I recently had a discussion with my boatyard owner. He suggested something I had not given any thought to. As long as the plywood was not De-laminating and in good reasonable shape is to put a new veneer of teak and holly on and refinish.

Mine were in pretty sorry shape but I didn't like what making replacements would cost. I pulled and repaired a few delaminations along the edges. I took them to a furnature refinisher and they stripped them and sprayed a catalyzed floor finish on all sides. About $700 all in. Can't say that they look new but they do look really nice.

This topic has been discussed many times and I'm sure you can find many ideas in the archives.

In my case, after two delamination problems, I switched to a teak and holly laminate over 1/.4" marine plywood, which I laid down with Velcro tabs to avoid water coming up thru screw holes and so I can easily pull them up to clean underneath. I bought the stuff thru Defender. The total cost (vinyl, adhesive & marine plywood) cost about $800.

This might seem like a lot, but it cost me $400 for the first teak & holly repair... then a different piece delaminated and the material I had left was not large enough to replace this second piece and I would have had to start from scratch. Also, as was mentioned in a different posting, the sole is 3'8". You can't buy a sheet of T & H sole in this dimension so you have to buy
1/4" and laminate it to 1/8" plywood sheet before you put the T & H laminate on, if you want the sole to be flush with the deck.

Vinyl looks as as good as original and, if you use the satin finish (as compared to the gloss) you can't tell the difference between the bilge cover (which did not need to be replaced and is not laminate) and the vinyl. It never shows wear, can be cleaned up with a sponge and regular liquid cleaner and if you drop something hard on it, it does not "ding" as does the original flooring.

Regardless of whether you replace with vinyl or go with new wood, the hardest part I found is getting the holly inlays lined up between the pieces. If anyone is going to try to replace theirs and wants my input, reach out to me off line and I'll provide details.

Neil -- who did you use in Seattle? Thanks!

Hi David, I think it was Ballard Refinishers on NW 8th. Come by and take a look. I'll be there tomorrow morning M 10.

Has anyone considered or tried the new rubber-like flooring used in the new boats? That seems like a pretty permanent fix.

Jim... that's what I was referring to in my post. Its not rubber but vinyl and I'm a big advocate.

I am in the process of replacing our cabin floor on Gone Bananas our 36 MKI.
I have perfected a method using 1/4" Blond plywood at $21.00 a sheet, 1/4" auto pin stripe tape any color, traditional Cherry stain, then minwax polyurethane two coats to the bottom 6coats to the top sanding between coats 3 and 4 with 180grit. Whole floor will be under
$100. If only lasts five years do it again.

Email me and I will send pictures. [email]firstbananas@gmail.com[/email]

Capt Bananas