[C320-list] Interesting discovery on cabin floor

[Jeff Hare]

FYI:  If not interested in this topic, no need to read any further... just hit delete...

Jack,

Catalina did indeed finish their floor panels as removable panels and then just screw them down.  That's fine, and exactly what we did. I agree it would be a bad idea to glue the panels down to the boat. :)  Hope I didn't come across as suggesting that!  The cabin sole is one of the things that has a big impact on the interior appearance of the boat, translates to resale value.

Lonseal itself needs to be correctly laminated to a properly prepared plywood substrate or you'll regret the result. It's not too difficult to do if you set up the job properly.

West system epoxy was designed to encapsulate wood to protect it from rotting.  So you have to do a couple coats of epoxy to seal the wood first.  Then you have to laminate the Lonseal to the wood using either their adhesive or thickened West System epoxy.  Now you'll have a quality floor.  When dealing with stripes, you generally have to have a way to ensure that the stripes align if you want it to look like it was cut from a single piece (which is not something you should try to do, by the way, unless you have a laser cutter or large CNC router.  That'll likely fail in all sorts of spectacular ways.  :)

By the way, ALL plywood will rot and delaminate over time if water is allowed to drip on it and there is any break in the surface seal. When you visit your lumber yard, ask if they have any BS1088 or BS6566 spec plywood for marine use.  If they don't know what that is or refer you to "marine grade" 2 side sanded exterior plywood, run fast.  It's not what you should use here and maybe you'll save $75 but it'll cost you way more than that in the end.  It'll have voids or edge gaps on inner layers which affect strength and leave pockets for moisture to soak in and collect.  Edge gaps mean when you cut into a panel, some layers will have slots where there isn't any wood. These exterior grade marine plywoods allow up to 1/8" interior gaps.  That'll be a pain in the rump to get sealed and will rot faster than a dead birch tree in the woods, even with their waterproof glue.

BTW, this is where we sourced our plywood from:  https://www.boulterplywood.com/MarinePlywood_4.htm  
Note the number of layers found in this kind of plywood vs what you find at your place.  It's also a dream to work with since it's flat flat flat! They deliver nationwide.  There are a lot of other places like this around also.  

Good luck!
-Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of Jack Brennan
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2019 6:03 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Interesting discovery on cabin floor

Hi Jeff:

Your note raises some interesting questions.

I’m not going to deal with adhesive until everything else is cut, but I’ve been wondering whether it makes more sense just to put down the Lonseal with the screws and maybe some light adhesive. That seems to be the way Catalina did it. 

Epoxy seems very permanent. These floors don’t last forever. I’d like to make sections easy to replace if one gets damaged.

I’m planning to visit a high-end lumber yard tomorrow and talk to them about a couple of sheets of good plywood. Catalina used cheap stuff, and it’s falling apart where water dripped over the years.

Thanks for the tips.

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.
Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay


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