[C320-list] Interesting discovery on cabin floor

[Graeme Clark]

Jack
I can’t help wondering if they’re supposed to be bonded together with glue and it fit missed off yours in production?
Obviously my sole is screwed down as well (apart from the hatch over the bulge which I show in my photo) but I had the whole sole out a year or two back to revarnish it (at same time as I made the small replacement board) and no way was it coming apart into two pieces which you’d expect to happen when the boards flexed
Also I think that if the two layers weren’t bonded together then despite the screws holding them at the edges you’d get “pop up” in the centre of each panel. A minimal gap between the plus is all it would need to make an annoying “slapping” sound every time someone walked over it!
It will be interesting to see what others report but if it was me I think I’d give Catalina a call and ask them how it should be done. 
I accept it’s possible that my layers have glued themselves together with god knows what might have seeped between over 23 years!
Graeme

Sent from mobile: please excuse typos etc.!


> On 2 Jun 2019, at 17:38, jackbrennan <jackbrennan at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi Graeme:
> On mine, the veneer plywood was secured to the thicker base with screws that went through the veneer.
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> The veneer plywood lifts out easily once the screws are removed. I originally thought the screws were what held the veneer in place but a light contact adhesive was used.
> Jack Brennan
> Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320, no. 528
> Tierra Verde, Fl.
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> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android 
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>  On Sun, Jun 2, 2019 at 12:19 PM, Graeme Clark<cg at skyflyer.co.uk> wrote:   Here’s a photo of my 1996 sole
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> https://ibb.co/Rv69KZK
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> It does indeed seem to be made of two layers of about 1/4 in and 3/8 in but they are bonded firmly together
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> It was the same on my previous C320 - also 1996
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> Note the small void in the ply
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> I have had no problems with the sole generally other than around base of mast support post where it had rotted and needed to make a new piece
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> I used teak veneer then routed out grooves for the holly strips. All epoxied in place
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> But that was just one board  about 14in x 8in. If I was doing the entire sole I’d buy teal and holly faced ply and save myself the trouble!
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> Graeme
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> Sent from mobile: please excuse typos etc.!
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> 
>> On 2 Jun 2019, at 16:36, jackbrennan <jackbrennan at bellsouth.net> wrote:
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>> Hi Doug:
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>> No, it's the original cabin floor on a '98. There is a thicker structural floor. Then there is quarter-inch marine plywood with a teak and holly veneer skin.
>> I ended up using a good wood chisel to remove the veneer after realizing most of the marine plywood was in fact in good shape. The veneer was delaminating in many places, to the point where I originally didn't think Catalina had even glued it down.
>> I used fiberglass tape and epoxy to fix the rotten sections;  I decided to encase all of the wood in epoxy anyway, so I figured why bother cutting new wood.
>> I'm going to end up using epoxy to stick the laminate, even though I have some misgivings about using so strong an adhesive. I have it on hand, and the $80 Lonseal wants for its contact adhesive seems steep.
>> Tomorrow or Tuesday will be the big day for cutting the Lonseal. Wish me luck. Slow and careful are the watchwords.
>> Jack BrennanSonas, 1998 Catalina 320, no. 528Tierra Verde, Fl.Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay
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>> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android 
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>>   On Sun, Jun 2, 2019 at 10:02 AM, Doug Treff<doug at treff.us> wrote:  I love Jeff's ideas. I've been contemplating a similar job. In a few years it will be time. However, I'll say that i've already refinished my floor once. And it looks like the substrate Catalina used on my boat is pretty good stuff. It's pretty thick and it has a water resistant plastic laminate of some kind applied to the underside. and it's WAY thicker than quarter inch. More like half inch, at least. I can see the markings on the underside where I'm fairly certain it was done at the factory because it has my hull number marked on it.
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>> Maybe yours was redone by a previous owner along the way?
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>> --
>> Doug Treff
>> doug at treff.us
>> 
>>> On Fri, May 31, 2019, at 3:38 PM, Jack Brennan wrote:
>>> So I’m getting ready to install a new Lonseal teak and holly floor in 
>>> the cabin. I was steeling myself for a tough afternoon cutting out a 
>>> pattern of the floor with all of its twists and turns.
>>> 
>>> Imagine my surprise when I discovered those screws don’t just hold down 
>>> the laminate. They also hold down a quarter-inch plywood base that 
>>> screws into the real cabin floor.
>>> 
>>> So the good news and the bad news is that I was able to lift up the 
>>> plywood base and haul it into my garage, where I will be able to use it 
>>> to make a perfect pattern for the new floor. Unfortunately, it is cheap 
>>> plywood that has not weathered 20 years well.
>>> 
>>> It looks like I’ll be cutting a new plywood base for at least part of the floor.
>>> 
>>> Jack Brennan
>>> Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320, no. 528
>>> Tierra Verde, Fl.
>>> Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay
>>> 
>>> 
>>>