[Rhodes22-list] cabin sole overlay

[Graham Stewart]

I expect that the floor will hold up well. The instructions for vinyl plank flooring specify a pretty narrow temperature range as expansion and contraction due to temperature change can result in the seams between the planks separating. However, I put a vinyl plank floor in my motor home and it seemed to do well through our very cold Ontario winters. Only one of the end seams opened up a bit and that was across the longest strip which was about 22'. The smaller the area the less of a problem that should be and given that the sole of the R22 is so small I would not expect this to be a problem especially if the floor Is left to "float" and is not fastened down anywhere. 

The biggest problem for me would be to not have access to the bilge without removing the floor. I need to access the bilge regularly to remove water. It might be possible to create access doors through the vinyl but that would need to be experimented with to see if such panels broke up the integrity of the floor so much that the strips would separate.

One bit of advice I noted when researching the planks for the motor home (where this material is used frequently) was to avoid installing the floor on particularly hot days as shrinkage  when the temperature drops will be more likely to separate the planks. The reverse problem might occur if the floor was installed in very cold temperatures but I can't see anyone doing this in sub-freezing temperatures.

Another alternative for the Rhodes sole, and the one I employed, was to install vinyl sheet flooring and installing it with contact cement on 1/2" ply epoxy coated floor boards. The epoxy preserves the wood but also eliminates contraction and expansion through moisture absorption. Of course they are still subject to thermal expansion but I suspect that form of expansion is much less. I put in three access panels where they were most useful. I then glued the vinyl to the panels and access doors and then reinstalled the floor in the boat with pan head bolts with finish washers that screwed into threaded inserts. This arrangement allows me to remove and replace the floor boards entirely if necessary without creating new screw holes, or making existing screw holes larger in the stringers. 

Once the inserts were installed I coated all of the stringers (which were made with pressure treated deck boards) with epoxy to preserve them and eliminate moisture expansion. You can see in the picture attached where the wood inserts were located. For the outside edge attachment to the stringers I used aluminum L extrusions that were bolted to the plywood cabinetry/stringers and then used aluminum inserts for the floor board bolts. The use of L track allowed me to lower the floor slightly and by using 1/2" flooring I was able to increase the head room about 3/4" - which when you are 6'3" tall actually matters. 

The big question I had, and one no one I spoke to could answer, was whether the glue would hold up over the winter and whether the flooring would wrinkle. As with the planks, the manufacturer specified a narrow temperature range - well above freezing - for the flooring. It has now been three years and I am happy to see that in spite of months of freezing temperatures it seems as good as when it was installed. I assume that coating the floorboards thoroughly with multiple coats of epoxy helps with the adhesion but that is largely theoretical.


Graham Stewart
Agile 1976 Rhodes 22
Kingston Ontario





-----Original Message-----
From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Stephen Staum
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2019 6:27 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] cabin sole overlay

It looks great Jesse.  I am tempted. Let us know how it holds up.


*Stephen Staum*
*s/v Carol Lee 2*

*Needham, MA*


On Sat, Nov 16, 2019 at 6:07 PM Jesse Shumaker <
jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com> wrote:

> My cabin sole was the plywood when I bought the boat since the carpet was
> no
> longer in great condition and had been removed.  I was hesitant to put back
> in carpet but wanted a nicer look than the plywood.  I just put in a
> TrafficMaster self-stick vinyl plank that look like oak.  This is a cheap,
> low skill approach compared to some of the beautiful woodwork for cabin
> sole
> upgrades that others have posted about.  We'll have to see how this holds
> up
> and reacts to the changes in elements over the seasons.  The panels have
> some faux wood texture that should prevent it from being too slippery.  If
> I
> need to unscrew the flooring for any reason, I'll need to pull up these
> panels.  I used less than half of a  package of the paneling so I have
> plenty of extra.  It cost $35 at Home Depot.  You can see the lines where I
> cut around the panel over the bilge so I can still remove that for easy
> access.  I used some colored caulk to fill in the gaps to address the spots
> where my installation was less than perfect.  Perhaps someday I'll take on
> a
> real woodwork project version of this, but this will have to do for now.
> It
> certainly looks nicer than before.  Passing this on in case others are
> curious about another approach to upgrade from the plywood sole after
> carpet
> has been removed.
>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/MidWay.jpg>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/Finished1.jpg>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/FinishedTB.jpg>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/VinylTile.jpg>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/Filler.jpg>
>
>
>
> --
> Sent from: http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/
>
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