Instaling a New Sole this Winter. (Real Teak vs Lonseal vs ???)

[KSalibs]

Hope im posting in the right area... Still new to the site. Im waffeling back and forth on which way to go here... Im planning to instal a new sole in the cabin of my 2003 320 sundancer. Right now i just have the factory carpet and runner. Its not terrible looking however 1 season in and i can tel its not going to last... With the dog on board it can get really gnarly in a hurry.. I also loose a ton of access to all the storage below. (theres no way im just going to pull up the whole runner to access the hatch while on the boat with frends and such, its just to tight.. So im looking to go with a teak and holy floor. Has anyone els done this and if so what material did you go with? Im pretty good with wood so im confident that i can pul off the real teak however the price gap is insain!!! for the lonseal it would be around 600-700 in material and for the real teak nearly 2-3k... naturally as a boat owner I want tp take the more expensive rout :smt021... however the vinal Lonseal seems like a solid solution... has anyone worked with this? My buiggest concerns are Leveling the floor, the edging and the steps comming into the cabin.. any feed back would be appreciated. Also if anyone wants to confuse me evenmore please feel free to suggest another solution :smt101 lol Im open to any other solutions that peeps hoave found worked for them... Thanks

 

[tc410]

Go with the real teak and holly floor.... Nobody EVER bought a boat because they wanted to save money......

 

[Irie308]

Check out this thread I'm giving serious thought to attempt this over the winter.
http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php?t=73126

 

[Paparaazi]

Just my 2 cents and hope not to offend anyone but nothing beats the feeling of real teak! But Irie's link shows a pretty damn good example of vinyl though! Spose it it depends how much you really love wood and want to care for it.. I think with your dog you might find that vinyl is just that fraction easier to care for though..


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[fwebster]

The best way to do this is with a teak and holly plywood. With a boat the size of yours, you should be able to avoid and end seams on t he teak-holly sheets. The cost is a lot better than with doing this with strips of teak andholley and the look is the same. The real advantage is leveling the floor. Sea Ray glues the carpet down to plywood so with a good sanding after removal of the carpeting, and maybe a little filling here and there because you will gouge out some places removing the carpet. The real time consuming challenge is to trim out all the hatch openings in thew floor. You will have to edge bind the hatch and the opening with teak ripped to the dimension you choose. This is a good project and not terribly difficult if you can cut a mitre.

A friend of mine did this with a 370EC a few years ago and the teak plywood cost about $175/sheet back then. check current prices, but here is the source they used:

http://www.eastteak.com/teak-plywood/

 

[KSalibs]

The best way to do this is with a teak and holly plywood. With a boat the size of yours, you should be able to avoid and end seams on t he teak-holly sheets. The cost is a lot better than with doing this with strips of teak andholley and the look is the same. The real advantage is leveling the floor. Sea Ray glues the carpet down to plywood so with a good sanding after removal of the carpeting, and maybe a little filling here and there because you will gouge out some places removing the carpet. The real time consuming challenge is to trim out all the hatch openings in thew floor. You will have to edge bind the hatch and the opening with teak ripped to the dimension you choose. This is a good project and not terribly difficult if you can cut a mitre.

A friend of mine did this with a 370EC a few years ago and the teak plywood cost about $175/sheet back then. check current prices, but here is the source they used:

http://www.eastteak.com/teak-plywood/

Wow... This does look very intresting I didnt know this existed. Thnak you for the info, Ill have to do some reasearh on this. Do you have any idea how this holds up agenst the day to day abuse? Unfortunalty my wife insiste on havingthe dog on the boat so I need to make sure whatever I put down stands a chance agenst a 70 lb lab..... Im sure your wondering so il tell you. Yes, there is hair in my engin room... and yes It drives me nuts. Befor each trip I check my strainers, check my fluids and...... vacume my blocks lol.

 

[KSalibs]

Check out this thread I'm giving serious thought to attempt this over the winter.
http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php?t=73126

That was a huge Help Thanks SO much! Have you looked into using any marine driven vinals... (Lonseal, Nuteak?) After watching im thinking that maybe the Lonseal isnt the way to go as it comes in one big sheet... May be to hard to work with. let me know if you have any thoughts on other solutions. I love the way his turned out however im hoping not to have such a wide board. Just a personal preff.

 

[fwebster]

Any natural wood floor is going to scratch and will mar when sharp objects are dropped on t hem. A natural wood floor also means your interior becomes a "no shoes onboard" boat because sand and grit under a shoe sole will scratch the floor. The type finish you apply helps, but the more you put on natural wood, the more of its beauty and feel you cover up. As far as how the teak/holly plywood holds up, it is real teak and usually basswood but is a fairly thin veneer. It won't stand gouging, but holds up very well under normal use. Whether or not it will withstand a lab I think depends upon how old the dog is, how well trained he is and how rowdy you let him get on the boat. The boat I know that has the teak and holly plywood floor look as good today as the day it was installed and that owner has older cocker spaniels. I think the dog issue is one you will need to decide for yourself, but the teak and holly plywood installed correctly with the edges bound with solid teak makes a beautiful floor and is exactly what many high end builder use.