Floor Boards in 1987 C34

[Hugh17]

I am in the process of purchasing a 1987 Catalina 34 and will need to replace the floorboards in the galley and main saloon. What are the best options? I assume someone has done this over the years.

[Stu Jackson]

Hi, Hugh, welcome and good luck on the purchase.

I suggest you type in "holly" (as in "teak & holly") in the search box, there's plenty of ideas here.

[Clay Greene]

For what it's worth, Cruising Concepts has a list price of $2100 for a replacement set of salon floor boards for a Catalina 34 Mark I.  I considered it but never pulled the trigger before we sold our C34.  We have the laminate boards in our C387 and I would never go back to teak and holly.  I can't tell you how many times I dropped something heavy on our C34 boards or I heard something fall as we tacked and I didn't want to look in dread of the new dent I would find.     

http://www.cruisingconcepts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/CCPrice_List.pdf

Cruising Concepts makes nice stuff.  We had a pair of the companionway doors that were excellent. 

[Ken Juul]

Why do you need to replace?  A gentle sanding and several coats of varnish or similiar finish can bring back some pretty dingy boards.  If you have a delamination problem that is a different story.  Severe dents can be filled with an appropriatly colored filler before finishing.

[mregan]

Mine were pretty beat up when I bought our '86 last year.  Sanded and re-finished.  They look brand new now.  If you really do need to replace, you can buy teak & holly plywood and use the existing as templates.

[Ron Hill]

Hugh : One of the problems that you'll get into if you go to real Teak & Holly is that yours are 3/8" thickness and the new replacements ones are metric.  The closest you can get is 10mm so you have do some build up.

Look at Loincoin Teak & Holly laminate on line.  That is what most of the newer MKIIs have.   

A few thoughts

[ghebbns]

When I bought our '90 C34 last year, the floor boards were in really bad shape.  I purchased two sheets of 4x8 teak and holly plywood and used the original as patterns.  These boards are not cheap - close to $700 for the two of them so you don't want to make any mistakes.  It took some time but I am very happy with the end result.  As Ron says, I couldn't find 3/8 - had to choose between 1/4 and 1/2.  I was going to get the 1/4 and put a 1/8 backing on it but when I actually measured the 1/2, it was closer to 7/16 (maybe it was metric as Ron suggests).  I have not had any problems with the extra 16th.

Greg

[Jeff Kaplan]

Hugh, When I first bought #219, 1986,back on '04, I knew I was going to have to replace the sole, way beyond a sanding repair.  I ended up getting 2 4x8 panels of 9mm teak/holly from World Panel Products in Riviera,Fl. They had the product and the best price, I paid $269.80 ea. at the time plus shipping.  I had them ship it to a local lumber yard in Ma., they couldn't supply product, and paid their master mill wright to cut the pieces using the old as the templates.  Unless you are very skilled with a saw, pay someone to do it, the wood is very expensive and is very easy to chip.  There is usually several thicknesses of the actual teak/holly ply,still 9mm, get the thicker, so in the future you will be able to sand it.  Mine has been down for 8 seasons and still looks new.  You can contact me as to how to finish the wood, once cut. Trust me, a new sole makes the older boats look new. I did buy an 8' runner to cover the long section in the salon.  Good luck...Jeff

[Hugh17]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been negligent in not updating this topic, but kind of got overwhelmed with everything involved in saving this boat. Surprisingly, and I do mean very surprisingly, I removed the wet teak & holly flooring, dried it out, stripped the old finish and saved it - ALL! Now that is some tough marine grade teak & holly plywood.

I was also surprised to learn that there is a solid fiberglass floor under the teak & holly flooring. So I've chosen to replace the plywood floor in the galley with a nice ceramic looking fiberglass backed vinyl floor. This has brighten up the interior a little and added a nice contrast to teak & holly floor in the rest of the boat. Of course, I've saved the original floor boards just in case I do want to go back to the teak & holly look.

s/v CaiLeigh Anna
#299

[Lance Jones]

Hugh,
Could you post a picture, please?

[gwp]

Just another option
www.teakcarpet.com

[Hugh17]

Just another option
www.teakcarpet.com

This is a collage of the flooring under the table from how it looked before removal to the stripping process, refinishing and reinstalled.

[Noah]

Nice "recovery"!