Vinyl Flooring

RobMcClain · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 5:52 pm Post subject: Vinyl Flooring

Several weeks ago I bought an 8' roll of teak & holly flooring that I installed in our Venture "Freedom" this weekend. Lots of nerves were at work while doing the job, but the effort was well worth it. We love the look. The material is made by Lonseal Marine. We used their Teak & Holly 70SE to cover the 3 areas in the main cabin. Mary wants me to later try covering the small area in the V-berth. We have enough material remaining to do so, but with our East Coast cruising plans quickly approaching that will be a job for next winter.... The toughest part of the job was the oddly shaped piece under the dinette area, which includes 3 hatches. We obviously wanted the stripes line up. Turned out it wasn't as hard as I had thought, just needed to methodically think it through and not rush. Of course, that is the way of most boat jobs. I've posted 4 photos of the final product in our Projects sub-album:

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_albumName=Our-Upgrades&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

We did a lot of research before deciding on this particular material. I spoke with Lonseal a few times and was very pleased with their customer service, including their readiness to answer technical questions as I began the install. I ordered the material from Captain's Locker in Long Beach and they were also great to work with. Outside of the flooring material the only other necessary items were the Lonseal adhesive, a good straight edge, and dangerously sharp flooring knives. I am pleased to say I still have all of my fingers.

Before we actually bought the material we had noticed that Marc Grove (@ Wefings) had photos of a few boats with this material installed, so I asked him if it was reasonable to think it could be a novice DIY job. He quickly responded with encouragement so we moved forward with our order. We're very glad we did and thank Marc for his encouragement.

Rob

hardee · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 6:49 pm Post subject:

Rob, I recently looked at some of this material and it looks great. You did a nice job. Do you happen to know if that material float? Just a thought. It seemed pretty dense, and I did not think to ask when I was talking with the rep.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

thataway · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:46 pm Post subject:

Outstanding job! Definitely you have to do the forward cabin! We saw similar vinyl on Robert and Cathy Healy's Fan C Dory--25--nice addition to the boats.

BrentB · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:27 pm Post subject:

super job

I would like to do some thing similar in future, and thought
of using lattice strips 3/16 " thick X 2"wide to make a template

They are straight and easy to cut. You lay the pieces around the premeter and glue them together with a hot glue gun.

RobMcClain · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:45 pm Post subject:

Harvey, we floated the material on the cabin floor but used an adhesive for the helm and dinette pieces. Even though the stainless hinges on those 2 pieces will help to secure them in place, the adhesive was desired so they couldn't flop around or have the edges loose to possibly trip up someone. When boating in rough water where good footing can be a trick, I wanted to be sure there was no additional tripping hazard. Our Venture has a flat floor in the cabin while I think the floor on the C-22 has a slight V. The Lonseal material is rather heavy - about 1/16" thick - and it's pretty dense. Because of this, I don't anticipate any problems having that section float. I'm guessing it would be similar in a C-22. Not to mention there is no place for the piece to slide because it's generally held in place on all 4 sides.

Bob, thanks for the compliment, and encouragement on the V-berth area. Or maybe it is Mary who should be thanking you... Very Happy

By the way, one other necessary tool I forgot to mention in my initial post is heavy paper for making the necessary templates. I used red rosin paper which can be purchased at Lowe's or Home Depot. Don't need much, but it only comes in long - really long - rolls. At least it's pretty inexpensive.

Rob

jennykatz · Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 9:44 am Post subject: flooring

We put the same flooring in our 23 cape cruiser . but had a problem. dampness gets under the vinyl flooring creating small blisters so we took it out . The blisters have subsided I was told I could epoxy the floor and glue down the flooring but have not done that yet . If you trailer your boat I don't think it will be a problem but having it moored in Florida with humidity and dampness all around I think epoxy gluing might be the answer ?? Let us know how the glued down parts work out ?

thataway · Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 12:36 pm Post subject:

When we were building boats we used cardboard for a "tic board". You take battens and draw lines to the contour of the final plywood you want to cut and put the distance from a point on the "board" to the end of the batten . This can be very accurate and fast. The use of heavy paper is also a great way to make templates--and probably the method I would use for the floor, but I probably would use a "tic board" first.

Interesting issue with the blisters. I suspect it was either gel coat or paint which was blistering, not the actual laminate. If that was an issue, I was having, I would sand off the layer on the top (paint or gelcoat) and lay down a good layer of epoxy. Then glue down the flooring material. We used solid teak and hard rock maple from an old bowling alley for our "teak and holly soles for the cabins, glued to the raw fiberglass laminate with epoxy--no issues in over 35 years since these boats were built. Most "teak and holly" are plywood, with a very thin veneer (about 1/32 inch or less) The vinyl is a great substitute and will wear better than the real stuff!

Sunbeam · Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 3:41 pm Post subject:

Nice write-up and it looks great Thumbs Up

Thanks for the photos.

I have a question for you (something that is hard to figure out online!): Does the flooring have any odor, and if so how would you characterize it?

Nice:

RobMcClain · Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:27 pm Post subject:

Hi Sunbeam, Nope - no odor that we've noticed. I was over at the boat today and it had been closed up for about 40 hours. I noticed nothing unusual and no order.

Rob

evengranberg795 · Joined: 03 Jun 2020 Posts: 2

Great Rob, you have done a nice job. I will also use this idea in future. And thanks for sharing these pictures with us.

evengranberg795 · Joined: 03 Jun 2020 Posts: 2

thataway · Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 5:57 pm Post subject:

Yep a spanner.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:15 am Post subject:

We have the same flooring in Daydream. It really does make the the interior look better. Only difference, we had a shop install it. We also had it installed under the helm seat and under the dinette table. No regrets!

gpage3 · Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 4:21 pm Post subject:

Hello Rob,

I noticed you are planning an "east coast trip". I recently purchased a venture 25, retired and I want to make some plans for short cruises. In live in SC.

I did one short cruise from Charleston, overnight in Beaufort around Hilton Head Island and back home. What areas are you considering? Are you using any particular resources to plan your trip?

Thanks, Greg

RobMcClain · Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:25 pm Post subject:

Hi Greg, looks like you have a very nice 23 and it’s in the perfect color too. We love ours, which we’ve owned since 2012. The main message string you’ve read actually occurred in 2014. My wife and I live in Nevada but once we retired we started to plan out a cruise agenda. We started our East Coast cruising in February of 2014 but didn’t really start the main swing up the east coast until around May 1 when we left RiversEdge Marina, cruised down the Ashley River, and over into the ICW headed north. We essentially just puttered our way north and enjoyed several ports along the way. A highlight of our cruise was doing the North Carolina Loop with several other Brats. We were overwhelmed by the history of the Dismal Swamp Canal, especially by the backbreaking work of the men who we’re forced to dig it and the horrors they were forced to endure. Our trip took us north to NYC and then about 1/2 way thru the Erie Canal. We still hope to pick up where we left off and continue towards points west on the Great Loop. In the meantime we’ve been enjoying cruising lakes, the Pacific Northwest, and waterways in between.

As for the books we used during our 2014 cruising, I found one set of guides enormously helpful, those being the a Waterway Guide books. We also had some Skipper Bob publications but found them out of date and less useful. Also very helpful were tips offered by Brats who lived in the areas we cruised and/or knew them so could offer local knowledge. If you plan to do some cruising in areas you’ve not been to before be sure to do some searches of the C-Brats website, as well as make a post and ask for guidance and advice. The folks on this site are full of knowledge and expertise.

I hope you love your Venture model as much as we do ours. It has been a fabulous boat in all respects.

Rob