The boat came out yesterday and I removed the floorboards so I have 6 months to refinish them and reinstall. They are still in good shape and I started to strip the old finish from the top and this is working out very well, Heirloom Furniture stripper and a scotchbrite pad. I’m following the advice from previous threads on this subject.
I don’t know what to do about the sides and the bottom of these boards. They aren’t really rotten but some underside areas near the galley are a bit black from being wet so many times and other parts are brittle. It appears the sides and bottom were not finished in any way at the factory and these surfaces are plain old bare marine plywood.
Is it better to leave the sides and bottom bare so the wood can get wet but also dry out? I am inclined to seal/soak the edges at least with epoxy. What have others done?
If you are unsure of what finish to use on your floor boards, I will be happy to send mine to you for you to experiment with.
I’m sure whatever you choose would be fine with me.
Joe
NS26C# 156
SEA HORSE
I would ensure that the wood is dry (I mean dry) and put a couple coats of epoxy on sides, top and bottom. When I built my new cabin sole, I used the same process but on the top I also put two coats of marine varnish.
I would recommend System Three S1 sealer. It is about as thin as diesel and two or three coats will penetrate and seal the wood forever. I’ve used it for years and still do for any serious sealing / waterproofing jobs.
I refinished mine this spring. The board by the sink was in terrible shape due to leaky hatch boards and a leaky foot pump for the galley sink. The other boards are passable from 3 feet away. I replaced the floorboard by the sink with a mural of the boat done by a local artist that is covered with clear epoxy. IMHO this is was better fix than reusing the delaminated board. I may end up replacing the entire floor, but that is a couple of years off, at least.
I brought boards home and did them in about 2007. The bottoms and sides were quite black also. I cleaned them very well and used Clorox to get rid of the black. After letting them dry thoroughly I put on a couple of coats of urethane. The tops were done with Ultimate Sole, which was a wonderful product but no longer available.
In 2017 or 18 I had the sole taken up again to have the tops touched up.The underneath was still in pretty good condition, just needed cleaning.
Barbara Melanson
33 14 Gimlet II
Groton Long Point, CT
I used shellac, 3 coats took me 10 minutes. Shellac is water proof but not alcohol proof, but at the price of booze who’s keeping that is the bilge.
Old wooden boats use to use shellac, a thickened version, You can buy shellac flakes and with alcohol make it up to a thicker consistency.
S1 is a very thin penetrating epoxy. This means solvents that will likely attack any previous finish so yes, I would recommend bare wood but be careful sanding because the teak veneer won’t be very thick.
I have often used S1 as a primer before other finishes on teak with very good results but seldom as a finish in itself. This is largely because it has no UV inhibitors and if used where UV can get at it, it needs a varnish or poly to protect it.
It will harden and protect the floor very well and a few coats can look very good so you may be okay as little or no UV is involved but I think I would still finish off with a coat of polyurethane varnish.
My experience with S1 is that it doesn’t leave a smooth surface. If that is the desired end result it will probably have to be sanded. Which brings up Paul’s caution about sanding.
Mike Jennings.
NS005 Salt Coats.
Port Moody BC
Sanding after a couple of coats of sealer is pretty safe. It is very hard when cured the danger is more before the sealer when the teak is thin, exposed, and not hardened with the sealer.
Mike’s right about the finish another reason I use a topcoat.
Here only the very centre board was very lightly sanded, the rest just stripper and rubbed with a pad.
I was having trouble stripping the old finish until Friday when the temperature briefly went back up. Then I finished most of the boards in a couple hours. That 10 deg C made a huge difference.
Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to seal the edges and bottom probably with thinned epoxy. Because the edges and bottom of these boards were never coated and are now a bit rotten and fragile you can easily rub away some wood almost anywhere just by using your thumb. Soaking the wood in epoxy is supposed to take care of that.
Other than that I’m sure these boards are worth saving. The top looks good.
I’v put this project away until the spring when the temperature goes back up.
Ordered System Three S1 this morning. Will bring the boards home this week. There are also cockpit sole boards which we now oil every year, I will use the S1 on the bottom of the boards where there is some rot.
Thanks for all the advice. I stripped off the remaining varnish, patched and filled spots on the teak, light sanding then sealed everything with two coats of System Three S-1. As good as everyone said, or better. The first coat was sucked up, especially on the bottom surface. Looks great, not perfect or like new but it is a 36-year old boat and not about to replace sections.
I tested Epiphanes clear varnish and Interlux Intergrip (polymeric sand) in a few tests on scraps, a little bit of Intergrip mixed into a single varnish coat looks good. The finish is a bit bumpy which is good for when the sole gets wet.
Question: Has anyone used polymeric sand in the varnish coat(s) for the cabin sole?
For future cabin floor finishing consider Fabulon famous_wood_coating_a_76yearold_canadian_tradition.html
The article was written in 2010 so the product has been protecting gym floors and dance hall floors for 86 years.
I do not know if it is available in the U.S.
I’ve refinished the sole twice with Fabulon. In 1999 and 2019. Would not use anything else. If you have been saying, for more than a couple of years that you’ll need to refinish next year, get off the pot and do it. The veneer can be very thin and you don’t want to sand it any more than is needed lest you sand through into the underlying ply. I used three coats each time with no problems. It is available in the U.S.
Phil Harmeson
NS30U #295
Catharsis.
Traverse City, Michigan
