Avoid parquet flooring, worthless short oak boards, and other flooring products from HoDePo unless they are solid wood or plywood (no waferboard) and unless you use true marine-grade adhesive (epoxy, with a little thickener added) to bond them. It's not a house; it's a boat. Get out of the house store. Go get boat stuff.
2. If the finished-sole boards are being set into a fiberglass liner, or are otherwise themselves the whole sole (i.e., no 'glassed-in 'subfloor' under them), like the photos HMT2 posts: nothing. These must be removable. Tack them in with little screws. Fasten Perko bullet catches (part #505) to the liner and allow them to snap into place (HMT2's look like they used to have these). Make ample (7/8") finger holes to lift them out-- these make good drains. Make it simple and cheap, easy to remove them, as NJLarry says. If the bilge floods, let them float free.
If you must drill into the fiberglass liner to fit hardware, treat the screws with 4200 to keep the water out of the liner's layup. If you feel clever, install threaded inserts and use flat-head screws down through the top.
This is really the best-case scenario. The very best is that you can make these out of anything at all-- they don't have to be teak & holly. Mine are mahogany cabinet-grade plywood saturated in epoxy and done in spar varnish. Do not avoid the epoxy, especially on the bottom (and edge-grain!). These should be sealed completely in epoxy, then finished in high-wear (spar-grade) varnish or something else. You can even add nonskid compound to the varnish (this has been done for generations and is a very traditional aesthetic). Again, no products from HoDePo will suffice for a true yacht. I varnished the steps of my companionway ladder in Captain's Varnish, I step on them every day, and they are still looking good 3-4 years since the last coat. You don't get that with Minwax-brand homeowner-grade varnish.
This is all very interesting. I was under the impression from previous posts that the Hunter 33 floor was attached with adhesives.
I am glad to hear that may not be the case. I would prefer the hardware route.
Thank you all for your input.
Z
I am glad to hear that may not be the case. I would prefer the hardware route.
Thank you all for your input.
Z