Salon Flooring

makobuilders said:

"gluing down flooring?" I hate autocorrect.

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I did a floating floor and quarter round trim to cover the expansion gap, worked like a champ.

makobuilders said:

What type of adhesive do you recommend for flying down flooring?

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What I found out regarding the fly - sorry, glue - is based on the flooring you choose. For some of the COTS home flooring that was stable from 0* to 140*, they required their proprietary glue. That included Shaw and Armstrong commercial products (plus a handful of other products that are not available unless you are using a commercial flooring supplier).

For some of the vinyls (including the Bolon I went with) they had a proprietary product or specified you could use any appropriate commercial glue. That includes Roberts brand glue (either 2310 or 2057). Those are available over the internet or big box stores and that's what I'm planning on using.

Short answer, pick your floor and see what the manufacturer specifies. Don't deviate unless you check with a flooring expert first because there seems to be a fair amount of technical background work in flooring.

When I started my search I assumed warranty would not cover use in boats. As I talked to flooring suppliers, several of them said the warranty would be in effect if I followed installation procedures - even though the product was never designed for marine use.

Thanks for all the replies, It seems vinyl plank is a viable flooring choice. Next question It seems that there are a couple types; lock or snap together or butt together. The latter can be glued or floating, the former must be glued. installation method? Is there a preferred installation method?Thanks

boatpoker said:

13" square cork tiles glued in place with contact cement. 3 yrs on this boat as full time liveaboards. Also did it on our last boat (6yrs abuse with a dog). Still look like new.

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What is the border that you used around the hatches?

garylac said:

I just purchased my boat this past september and replacing the flooring was a big part of my to do list. We also had carpeting. When considering the options, I can't think of anything less waterproof and stainproof than carpeting. the boat is a 2013 with light use. The only thing that showed any degree of wear was the carpeting. I also like the classic look of Holly and teak so started off that way. In the end, however, for a variety of reasons, we went with Vinyl plank. I have to say the realism of the grain, non skid aspects, expected durability and relatively maintainance free aspects were a big part of our decision. We looked at several products, but in the end, selected one called C-Flor. It is individual planks so can be staggered for realism. The thick and thin strips are butt jointed and glued down. Several wood types available though we selected Holly and Teak. All of the trim and stair details were done in mahogany stained to match. Couldn't be happier with the final result. See attached photos. Unfortunately, I only have a few photos that I could find, but will post more this week as I am headed down to the boat on Tuesday. My apologies on the second photo, could not figure out how to rotate it on the site.

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Looks Awesome! Did you DIY or have it done? If you don't mind my asking, what was the cost?

I considered DIY but ultimately hired a great firm out of Tampa. They worked within my schedule, were meticulous, prompt and very professional. Cost was 10K or so plus travel time as our boat was located 3 hours each way from their shop. This cost included demo, down to sub floor, installation of new flooring in the saloon, pilot house, galley, stairs up to pilot house plus the stairs down to staterooms and associated landings.It also included conversion of 2 pop out hatches to the engine room into articulated hatches with piano hinges. This necessitated 3 separate multi day overnight trips plus time back at their shop to manufacture the stair and trim details. In the end a small price to pay to eliminate stained carpeting and cheap laminate sheet coverings in favor of the cflor. Gratitude looks nearly new now.

Lots of good ideas here! Thanks!

Stone flooring: since powerboats are subject to vibration, flexing, pounding in seas, etc., would it be better to lay down stone flooring with the traditional cementboard/flexibond mortar, or perhaps just use 3M 5200/4300 directly to the plywood sole?

Has anyone used Lonseal, they make a product called Lonwood Marine that looks good.

Seevee said:

Has anyone used Lonseal, they make a product called Lonwood Marine that looks good.

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Steve
Yes - and very happy. A few Photos back in post #9
I have worked w/ PlasDeck for exterior - aft / side decks a few yrs ago and last yr did fwd cabin w/ PlasTeak flooring which is actually the same as the LonWood - I don't know the exact relationship but if you look at the PlasTeck / PlasDeck websites you will see essentially the same as Lonseal and some carry the Lonseal name others not - I got samples from Lonseal and Plasteak and they are the same.

My Bacchus site has more details on the PlasDeck material & application.
I haven't had time to write up the interior Fwd Cabin project but we absolutely love it and its a good match w/ the factory MS salon flooring we already had in place. I think its the same material and MS used the Loncoin flooring in my ER - guessing yours might be similar.

I worked through Bill (PlasDeck / PlasTeak Co Pres) and he and his staff were very helpful w/ advice & installation tips etc. I did both installations my self - aft/side deck w/ help from a couple boat buddies and it helped there. No room in fwd cabin for more than one person so I was it!
I wasn't sure about using the pad they had on their website but glad I did and would recommend it for any interior job using the sheet PlasTeak.

Happy to provide / discuss details if you decide to go that way.
I have his email & some phone #'s if you want.

Question:

If one needed a sub floor to put their new floor on, is there a better product than marine plywood?
Perhaps one more waterproof and/or soundproof?

Seevee said:

Question:

If one needed a sub floor to put their new floor on, is there a better product than marine plywood?
Perhaps one more waterproof and/or soundproof?

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Have you seen PNW Drifter's thread on Farell Trawler Rebuild?
He has done some amazing things w plywood coated w epoxy both sides and seams taped. Worth a look.
Also if you consider the Lonwood sheet goods adhesive recommended makes a difference what substrate it's applied to.
I used 2 different ones for different substrates.

Original Teak flooring

I have the original teak flooring thru-out my 40' marine trader (33 yrs old) and the teak is in great shape, just needs to be refinished. Does anybody have any suggestions on how I can refinish and still live on the boat?

Seevee said:

Question:

If one needed a sub floor to put their new floor on, is there a better product than marine plywood?
Perhaps one more waterproof and/or soundproof?

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lots of decks are made out of sheet composite materials today. Corecell or others. Many of the new Downeast boats are built with no wood in them at all.

I just need to refinish it without leaving for a few days

Replace carpeting

Bacchus said:

I did our fwd cabin w PlasTeak last season. Old carpet was looking bad and Mainship used the sheet PlasTeak material in the salon so it was a natural choice.
The carpet had padding under it and it left a large gap along some of the edges when both were removed.
Looking at the website and talking w the mfg I learned that they sell a companion pad that can be played under the PlasTeak. They also told me with tight fitting hatches no edging would be required.
Here are a couple pics. As you might guess removal of old and prep was the worst part installation of new was fairly easy. The feel of the sheet vinyl w pad is pleasant under foot and welcome especially in the fwd cabin.

Note - The mfg indicated that where the white pad edge shows at hatches you can hit it with a colored Sharpie or scratch repair pen to blend it.

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I read your post on installing Plasteak and wondered did you do cover the hatch after the floor was done?

Newtrawlerowner said:

I read your post on installing Plasteak and wondered did you do cover the hatch after the floor was done?

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Short answer yes.
I installed floor first centering it in hatch opening.
I had to remake the wood hatch backing as the old was too small due to carpet wrapped around edge of hatch as well as opening.
The kerf for the Plasteak was very narrow. I did a little onsite fitting and when satisfied I applied the glue and placed hatch in place and then installed the foam pad and Plasteak to the hatch centering it in the opening.
The factory did an excellent job cutting to my template and everything fit near perfect with some minor trimming in a couple spots.