Wood for interior/flooring (combined thread)?

[Lojanica]

Just a thought. Get 2 x 6 or 2 x 10 dimensional rough sawn Yellow cedar. Good price at usually 5 -7 USD per lineal foot. Take it to a friend or cabinet maker shop and have it recut to 1/4 to 1/2" thickness and whatever width.

Most cabinet makers will charge you a set-up fee to mill lumber so buy a bunch of wood at a good price then mill the stock. It will be cheaper, better quality, and exactly sized to your needs.

When choosing wood have a punch list of possible candidates (like yellow or white cedar, teak or cypres, etc.) In that way you can shop to get good quality at a reasonable cost.

Plywood is good for structural needs (weight to strength), timbers for larger structural components and the rot resitant stuff to frame plywood and make strong attachment points for bulkheads.

Good luck.

[dogeconomics]

Originally Posted by ssanzone

based on the tone of your original post, i inferred that the goal is to restore her to her original condition (ascetically).

assuming that is correct, the comments about brightening up the cabin as less applicable.

Can you let us know what you have in mind as a budget?

I just took possession of genuine mahogany for $7 per linear foot (which is REALLY cheap).

are you planning on bulkheads, hulls, headliners?

with a bit more info you will get some creative solutions.

also, what is your aptitude for word working?

Definitely correct, looking to do more of a restoration than a rebuild. I'm cost-conscious, but not so much that I'm going to cut corners. Best to do it right the first time.

The Mahogany interior trim will be good to go after some sanding and love; its the bulkheads, hull, and headliner that need to be done/redone. And I am a good carpenter, comfortable with just about anything shy of cabinetry.

I also found teak that would do the entire interior for around $200. Just no longer sure that planks or strips (or... you know) are ideal for the headliner.

Thanks!

[perchance]

I believe you can get clear yellow cedar in tongue and groove in 3 inch width. With a clear coat or two it really brightens up the interior. It can be installed in such a way as to be able to remove the slats for access underneath.

[Cheechako]

I assume you are talking about strips of real wood to line the boat interior and /or overhead. And also other trim pieces. It's your choice of what you like, just remember that after varnish, the wood gets a LOT darker. all should bend well enough for strips. I did one over head in varnished white cedar, man it was pretty (and so fragrant that my eyes watered!) Be carefull that any oak gets varnished before it gets wet, it stains black if untreated. Oak dust from sawing or sanding also drives me crazy. teak dust doesnt bother me at all , nor mahoghany. Dark Phillipine mahoghany (not real mahoghany) looks pretty good for interior work and is light weight and cheap. Cherry is used a lot now days, Cedar can be very nice in the right application that isnt crack prone situation. White Spruce is very nice if light wood is wanted.

[ssanzone]

the 'traditional' approach would be a rich mahogany or teak with a beveled edge in 2.5 or 3 inch widths.

given the obscene cost of both woods...

you can buy 5/4 (1.25" thick) * 8' or 10' or 12' lengths and have it re-saw down to 3/8" and then drum sanded down to 1/4" and then ripped down to 3" wide and then use a router or table saw to take off the top edge (@ 45 degrees).

if that makes sense...

about $1000 (plus $500 - $800 to have the 5/4" cut down) will result in 500 sq feet of ready to be installed 'bead board'

regarding finish...

wood takes decades to darken. Lye (sodium hydroxide) will instantly bring either wood to that lovely rich color we see in older boats.

easiest is to mill / cut / sand with 200 then spray with oven cleaner then rub off the excess then sand with 400 and install.

cheaper is to lye with warm water and apply with a rag. using lye diluted in water does tend to raise a bit more of the wood which will result in more sanding.

regarding installation... i am personally not a fan of nails. i use penetrating epoxy on the bulkhead (marine ply) and then adhesive to bond the mahogany to the bulkheads. for curved surfaces, the 1/4" will bend and adhere with ease and 2 sided wood tape will help to keep the 1/4" mahogany in place while the adhesive sets up.

after lunch... i have 589347589347589375975 thoughts on headliners.

did this make any sense at all?

-s

[Matt sachs]

I was in Costa Rica this spring. They use teak for fence posts and telephone poles! One mans trash is anothers threasure......

[Cheechako]

SPAM ALERT!
I have a bunch of Teak I've had for years. 26 pieces of 2"- x 3/8+" x 8ft 1" long. Also a bundle of moulding stock, various mouldings, a few boards etc. The cheapest price I could find on line for the teak strips was $27.52 each x 26 = $715.50 You get everything for $400. If it can be shipped reasonable is the question. Is the OP PNW?.

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by jannpage

/regarding Amtico ---Has anyone found a retailer willing to sell the small quantities neede to do a boat?
Lloyd

Home Depot sells that product, or a like product. Looks like wood. Made from water resistant materials, made to do bathroom floors.

[brianontheroad]

on our old boat we used a laminate product called Konnecto -- looked great, felt great on the feet, looked like wood, easy to clean and held up great

[Cheechako]

There are some engineered hardwood ply floors that are minimally thick about 5/16 or 3/8 I believe and in some beautiful woods. pretty high quality stuff. Bamboo comes in all kinds of color tones. Not as hard as you might think though. My friend in FL put it in their new house, marking up (denting)pretty fast really. On a boat you dont wear outside shoes though.... right? The key is the glue though,my Bamboo cutting board is gradually coming unglued at the joints.....
If you are looking for a cheap easy alternative to carpet, I used those 2' x 2' interlocking foam garage floor "diamondplate" tiles in one boat that had a bare ply floor. easy to cut and real soft on the feet. Likely only Grey in color though. About $50 and an hour or two does the whole boat, you can replace any square you want in the future, and pull it right up to get underneath.....
or there's this heavy duty harder stuff, (the red one)probably want to glue it down....smaller squares (20"?) it weighs alot though.

[aboutgone]

any floor covering store that sells Amtico can order any quantity for you....but it's about 8 bucks a foot .

[dogeconomics]

Originally Posted by ssanzone

the 'traditional' approach would be a rich mahogany or teak with a beveled edge in 2.5 or 3 inch widths.

after lunch... i have 589347589347589375975 thoughts on headliners.

did this make any sense at all?

-s

Great info. Thank you for sharing! Always open to new info, especially for the headliner.

[Auzzee]

I replaced a cabin sole in a 27'er many years ago. I used good quality marine ply. When I had cut it all to shape, I bought a chisel tipped permanent marker pen, and with a long ruler, I drew lines on it, with mitred lines in the corners etc. Over all of this, I used a 2 part resinous 'varnish'. The end result was a cabin sole which looked like it had been laid with 40mm slats. A friend still owns the boat and the sole still looks good.

[CharlieCobra]

For what it's worth. Woods like Red Oak, Maple and Cherry are rot prone and not suitable for a marine environment.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by ssanzone

regarding installation... i am personally not a fan of nails. i use penetrating epoxy on the bulkhead (marine ply) and then adhesive to bond the mahogany to the bulkheads. for curved surfaces, the 1/4" will bend and adhere with ease and 2 sided wood tape will help to keep the 1/4" mahogany in place while the adhesive sets up.

did this make any sense at all?

-s

Forget the 'penetrating' epoxy and use any standard epoxy you get. Epoxy holds perfectly well without thinning agent (thats what penetrating epoxy is mixed with) which just weakens the physical properties of epoxy. Better to mix with silica filler for such interior work.