Cabin Sole

[jlroberts280]

Im looking for ideas on how to reface my cabin sole. I have admired some of the work others have done with this project including several of Tim's detailed descriptions. However, most of the soles that I have seen others build consist of a flat section that runs down the middle of most of the cabin. The flat section is flagged on the sides by a curved area that people have tackled in different ways.

My sole is a plywood base that was covered with teak veneer originally. This was applied to the plywood before any of the cabinetry, bulkheads, and trim was installed (over the veneer). The veneer was damaged and I have ripped it out, although I was unable to get parts of it out from under the cabinets. The plywood is structurally sound but is now very rough and uneven with chunks missing from the top. I think this, in addition to the in depth templet required for all the cuts, and the difficulty of trying to glue and lay down a large piece of veneer in place inside the boat, would make reinstalling veneer difficult.

The curved up sections of my sole do not start at a distinct point like the Tritons does, but the radius just begins. (picture the shape of a fiberglassed sole of a Catalina or similair boat). This would seem to eliminate some of the techniques I have seen here. I think the easiest thing would be to sand, fill in gaps and rough sections with thickened epoxy, sand, fair, sand, and paint. I would rather have a more traditional looking sole but I am not sure how to proceed given the compound curves involved. Any ideas?

[Hirilondë]

My sole is a plywood base that was covered with teak veneer originally. This was applied to the plywood before any of the cabinetry, bulkheads, and trim was installed (over the veneer).

I really don't think this is true. I would bet that it was teak veneer plywood installed before the cabinets. But at this point both would appear the same to you.

I have resurfaced a couple boat soles that were in the same condition that you describe. I prepared the old plywood much the way you are suggesting in your post, but did not paint when finished.

I then added a layer of 6mm teak and holly plywood over the existing surface, and glued it down with epoxy slightly thickened with Cabosil. The 6mm plywood will handle simple curves (curves in one direction) relatively well. I have even added rows of kerfs (thin slots cut part way through the plywood in rows 1/2' apart) in areas where the curve is of too small a radius for the plywood to bend by itself. I would make full sized templates of each section of the sole that was to be covered with a single piece of plywood. Each adjacent section would be templated and layed out such that all holly stripes would line up with previously installed sections. . I would often add a baseboard around the entire sole. This way I did not need to fit perfectly to settees, cabinets etc and could concentrate on keeping the holly lined up and the fit between sections as I could have a small gap around the perimeter. Some times the baseboard was a challenge as well due to curves in the sole.

This whole process is extremely tedious and requires exact fitting. It is only for those with considerable patience and the ability for exact fit. I will not suggest that you can or can not do this. That decision is yours to make.

The sole of my Renegade is the original fiberglass insert painted with Interdeck. At present I have no plans to improve upon this. Being able to take buckets of water to rinse out the interior of my boat with no concerns is something I find quite appealing.

[Pinching]

May be a bit out of the box, but I used Treadmaster on my Morgan 24 sole. Had to replace 3/4" plywood from 1968 that, like yours, was installed first and the cabinetry was built on it. New sole was epoxy sealed plywood. The bilge on the Morgan was non existent, and the hull was prominent. Treadmaster has been great for a few years, bulletproof. Has to be put down with epoxy, and managing the sheet and getting the edges right can be tricky.

Your mileage may vary.
P

[earlylight]

I did some repair work on my cabin sole aboard Early Light. You may be able to adapt my repair technique to your situation. It is documented here:

http://earlylight160.110mb.com/RepairOfCabinSole.html

[jlroberts280]

I have enjoyed Earlylight's website often. You have done a great job with her. Thank you for sharing your experiences. How would you have changed your technique to deal with compund curves in the sole? (side to side and front to back, and the angle changes as you move forward) I am sad to say that I have been living with the plywood because I cant seem to come up with a good plan. (and I want to sail)

[earlylight]

Jon.

Aboard Early Light there were compound curves at the forward end of the repair area and they were more pronounced further outboard than near the center line of the sole. By using individual teak planks rather than plywood, you will be more able to conform to these compound curves. When laying the individual planks use plenty of self tapping screws and large washers to draw the planks down tight until the epoxy cures.

I hope this helps.

[Duncan]

...This whole process is extremely tedious and requires exact fitting. It is only for those with considerable patience and the ability for exact fit. I will not suggest that you can or can not do this...

I bought some teak and holly veneered plywood for this project, but have been "waiting and thinking it over" for a while (the existing cabin sole is just the fiberglass liner, but later production versions of my boat had a finished teak and holly sole).

So far, because of the "patience and ability" issues you mention, I decided not try to cover the complex sloping sides of the sole, but just to do the flat bottom.

Even this may be a bit challenging to me, because of trying to cut the sides of the plywood to fit the angled rise at the sides of the cabin sole. Now I'm wondering about cutting the plywood straight, or at a steep angle, and filling in the gap (perhaps caulking with a thin "finishing" batten on top?).

Do you have any advice to offer on this approach?