Cabin Sole-how best to remove old sole [Master Thread]

[Filkee]

After looking at this thread I am glad my cabin sole is fiberglass. It is getting soft in a couple of places, no doubt from years of water ingress into the boat from various leaks, but it will be easy to take care of with injectadeck in the spring after I finish the upper deckg

Getting teak right is a first world problem.

 

[wynkoop]

@Filkee might I suggest instead of teak Black Locust. Harder than teak, beautiful, and domestic. I used it for my new engine bed when I repowered. It is what I plan to make my new grab rails from just as soon as I can get one of the lumber mills I have left messages with to ring me back. Got the wood for the engine bed pre-covid.

This page has one image of unfinished black locust board http://blacklocustwood.com/black-locust-wood/

 

[clayton]

Brett - have you tried Condon's Lumber in White Plains? They carry an incredible inventory of different species.

 

[Loren Beach]

@Filkee might I suggest instead of teak Black Locust. Harder than teak, beautiful, and domestic. I used it for my new engine bed when I repowered. It is what I plan to make my new grab rails from just as soon as I can get one of the lumber mills I have left messages with to ring me back. Got the wood for the engine bed pre-covid.

This page has one image of unfinished black locust board http://blacklocustwood.com/black-locust-wood/

Impressive looking piece of hardwood!
OTOH, our new handrails were 'cut' from a renewable stainless steel tree...

 

[wynkoop]

Impressive looking piece of hardwood!
OTOH, our new handrails were 'cut' from a renewable stainless steel tree...

Yes and I suspect it never gets as cold in Portland as here in the north east. I do not want to be out one winter day and have my hand either freeze to a stainless rail, or get extra cold because I have to grab it while heading forward to attend to something.

 

[Filkee]

The teak is bought and paid for so now it’s just a question of how to cut the cake. I have more 1/2” ply so I can rethink the bilges as needed, but I’m committed underfoot.

 

[wynkoop]

Brett - have you tried Condon's Lumber in White Plains? They carry an incredible inventory of different species.

I have not. When I got the lumber for the engine bed I drove to someplace near Albany. The guy told me as I was leaving he was shutting down and moving out of state because he was tired of the NY red tape on businesses. I have been trying to find some place close since. I found another place in the Albany area, but they have been non-responsive. I will call Condon's Monday. The guy in the Albany area was the actual mill. I was lucky in that he gave me some black locust scraps as well. He said they were not sellable due to the odd size, but I have made use of them for little things on the boat.

 

[wynkoop]

The teak is bought and paid for so now it’s just a question of how to cut the cake. I have more 1/2” ply so I can rethink the bilges as needed, but I’m committed underfoot.

Good reason to go with teak!

 

[Tom Metzger]

There isn’t quite enough width in the sheet to go full beam at the dinette

Filkee - Is there any reason why the holly strips all have to go in the same direction?

 

[Filkee]

Filkee - Is there any reason why the holly strips all have to go in the same direction?

Seasickness? Maybe I should go diagonal for more of a Hitchcock effect?

 

[Filkee]

(Initial so), I’m at the point where I need to temporarily bond the TAFG insert pieces to the teak/holly. I’ve seen some references but there isn’t some definitive Martha Stewart level product recommendation. Hardware store recommended sticky tack, but they also looked at me like I was way too fancy. Both surfaces are coated with epoxy.

 

[Kenneth K]

3M double sided tape?

 

[Christian Williams]

Sure, love that tape. I think I used basic construction cement--Liquid Nails etc. It's tacky, grabs quick. Actually, it would be fine to use permanently to bond the plates to the boards, although at only $3 a tube it does fail the "Marine Grade" test.

 

[Filkee]

with 3M tape in hand and a forecast of freezing rain and 40 degrees, seems a perfect day for a gown fitting.

 

[Kenneth K]

Looks great! I hope it's a perfect fit. So in the end, how did you do the cuts? Especially the rounded ones?

 

[Christian Williams]

Lovely. That looks great.

For what its worth, I believe I had an additional cut (roughly the red line in photo). It just made the longest piece smaller, which helped with the "you're standing on the part you're trying to pick up" issue .

 

[Filkee]

Looks great! I hope it's a perfect fit. So in the end, how did you do the cuts? Especially the rounded ones?

I clamped a straight board as a fence for the long cuts and used an old craftsman circular saw with the finest blade I could find at the local True Value. I used my wife’s old t-square to confirm my pencil marks a few hundred times so sometimes I was measuring in picas and every now and then I would put the template over it to make sure it all still made sense.

I was not happy with my first cut but realized I could rotate the board and start over without penalty.

When rounding corners, err on the side of not taking enough and don’t make a second pass because sandpaper is cheaper than teak.

For the rounded cuts I borrowed a friend’s Bosch jigsaw and practiced on scrap a bit before I dug in.

When rounding corners, err on the side of not taking enough and don’t make a second pass because sandpaper is cheaper than teak.

The plywood width came up about 1/2” short in the settee and maybe six inches short in the galley. For both, I ripped a straight cut along the holly line and made what I’m calling cheat pieces that I will be able to adjust the size of but are wide enough to fasten to the bilge piece. And if I screw up that part I still have plenty is scrap left to redo.

 

[Loren Beach]

When rounding corners, err on the side of not taking enough and don’t make a second pass because sandpaper is cheaper than teak

Well put.
Engrave this on a plaque to display on the shop wall!
With a spot light shining on it....

 

[Filkee]

Lovely. That looks great.

For what its worth, I believe I had an additional cut (roughly the red line in photo). It just made the longest piece smaller, which helped with the "you're standing on the part you're trying to pick up" issue .

View attachment 36351

I copied that cut exactly after extensive study of your previously posted photos. It’s just not reading in the photo. It was the most overthought cut of the whole operation.

My last mystery is how to deal with the 6”x3” or so between that cut line and the mast. I do need bilge access as my shower pump is in the hole. I could just make it that shape instead of a square. Hope to splash at the end of may so I have plenty of time to contemplate.

 

[Filkee]

Arriving at the shipyard today to a chained gate and howling halyards, I got the sections aboard and tested the bits and pieces:

Reconciling the galley and dinette sections will work and the holly lines will align. I documented a half dozen or so spots where additional material removal (sanding) is required and realized that the double sided tape approach is flawed in that you need to adjust the position of the plywood sheet to make the puzzle pieces line up.
Also, some of my bilge covers were a little proud so making them more forgiving is required. I spent most of my time cleaning the glue and wood from the old sole off the TAFG and itmuch prettier now but not done:


but the sun set at 4:12 today so I’m done.