Downeaster Yachts.com - Topic: floors

Scott Carle on floors

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:14:28 -0500

Nice job.

For making clean cuts in the flooring you can use one of the vibrating cutters such as a fein multimaster.. The fein is expensive but you can buy knock offs at harbour freight for under 40 dollars actually once in a while they will have one model or another for under 20 dollars on sale. I used one to cut the flooring in the galley to get to the fuel tank on valkyr and we just set the cut piece of flooring back in place. the cut is so fine that unless you look for it you can't see where the floor was cut.

This link shows the different models of multimaster tool that harbour freight sells. I have the variable speed one which is the more expensive. I think the cheaper 16 dollar one should work fine for most jobs though.

http://www.harborfreight.com/c.....ultimaster

sep2x on floors

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:15:13 -0500

We didn't "adhere" the floor in any particular way, just let it float on top. The idea being, we could lift it up to access our hatches in the floor if needed. We didn't cut access ports because we can't figure out a seamless way to do it just yet. We considered a trim around the edge to hold it down, but really, it fits very tight and is fairly heavy, so it doesn't move at all. One small piece in the galley had about a 1/2" of wiggle room -- rather than painstakingly cut a 1/2" strip of vinyl we spray-adhesived that piece of the flooring down to the fiberglass. (It's the piece that still isn't in place in the photo of the unfinished galley, above). It sticks great! Sometime in the future (maybe when we replace our bulkhead?) we'll do something about securing the flooring down and creating openings for the hatches. For now, it seems very secure and will work at all angles of heel except for a complete 180 flip.

Erick on floors

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:46:43 -0500

sep2x said:

Travis and I replaced our carpet with vinyl flooring a few months ago. I forgot to post here, but thought I should let everyone know how it went. It was super easy, cheap ($40!), and fast (we did it in about 1/2 a day, maybe 5 hours total but spread out over a week or so). We looked at laminate flooring or bamboo options but these have MDF bases and would expand/break up like crazy if exposed to moisture. We have a few leaks we haven't traced down yet, and are comfortable with the idea that our floors might get wet -- so, MDF flooring was out. The vinyl actually looks pretty good, in my opinion, and will last a lot longer than other options. It was easier to install, too, just score it once with a utility knife and it snaps apart easily.

So you laid the vinyl down directly on the textured fiberglass floors? Did it adhere well to all that texture?

sep2x on floors

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:57:34 -0500

Travis and I replaced our carpet with vinyl flooring a few months ago. I forgot to post here, but thought I should let everyone know how it went. It was super easy, cheap ($40!), and fast (we did it in about 1/2 a day, maybe 5 hours total but spread out over a week or so). We looked at laminate flooring or bamboo options but these have MDF bases and would expand/break up like crazy if exposed to moisture. We have a few leaks we haven't traced down yet, and are comfortable with the idea that our floors might get wet -- so, MDF flooring was out. The vinyl actually looks pretty good, in my opinion, and will last a lot longer than other options. It was easier to install, too, just score it once with a utility knife and it snaps apart easily.

Anyways, here are the photos! I have some "before" shots of the galley, too..

Erick on floors

Thu, 26 May 2011 13:27:10 -0400

You can sort of see what the floors look like under the boards here. It is a non-skid patterned gelcoat.

timbalfour on floors

Wed, 25 May 2011 22:09:41 -0400

Mine also - all except under the chart table were already ripped out and I too used bamboo. I screwed mine down and plugged the holes - easier to remove, maybe, if we don't like it. Got it from Lowes - for less than $2/sq.ft: total cost less than $80!!

Did have some water run down the step and it seemed to get wicked into the end grain on the main cabin sole. Left a sort of grey 'shadow' which has gradually faded away! Not sure what would happen if one got a lot of water down there. Maybe should seal the ends with varnish/epoxy? whilst installing.It really looks/feels good.

Tim DE32 'pelli'

Scott Carle on floors

Wed, 25 May 2011 14:03:09 -0400

I think if I were replacing the floors I would buy some tongue and groove bamboo flooring from Sam's club or Costco for 2.50 or so a foot and put that in as a new floor over the fiberglass. It would look beautiful be more water resistant than most woods other than teak. Is relatively easy to lay down and much cheaper than most other alternatives. You would probably be able to do the floors in the whole boat for around 200 to 250 dollars. (hmmm... ok 300 or so including the glue 🙂 ) I just layed 350 ft of this stuff a couple years ago and used PL400? glue from home depot.. comes in tubes that go in caulk guns.. we used a pneumatic gun.. saved on the worn out hand squeezing.. the stuff is pretty thick.

scott

Scott Carle on floors

Wed, 25 May 2011 13:58:09 -0400

From what I have been ablet to tell, other than any cutouts to access below it, the entire floor is fiberglass with the wood flooring glued to the top of it.

Scott

sep2x on floors

Tue, 24 May 2011 02:42:37 -0400

Our DE32 had the teak and holly completely removed before we bought her. The floors are fibreglass underneath, with a "great" texture to them that is absolutely impossible to keep clean... I'm guessing the 38s and 45s were built similarly.

Atraitees on floors

Tue, 24 May 2011 02:31:23 -0400

I have yet to pull the entire floor up, however a lot of my floor was replaced with cheap tongue and groove. Some of that has come up and it was all fiberglass under it. My guess is yes, but again, not fully certain.

return trip on floors

Mon, 23 May 2011 18:59:51 -0400

i've found lots of water damage my, hmmm, surveyor didn't. short of pulling the entire teak & holly floor, is there a full fiberglass floor under? perhaps i'd treat it as deck for non-skid.