Hi Erik.

I have replaced the 2 floor boards by the ladder and galley.  One 4' x 8' of 1/2" Teak and Holly plywood will do it.  The long strip between the tables and the flooring by the game table and Nav. station will use an other 4' x 8' sheet and the most forward floor board will require an othe 4' x 8' sheet.  I believe if your careful the two boards under the dinnette table can be done with the scraps of the 3 sheets.  I can't guarantee that.  The best way to do it is to start with the long board.  Lay the old board carefully on top and trace it on to the new sheet.  The the top sides need to both face up.  Line up the holly stripes with the board below.  Clamp the boards together for tracing.  The under side of all the boards will have to be routed with a 1-1/4" 45 degree router bit (that is what I used) to have the cleance for the radius in the filbergrass under flooring.  While they are still clamped together, it is a good time to drill through the mounting holes.  It is important to do that with all the boards, so the holly stripes line up for the entire length of the Saloon.

Using the West System 105 Epoxy and 207 hardner apply 3 coats to each side of the boards.  The 207 hardner is the best choice as it will dry clear.  The other hardners will not be clear.  The epoxy water proofs the boards.  In addition apply 3 top coats.  The top coating  should be a 2 part polyurthane such as Interlux Prefection Plus or any equivalent.  I have replaced the long board and the 2 boards by the galley. 

I replaced the galley boards some years ago and ong board last spring.   In addition, I also refinished all of the remaining boards last spring.  If your going to do the entire set of boards, buy the plywood sheets at the same time and try to match them.  Having done them over a period of time the indiviual finished boards have slightly different shading.  At least, I notice it.  However, all are bright and shiny.

Hope this helps,

Lou Bruska
Sojourn
1985 C-36 MK1 Hull # 495

Hi Erik...

 As mentioned, I did this on my Mk II.. What is not mentioned in the write-up that  that I first used a teak & holly overlay on plywood, only to have some of it delminate a couple of years later. That's when I went to the vinyl and couldn't be happier with it. It requires no maintenence are other than wiping it down, water doesn't penetrate it and it doesn't get dinged if you drop something on it (which breaks the seal on varnished wood and allows moisure to penetrate).

Whatever you decide to do, I did need two plywood sheets but, I first bought plain old plywood. As soon as I cut out the pieces, they curled. I then went to marine plywood and had no problems. I mentioned this in a posting once before and I believe someone responded that they used regular plywood and had no problems so, as with any boating decision, it's up to the captain, but I would suggest going the extra bucks for the marine grade.

Don't know the cabin sole/floor layout in a Mk I but from an appearance viewpoint, the hardest part I found was getting the holly stripes to line up from one piece to another where they meet butt to butt. I was about an 1/8" off and solved the problem by having an area rug over the intersection of the two panels.

Good luck with your project!

Chuck Parker

Just a thought. If your floor has not delaminated you can just refinish 1 section at a time if and when your boat is hauled out. I have done mine a couple of times. Where I have had delamination I used epoxy by wiping it in at the edges. I even had to reveneer a couple of sections. Than Just seal the bottem and edges well. I did the galley area last year, I stripped some of the layers off and lightly sanded and used Petits water based which does an excellant job. Also the plywood thickness is 5/16 to 3/8ths. The issue is that those that carry it are far and few. Costs more to ship than the product itself unless you live nearby and can pick it up.