sole: blackened areas

[crieders]

the 8 foot long sole piece has several blackened areas, I assume from water getting in underneath
I was going to replace it but I am told that what I measured as 3/8 is non standard and does not exist anymore...only 1/2 inch.
What is the standard thickness of the sole in our boats? Mine is hull 1022

[Noah]

Not a direct answer to your question but... it is thin... and I do not know a replacement source in true teak veneer plywood. I would recommend strip it, sand it (not too deep), spot wood bleach, and varnish.

[Stu Jackson]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
What is the standard thickness of the sole in our boats? Mine is hull 1022

Cliff, take off another (small) piece and measure it.

[ghebbns]

My boat is pretty close to yours (Hull #1040).  I can't remember exactly, but I think I went with the 1/2 inch teak and holly plywood and it has been fine.  It also comes in 1/4 inch.  What someone suggested to me after was to use the 1/4 inch and epoxy a sheet of 1/8 inch plywood to it for an exact fit.

[Jeff Kaplan]

Cliff,  back in 2005 I replaced the sole. I found a company in Fl. Wood Panel Products that had the best price and quality, they are still in business. I got the 9mm, close to 3/8 in thickness,  sheets, on my '86 I needed 2. You can cut it yourself, but since the teak/holly is very expensive, I had them ship it to a local lumber yard and I had a master millrite cut it for me. Obviously you need to keep the old sole pieces for the template, so the lines match. Once you get it cut, the most important thing you must do is to seal the bottom, sides and top with varnish and poly. I did 3 coats on the bottom and sides with a 50/50 mix of varnish and thinner, followed with 3 more coats of varnish. On the top, I did 4 coats of varnish, followed with 4 coats of poly. To this day, it still looks like new. Also, with the 9mm, there is enough thickness that it can be sanded. Let me add another word of advice, finish the bottom first, then bring all the pieces to the boat and lay each piece in place, you might have to sand the sides for an exact fit. Once done, seal the sides and do the top, the more poly, the longer it will last. I did buy a marine rug runner to go over the long straight section, protect your investment. Good luck, time consuming but worth it, makes the cabin look new.

[wingman]

back in 2005 I replaced the sole. I found a company in Fl. Wood Panel Products that had the best price and quality, they are still in business.

Jeff, how did you match the T&H pattern? Just send a photo to the company of old sole?

I'm replacing the long, main cabin sole piece because of water damage but the smaller pieces under table, bilge cover are ok.

[scgunner]

Cliff and Wingman,

I've had the same problem a few times over the years, blackened floorboards due to water getting underneath. What I have done, rather than replace, I stripped the top finish off the damaged board, let it thoroughly dry in the sun for several days. Next I bleached the board and then refinished them. What I've found is these floorboards are very resilient and when the process is done you can't tell the damaged from the undamaged boards.

You can give it a try before going to replacement boards, if you like the results you'll save yourself quite a bit of time, effort, and money.

[wingman]

Thanks gunner, in my case, the water damage has gone on for some time and the plywood is spongey and the veneer is compromised in some places so I'm going to have to replace.

It appears that water can collect under the wood in the flat floor liner, in my case adjacent to the galley, and not find its way to the bilge through the big access holes.

[KWKloeber]

I've used the dollar store flavor of oxyclean to bleach out several pcs of teak - wet, sprinkle on, soft brush or sponge to work it in, let the sun do it's work.
Keep damp while it's working.
Soft brush, rinse.
Repeat as needed.

Those were solid - with plywood, I use the oxy laundry/stain spray (or make my own solution) and very gentle on the water. Rinse with a damp sponge rather than hose.  Lots of sun.

Commercial wood bleach is oxalic acid, which I've also used on pine, but it isn't as tender on the wood as oxygen cleaner.

PS oxygen cleaner works GREAT in a bucket or tub to soak lines aboard, no need to take them off to a washing machine/pillowcases, etc. They develop a great hand and sparkle so brightly you'll need .

[Ron Hill]

Cliff : If I were to replace my teak/holly sole I'd go for the artificial T/H and NOT the wood!!  Look on line.

A thought

[waughoo]

I've seen the teak and holly vinyl and it is convincing.  My concern is that the edge would not be captured and be potentially pron to releasing from the underlayment.  One builder i know of that is using it is Aspen Power Cats.  It does look sharp as a whole, but not sure it would worl in our boats.