refinishing sole of our 1989 C34.

[skarandy]

Hi all. we are getting ready to end our sailing season on Lake Champlain and put our C34 "Good Trouble" on the hard for the winter. The project I am planning to do this fall is stripping and refinishing the sole. I've tried to strip a small portion of the sole with a heat gun and also with some chemical cleaner but there appears to be no varnish coming off. Does anyone know how to strip the sole boards? Do they even need stripping or is sanding sufficient? They are not in horrible shape. They are mostly just scuffed up. I thing I have a good strategy for refinishing but am wondering how to prep the floor for this project. These may very well be the original floorboards and were never refinished before.

[Noah]

First whatever you do, be very careful! These are made with a thin teak veneer over plywood. I would gently scrub with soap and water then LIGHTLY sand with 220 grit. Then refinish with matte varnish or polyurethane. Make sure the backsides are coated as well. I prefer epoxy for the backs to prevent water damage.

[Jim Hardesty]

The project I am planning to do this fall is stripping and refinishing the sole.

You don't say what year the boat is.  I think different years are finished differently.  I believe the sole on my 2001 isn't varnished but something much harder. 
Jim

[KWKloeber]

The project I am planning to do this fall is stripping and refinishing the sole.

You don't say what year the boat is.  I think different years are finished differently.  I believe the sole on my 2001 isn't varnished but something much harder. 
Jim

our 1989 C34.

[WTunnessen]

On my 1988, light sanding with 180 and 220 grit was sufficient. Since I had some left over polyurethane from touching up hardwood floors in my house, I used that as the finish. Still looks good after 14 years of regular use. Consider putting a coat of finish on the underside to protect from moisture.

[Ron Hill]

shar : As Noah said that teak/holly is a VERY thin vainer - so easy does it on the sanding!! 

Make sure that you finish the back side and the cut edges.  This will prevent delamination!!  When you reinstall I found that a finishing washer did a great job of holding the flooring in place!!   

A few thoughts

[Indian Falls]

This may be too late since you posted in September... 
I did my entire sole front to back.   DO NOT USE "green" paint stripper that requires a water rinse!  I did that on the first section and it raised the holly higher than the teak... no fixing that.   Also sanding is a bad idea.  The veneer is less than the thickness of a credit card and you have no room for error.  The heat gun and scraper to remove old finish is the best but you cannot stop moving the scraper or the heat or you'll leave a mark from the tool or burn the wood.
I put over 7 coats of minwax urethane for floors, wet sanding between coats. It came out great.  Except for the learning curve with the heat gun and the paint remover.   DO NOT USE EPOXY to fill dents and flaws as suggested by alleged experts.  Epoxy turns quite dark in short order and is visible like spilled nail polish on the floor.  I also used old urethane I had on hand to seal the back side of the sole floor panels.  A previous owner spilled milk into the sole and there it stayed until I pulled up the plywood.  Best to seal it so this odor or that odor cannot proliferate..there's enough things in a boat making smells... don't need that too.  Best of luck!  Hope you update your post!