Vinyl Flooring

RobMcClain

RobMcClain

Member
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_ ... _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
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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... :D

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
 
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 ?
 
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!
 
Nice write-up and it looks great :thup 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:
Looking_aft_without_dinette_seat_in_placae.jpg
 
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
 
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!

2016_10_14_12_19_06.sized.jpg
 
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
 
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
 
Rob (and all), a little topic drift from vinyl flooring to cruising guides! Waterway Guides and Skipper Bob are both owned by...Waterway Guides! As of 2016, when we were seriously studying for our Great Loop, the then current editions of both had exactly the same text - what you got for the extra $$$ in Waterway Guides was...color photos and ads! Ted Stehle was the editor of Skipper Bob. Here is Ted's bio from "The Crew" page of the Waterway Guides website (just copied and pasted).

Ted Stehle
For Ted and his wife, Audrey, boating adventures began in the early 1970s on the lakes of Minnesota in a small aluminum fishing boat and a 16-foot ski boat. In the mid-70s they moved to the Chesapeake Bay where for 20 years they cruised the Chesapeake and the Atlantic Intracoastal waters on three different sailboats, a trawler and, finally, a motor yacht. After retirement and a move to Cincinnati, OH, cruising included The Great Loop, the inland rivers and wintering on the Florida Gulf Coast. Ted serves as a consultant to Waterway Guide and also is editor of the Skipper Bob series of cruising guides.
 
Rob

After I posted I thought to myself "did I check the date of the original posting !"
An easy mistake to make. BTW, I think your boat is a great color!

Thanks for the kind reply with very good information. It will be helpful. I think North Carolina is very special. I hope to also try some areas above Boston, and the Maine coast.

The work you have done on your boat is inspiring.
When you cruise in salt water do you have any special maintenance routine for the motor?

Thanks, Greg
 
Rob

After I posted I thought to myself "did I check the date of the original posting !"
An easy mistake to make. BTW, I think your boat is a great color!

Thanks for the kind reply with very good information. It will be helpful. I think North Carolina is very special. I hope to also try some areas above Boston, and the Maine coast.

The work you have done on your boat is inspiring.
When you cruise in salt water do you have any special maintenance routine for the motor?

Thanks, Greg
 
Hey Pat, thanks for your update regarding the Skipper Bob series. When we bought in 2013 we received guides published many years earlier. I’d heard they had recently been redone and updated so very glad to know that as we hope to do more Loop cruising, probably still in segments as opposed to the full circuit like you guys did. We still fondly think of our experiences up the east coast and have a great photo on a table of our time (and boat) in St Michaels.

And Greg, as for our salt water routine I don’t do all that much. While in the water I will raise the motor while docked overnight, assuming the marina allows it. And once I pull the boat I run fresh water thru the engine and fully wash down the motor along with the entire boat.

One thing I didn’t mention to you, while cruising some of the more restricted flow waters, most especially thru the Dismal Swamp Canal, be aware that the lower area of your clean beautiful hull that touches water will quickly turn the color of Coca-Cola (or Pepsi...). It may look nice bubbling away in a glass but it’s not particularly beautiful on the cream colored hull. Once you pull the boat and wash it down the color will lessen over time and eventually fade away. The water color in the canal is very different and contains intense tannins that cause this. Well worth the price of cruising the canal though!

Rob
 
RobMcClain":yqfbu677 said:
... Once you pull the boat and wash it down the color will lessen over time and eventually fade away. The water color in the canal is very different and contains intense tannins that cause this. ...

Rob
Click to expand...

Lysol toilet bowl cleaner will take that stain right off.
 
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