New to this forum

[matley]

I am looking at a 1996 34 MkII hoping to move up from 15 years of sailing my Catalina 25 SK.

The new boat I am looking at has been sitting unused for a couple years.  When I went aboard for a "look see" I noticed a soft, spongy footing below the gangway stairs, under the gray rubber flooring.  The flooring is screwed down so I couldn't look under to see what is below the flooring.  

Can anyone tell me what is the flooring material below the rubber flooring?  Is it supposed to feel like a cushion? It felt just like there was foam rubber backing under the gray floor material?  That just can't be right, right?

[Gene Regan]

Welcome Bill,
  We have 1988 boat and po installed vinyl tiles that look like the flooring in your boat.Under it is the original teak and holly sole. Beneath that is the inner hull liner and there is a space that exists between the wood and the glass of about 1/2 to 3/4 inches, and this give and flex you feel may be this space under you floor. WHen weight is applied it gives on my boat in a noticable fashion. I've pulled mine up and all was normal under it.
   Hope you find what your looking for in the 34 its a great boat , have it surveyed and point that out to the surveyor
    Good Luck
Gene Regan

gene regan

[Mike and Theresa Vaccaro]

The only concern would be a delamination of the cabin sole itself--this is the portion of the liner that forms the cabin floor underneath any flooring (teak and holly or whatever is installed).  This is a fiberglass/plywood composite structure.  If the spongyness is simply the result of the anti-skid or teak sole installed above, there won't be any structural issues.  For a cursory inspection, you might be able to assess by accessing the engine compartment and checking for delamination there.  To properly inspect, you'll have to remove the sole covering and may need to drill a limber hole or two to assess the condition of the liner.  A tap test of the liner with a wooden gavel will also do the trick.

Although the companionway hatch tends to leak around the area you're talking about, if there is proper drainage to the bilge, you shouldn't have any problems with the liner itself.  Our sole is covered with teak and holly faced plywood, and the liner has limber holes drilled every foot or so to allow water to drain through to the bilge--don't know whether or not this design feature is still used on newer boats.

Cheers,

Mike