What Am I Looking At - Cabin Sole C16

[geeman]

I have another newbie question and thanks in advance for the group's patience.  The cabin sole of my "new" 78 C16 appears to be a series of light grey plastic rectangles.  I've included a photo.  Is this what the cabin sole normally looks like or did the previous owner remove a covering?

[JTMeissner]

Not exactly sure what you are looking at, but from what I've seen, CP-16s of that vintage had minimal covering over the concrete (maybe an epoxy seal).  It appears the plastic sheeting was applied when the PVC pipe (support?) was added as well? 

Looking at this photo maybe it was a substrate for carpet?


Here's a 1977 version, looking bare bones with carpet:


1978 picture looks like just concrete:


Here's looking back at the cockpit in a 1981 model, with some sort of flooring in place:


1983 model looking like bare concrete:


And another bare bones with some carpeting, so no idea what's underneath:


Finally, here's a topic that the owner found carpet over a thin fiberglass coat:
http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=4625.msg32193#msg32193
http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=4625.msg32279#msg32279


So, considering the age there was likely something done that wasn't original.  I had plain concrete, which had experienced freeze/thaw cycles and some crumbling so looked like the linked messages above, but the PO had made some other mods to the benches.  When I refinished the cabin flooring during a refit, I had a grout layer over the concrete, laid over a thin coat of epoxy to seal it, then finished it with a truck bed spray coating.

-Justin

[geeman]

Thank  you for posting the photos.  They really hep.  The plastic rectangles on mine flex a bit if I push on them so I suspect they are just covering the concrete.  I'm going to take an exacto knife to the joints around one and check my theory out when it cools off a bit outside.  Providing all is well under them, I'll need to figure out a covering that is easy to clean and easy to remove for when I get a bit of water in the bilge.

[geeman]

I removed one of the rectangles and found a thin sheet of fiberglass underneath it.  It was well attached to the sides and looks professionally done, so I suspect it is original to the boat.  Maybe put there to keep water from the bilge getting down into the concrete ballast area?  Unfortunately, along the way the fiberglass has been holed and the concrete underneath it is pretty damp.  What I think is a skim coat to level is crumbling, but when that is pulled out, that below seems fairly solid. In the next few days, I will remove the rest of the rectangles, cut out the fiberglass sheet, pull out the crumbled material and then I'll be better able to tell what shape the ballast is in.

[geeman]

Update - I cut away about half of the fiberglass covering over the concrete ballast and removed the crumbling top 1/2 inch or so.  The concrete underneath was pretty damp, but solid.  So I've got a fan running in the cabin and it seems to be drying nicely.