Was at the local big box hardware store, and came across 44 sq/ft of bruce solid wood "snap lock" cherry finish flooring...

Jeff, you may want to sit down before reading further..... :)

The original cost was $87.99 case, I paid $15 per case!!!!!! You know it's bad when you boat has nicer flooring than your house...



I laid it out to mock it up. I plan to cut it to match each of the 5 panels from the floor, and screw it from underneath to prevent buckling, and put stainless pull rings on the two smaller access panels.

I'll post pictures once it's all done (well, once the floor is done, it's never ALL done)


-Shane

Thought about going the same route, but when I came across the solid wood at this price, I couldn't pass it up (unemployed or not). I am kind of concerned that is going to look WAY out of place considering the cabin hasn't had ANY updates since new.

I am surprised that you haven't caught up w/ me. Seems like I am down there more than up here. I was out on the east side of the 213 bridge on my sister's boat on Saturday (little on LOVED it), and kept an eye out for you on the way up the Bo, but didn't see you. I'll be back down this Saturday and Sunday to finish the bottom paint, and hull sides.

-Shane

Bob,

The flooring that I am using is solid oak, so it will hold up better than standard sawdust and glue flooring. I plan to use a vapor barrier underlayment (Silent Blue), and liberally screw it down. I would love to be able to do it without screwing it down, but being able to move the panels for access to the blige without dissasembling the planks. If it turns out that screwing it down does not work out, I can always remove the screws without any ill affects... Only time will tell how it works out.

-Shane

I got sick from all the adhesive remover I used to pull up maple parquet and I also had to use floor leveler to fill in the plywood laminate that came up. I would never glue anything on top of the floor and hatches. A nice thick coat of tan porch paint would look fine for informal cruises with kids, dogs and beer spilling buddies. Cut some rug remmants to throw down for more quiet comfort.

Well, it's in...





Looks pretty good. Have to find some T molding to fill in the gaps between panel, and paint the rails to blend in with the floor. I screwed it in from underneath, so should it ever buckle, or need to pull it out, it will not be a big job.

Oddly, not so. Wood expands and contracts with moisture changes, but does so across the grain and not noticeably along it. Some (ok, most) fiber products will just puff up and disintegrate, but some are quit water resistant and stable. "Plywood" based (laminated flooring) is usually pretty stable.

Screwing or gluing solid wood down in an environment where the moisture level changes dramatically (and a boat has to be tops in this regard) is almost guaranteeing that the wood will split or buckle or something else bad. I've seen wide wood boards that were well attached (glued and screwed) to 3/4 inch plywood subfloor curl the plywood up (pulling up the nails that held it to the floor joists) when the wood planks dried and shrunk a bit.
You will be better off than that with parquet, since the pieces are small and the direction of the grain changes often, but you would be much better off with wood that is inherently dimensionally stable (teak is better than oak), or any veneer over plywood or other stable substrate. Ironically, the man-made or composite flooring works much better here than solid wood.
If you put down strips or parquet of oak, remember the individual pieces will move in width but not length
For parquet or strips, if you get the interlocking kind (ideally not solid wood but engineered) and just let the floor "float", being held down by trim on the edges, this can work well on a boat.

Gary C

Welcome aboard !!!
Good advice given on the wood flooring

Norm,

Big s Live On

Doug ,

Nice job ! Really like the flooring and the idea of the battening , Also the aluminum angle to seal the access.

Sure wish you would have posted sooner. With so much water that was in my boat i removed the old floor an ( used as pattern ) put in some FREE.. 3/4 marine ply. I stained and polyed. it . My son had a lot of 3/4 oak T&G left over from his house, so its free and sure looks better than the ply, and carpet. I did put aplastic barrier down small T/G staples . Have 2 bilge accesses. If it doesn't pop up with the cold ,it will have to do, if not we'll have a weenie roast come spring. Do like your idea better.

Mark

White Oak is what the British made their fleets from. Red Oak, never in the water, it flows water from the ends when you blow on the end.

Doug,
Great work. Thanks for posting those pics and how you made it. This is some innovative inspiration to fix a small piece in the aft deck that needs attention