What's below this floor?

Steve Dion · Jun 18, 2014

I think the original H'30's had a fiberglass pan/floor. Then they starting putting down the teak veneers.

Take a look at Lonseal/Loncoin as an alternative. A little expensive but it should be done without any additional maintenance.

http://www.lonsealspecialty.com/show_collection/MARINE

Nelsonhow · Jun 18, 2014

Plywood

The floor is a plywood panel about 5/16 thick. There is a depression in the fiberglass where the panel sits. The panel I
Is held in lace with a few dabs of silicone type caulk.

rufus1138 · Jun 19, 2014

TradioShow said:
Thanks everyone. Any do-it-yourself options for staining/bleaching the wood?

get teak cleaner in there and strip all the finish off somehow, chemical strippers will be your friend as if you try to sand it down the dust will be everywhere forever, get that varnish off however you can, pulling it out and sanding it outside the boat could be a valid option, then put it back properly and start oiling it, mine is original from 1978 and has never had any finish applied to it aside from oil and it looks phenomenal.

kito · Jun 19, 2014

Funny you should ask, I spend yesterday sanding the paint off my 79 H30 cabin sole. There is gelcoated fiberglass under the teak. My teak was removed by the p.o. and the screw holes patched and then he just painted it. Your 78 is most likely the same as my 79. The recessed floor wasn't introduced until the 80 model. If I were you, I would sand the entire floor and use a teak cleaner throughout. Just doing a patch will make it look worse imo.

kloudie1 · Jun 19, 2014

Just be really careful with the sanding because the teak/holly veneer is REALLY thin.

kito · Jun 19, 2014

I wouldn't try to sand the stains out. Let the cleaner do that. The sanding is more to remove any wax, coating etc so the teak cleaner can work better.

kasishunter30 · Jun 19, 2014

Hi Tradioshow. I have a new-to-me 1979 Hunter 30 and I have flooring problems as well. Seems as the PO did not take care of the boat and apparently lots of water got into the cabin floor and delaminated all the edges. It seems to me that the flooring is laminate with 3 layers, top layer is very thing teak and holly, underneath that is a thicker "plywood" layer and then under that a very thin layer of an almost cloth material, all of which is held down by big glue (sticky but pliable) smears. Nevertheless, I originally said that I was going to take up the first layer and fix it, Well that was impossible because the damage had gone all the way through all layers in some places (large areas) and left large humps. So I began the task of removing the flooring last week. Like you I was afraid of what I might find. I am attaching pictures of the beginning and then "after I cleaned up" area that I started. It is all gelcoat fiberglass underneath the wood. The only problem (I think it may be a problem) is the bilge cover. It appears that it needs to be raised up the thickness of the original floor, so I haven't quite figured out how to resolve that issue just yet, hence the reason I stopped removing where I did. I have read several other Hunter 30 owners stating that they had flooring problems as well and they had used a "teak" vinyl plank, tongue in groove, flooring from Home Depot to replace their damaged floor. I did go search out the material and it is about $25 for 24 sq ft and I will need 2 boxes (at least) and then the glue and patience to install it. It seems (don't know yet) that the vinyl planks are pourous enough to flex in the areas that need it (in front of the sink, etc). Then I will remove and diassemble the bilge cover and redo it in the plank material as well. I suspect that I will still have to use a rug in order to have a non-slippery surface. Or maybe I will come up with some other anti-skid plan. Hope this helps! Good luck and let me know of any secrets you might find as well.

Oh and by the way - if you do pull up the original floor, there are lots of teak plugs you might be able to use in other places as well. That's what I'm doing.

kito · Jun 19, 2014

kasishunter30 said:
Hi Tradioshow. I have a new-to-me 1979 Hunter 30 and I have flooring problems as well. Seems as the PO did not take care of the boat and apparently lots of water got into the cabin floor and delaminated all the edges. It seems to me that the flooring is laminate with 3 layers, top layer is very thing teak and holly, underneath that is a thicker "plywood" layer and then under that a very thin layer of an almost cloth material, all of which is held down by big glue (sticky but pliable) smears. Nevertheless, I originally said that I was going to take up the first layer and fix it, Well that was impossible because the damage had gone all the way through all layers in some places (large areas) and left large humps. So I began the task of removing the flooring last week. Like you I was afraid of what I might find. I am attaching pictures of the beginning and then "after I cleaned up" area that I started. It is all gelcoat fiberglass underneath the wood. The only problem (I think it may be a problem) is the bilge cover. It appears that it needs to be raised up the thickness of the original floor, so I haven't quite figured out how to resolve that issue just yet, hence the reason I stopped removing where I did. I have read several other Hunter 30 owners stating that they had flooring problems as well and they had used a "teak" vinyl plank, tongue in groove, flooring from Home Depot to replace their damaged floor. I did go search out the material and it is about $25 for 24 sq ft and I will need 2 boxes (at least) and then the glue and patience to install it. It seems (don't know yet) that the vinyl planks are pourous enough to flex in the areas that need it (in front of the sink, etc). Then I will remove and diassemble the bilge cover and redo it in the plank material as well. I suspect that I will still have to use a rug in order to have a non-slippery surface. Or maybe I will come up with some other anti-skid plan. Hope this helps! Good luck and let me know of any secrets you might find as well. Oh and by the way - if you do pull up the original floor, there are lots of teak plugs you might be able to use in other places as well. That's what I'm doing.

Just curious on what adhesive you plan to use on your vinyl planks? I bought some maple 4" x 36" vinyl planks at Lowes for my H30 sole. It has it's own glue. I plan to do a test area first see how they stick. Laying them out in the sun to get the glue tacky should help. I am actually going to experiment with making a faux maple/holly floor with these. I cut them in half to make 2" wide strips. I am spacing them apart about 1/4" and filling the gap with almond colored silicone. I think it will look great, just hope it works. If not, it's was only $80 for the planks and silicon.

kasishunter30 · Jun 19, 2014

Kito - I am looking at the indoor/outdoor flooring glue (don't remember the name) that you would use on a deck/patio for vinyl or indoor/outdoor carpet. Would be flexible but still waterproof. I don't (personally) trust the "pre-glued" pieces, however your idea sounds like it will look fantastic and defintely alot closer to the original look. Too bad they didn't install solid teak planks in the beginning. We could work with that lol!

Tradioshow - good luck and I will keep checking on any other suggestions/tips here!

rardiH36 · Jun 19, 2014

kasishunter30 said:
Kito - I am looking at the indoor/outdoor flooring glue (don't remember the name) that you would use on a deck/patio for vinyl or indoor/outdoor carpet. Would be flexible but still waterproof. I don't (personally) trust the "pre-glued" pieces, however your idea sounds like it will look fantastic and defintely a lot closer to the original look. Too bad they didn't install solid teak planks in the beginning. We could work with that lol!

Tradioshow - good luck and I will keep checking on any other suggestions/tips here!

Although I don't have a Cherubini 30, my 1980 Cherubini 36 probably has many of the same "elements" as regards to the cabin flooring. So I am following this thread with interest. Several years ago, I did chemically strip and carefully sand the original floor. And refinished to a good result. (tradioshow: the section of your floor in the photo also looks a good candidate for refinishing rather than replacing -- won't be totally perfect, but you will have a pleasing rustic/distressed outcome.)

But I also know that my original floor probably has probably used up the last of it's "9-lives".

One issue of my 36 is that several of the flooring sections are significantly curved rather than flat. Think like the surface of a foot ball. Hence replacing with plywood teak-holly veneer wouldn't work well without the original steam heat molds that I expect Hunter used to get the flat plywood veneer into the correct shape.

So the faux vinyl flooring plank look alternative from the big box stores attracted my interest several years ago for the day when a really new floor has to be installed.

I agree about the concerns of the "pre-glue" on the Home Depot or Lowes strips. This from experience with vinyl tiles for my home's kitchen. In my younger life, self stick tiles were that .... the stick was incredible and would never come off once applied to a clean surface and allowed to "cure" for awhile. In contrast, the Armstrong vinyl tiles that I bought for my kitchen several years ago primarily relied on gravity to keep them stuck. And in the heat generated from sunlight through the sky light, they expanded and then shrunk at night and then showed gaps between and/or puckered. Vinyl doesn't accept glue very well, so attempts at repair weren't successful.

Anyway, just an observation to factor when deciding what to do.

Ian McGain · Jun 20, 2014

Just finished laying down a PlasTEAK floor. This was on a solid fiberglass floor. The original delaminated due to water penetration. Material comes six foot wide by the running foot. Total cost was just under $500. I put this off for several years and just had a carpet runner. This took an afternoon, cutting a cardboard pattern and laying down an underlayment material from Lumber Liquidator that is made from old tires. Bilge cover was taken home after I marked the lines on the outer ring.

http://www.plasteak.com/

kito · Jun 20, 2014

I was wanting to use Plasteak too. I wanted it throughout without seams and just not to the bulkhead though. The 6 foot wide x 13 foot long would have been expensive and create a lot of scrap. They would not sell me 3 foot wide sections that I could butt together along the holly line. They told me to sell my unused on Ebay to recoop costs. I told them to pound sand.

Steve Dion · Jun 20, 2014

Ian: It does not get much better than that!

What's below this floor?

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