[C320-list] Cabin floor replacement

[Jack Brennan]

Well, I’m finally done with replacing the cabin sole with Lonseal teak and holly laminate. It was a success, but I have to say it was the most meticulous, unforgiving project I’ve taken on in three major refits of sailboats.

Some notes for anyone contemplating this project:

• If I had to do it over again, I would choose the solid teak pattern. Lining up the holly stripes is extremely difficult and time consuming. Remember, there are five hatch covers for the bilge and six separate floor sections in the cabin …
• Thickened West System epoxy worked great. I mixed four separate batches to keep it from hardening. First the V berth floor, then the forward cabin area, followed by the large port and starboard sections in the rest of the cabin.
• An expensive, really sharp utility knife is your friend. With a little practice, you can cut extremely accurate lines in the laminate if you take your time.
• Even if you plan on cutting a new underlayment for the laminate, be careful to protect the old stuff when you remove it. Making your own pattern without them would be very time consuming. 
• On my 320, small screws through the laminate hold the floor underlayment to the subfloor. I chose to continue doing this, and it made it much easier to cut and glue down the laminate. I would take up a couple of screws, lay down the glue and rescrew the laminate down to the subfloor.
• Lonseal comes in six-foot-wide sections. Ten feet, costing about $400, is plenty. 
• Lastly, if you have a fat bank account, this really is a project left to a floor professional. I did it myself to stretch my boat budget and because I’m retired with plenty of time. My guess is that it would cost 3K or so, based on $800 in material and $2,200 in labor. 

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320, no. 528
Tierra Verde, Fl. Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay.


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