C-27 cabin sole

[deisher6]

Pulled up the aft section of cabin sole or is that soul.  it was badly delaminated and very musty.  Wes had some left over teak & holly 1/2 inch plywood from the edge of his new sole.  It had to be cut and glued to center the holly strips on the width of the sole.  Note that the placement of the holly inlays is not the same as the original.

Replaced the inspection opening with a teak grate to increase ventilation.  Cleaned out the bilge, not as bad as a poopy diaper but close.

The head pan was plummed with a drain to discharge overboard.  It was missing the pump so it was disconnected.  The shower has been draining into the bilge.  Plan on reconnecting it and keeping the bilge dry.

The replacement of the sole was a pretty easy project.  Mostly just copying the old piece.

Smooth Sailing

regards charlie

[HJ51]

Hey Charlie, looks great.  I'm planning to replace the aft section of my sole as well, although I think I'll be ordering one from the factory.  Is it as simple as just prying it up to pull out and replace?

Also, unrelated question.  The fabric on your settees is great looking.  Do you have a source and name of the fabric style you can share?

[deisher6]

Hey HJ51:
Wes is the expert on the forward part of the sole.  I saw his after he had pried it up.  It looked as if it was pretty well stuck down and did not come up easily.  He will probably add some comments here as to the mechanics and the costs of fabricating yourself vs buying ready made.

I will comment that making the aft part of the sole was not that difficult.  Key to making the cut out was a plunge router with a base plate guide and 1/8 inch spiral bit.  I had used the equipment to make some butterfly inlays to stop, or discourage,  the sides from splitting on a maple blanket chest that I had made about 34 years ago.



The cloth is Sunbrella picked out from samples at the sailmaker.  I could send  a close up if you would like.  Treated with Scotch Guard is has been pretty durable for 4 years.

[wes]

Guys - I just pried up my old sole. Turns out it was held down with big globs of epoxy, which over the years had become brittle. There are no screws or other mechanical attachment. It wasn't too hard to get it up. After removing it, I used a broad chisel to get off the bulk of the epoxy, then finished with 80 grit on my 6" random orbit sander. You just need to get it flat; no need for perfection since it will be covered with the new sole. Here's how it looked after the sole came off:

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I used the old sole as a template to make a new one. Bought a 4'x8' sheet of 12mm teak and holly veneer plywood from World Panel Products (the location in Windsor NC; they also have an office in Florida) for about $225. Much cheaper than buying and shipping a replacement sole from Hutchins. Pretty simple to cut it to size, round the corners with a jigsaw, and ease the back edge with a 1/2" roundover router bit.

I finished the back of the sole with epoxy resin for waterproofing, and the top with Epiphanes varnish, about six coats of the Matte Woodfinish. Three coats applied before mounting the sole, then three more after plugging the screw holes (see below).

When it was time to install the new one, I went to Home Depot and bought a few 12"x12" squares of self adhesive vinyl floor tile, about 1/16" thick. I cut these up into 6"x6" squares, and used them to lift and shim the new sole so it was uniformly flush with the surrounding floor area. In some areas I stacked two pieces for added thickness. Then peeled off the backing paper and stuck them down permanently.

I chose to attach the sole with #10 screws, countersunk and plugged with teak bungs similar to the rest of the boat. I wanted to be able to remove the sole more easily in the future, so I can just drill out the bungs and remove the screws. Experience has shown that the sole takes a beating and doesn't last forever. Here's the final result:



Note that this picture was taken before I cut the bilge access opening into the new aft section of the sole. Also note you can barely see the teak plugs. If you aren't familiar with using plugs, you buy the 3/8" size (Defender or West Marine), use a #10 countersink bit which creates a 3/8" dia. hole, then dunk the plug in varnish, schmear more varnish liberally in the hole, set the plug in place with the grain aligned to the surrounding grain, and gently hammer down until it seats. Use varnish, not glue, if you ever expect to get it out again. When dry knock off most of the protruding plug with a wood chisel, then (carefully) sand it down with 120 grit on a little block of wood to get it flush. Don't oversand or you'll sand through the thin teak veneer of the plywood.

About the upholstery: I went to a discount fabric store that carried outdoor acrylic fabrics such as Sunbrella etc. Just picked out a blue one with a denim type finish. I took my old cushions (all of them, including v-berth) and the new fabric to a local upholsterer and he re-covered them for about $800 in labor. The amount of fabric required was 24 yards, plus 9 yards of white vinyl because I wanted the backs replaced as well. The discount places have a lot of nice outdoor fabrics for around $10-$12 a yard.

Good luck!

Wes

[deisher6]

I will add that Wes's sole looks even better than the pictures.
regards charlie