Internal flooring options - cat

[Harryg]

Hi, this has probably been discussed elsewhere, but I need some help. I am trying to decide on a lightweight, reasonably priced, internal flooring for my catamaran. So I am interested to know what others have used, particularly Australian sourced materials. Anyone used EVA foam - interior only. Thanks

[chrisr]

we have just re-done our floor using vinyl planks. these are designed for interior domestic use, but perfect inside on a boat. we used Kardean brand from carpet court...915mm x 152mm x 2.5mm in light tassie oak. timber finish looks great, but they have a massive range. hard wearing, never split warp or deteriorate

easy to cut to size using stanley knife. some brands are self adhesive but i used liquid nails to glue in place

not cheap but looks super

cheers,

[Tin Tin]

Lonseal teak and holley looks good, but hard to come by, the Australian distributor is expensive. We used it on a 38ft cat, made a world of difference compared to the marine carpet. https://lonseal.com/wp-content/uploa...ochure-web.pdf


www.bluskyproducts.com.au

[mikereed100]

We used bamboo mats with a teak and holly theme. Readily available across Asia so maybe not too difficult to source in Oz.
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Anji-M...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Tupaia]

Rubberised deck paint.

[Dsanduril]

Are you asking about floor covering? Or the actual structural floor material itself?

Our European built boat has floors that are a balsa-core about 1.5cm thick with a white laminate face on the bottom and fake teak/holly laminate on the top. We like the look and the footing and the panels are quite light and strong. The edges absolutely must be sealed even with interior use otherwise you end up with balsa mush. I don't have a source, have been looking for one myself.

Our "toolroom" flooring got replaced at some point with a plastic honeycomb core that has white laminate on both sides. Also very nice, and would be easy to apply a veneer/laminate if you wanted some other surface. This material is also very light and strong, and has the advantage that the core is waterproof.

[tarian]

The Eva foam is ok for small spaces or outside cockpit areas, in stains easily and never truly lines up when trying to cut and angle it,
It is what it is cheap, I ma tearing mine up in a cabin and flooring it with floorboards stained and varnished to an inch of its life,
then sealed

[smj]

We used luxury woven vinyl on our present catamaran. Easy to work with, easy to clean and it appears to be durable.

[Scotty Kiwi]

I visited a recently launched 60ft "Rapido" built in Vietnam. Quality boat. Cork floor. The owners loved it. Plyable, soft, light, durable. The concept seemed worth considering. But the cork wasn't coated with anything, and I'm unsure whether it could be, so I wondered about staining.

This just to put it on the list as an option.

[CATJAVA]

I used commercial carpet squares 50cm x 50 cm made by Forbo Flooring, mfg. in UK. My Crowther cat had Flotex tiles in gray color when I bought her in Oz in 2004, so assume it is available there since Java had never sailed offshore before I owned her. I wanted it in a darker color to not show dirt, so I bought more FLOTEX tiles in “Ocean” color in 2014 in the USA & shipped it to Philippines. It is really durable, doesn’t need glue, so you can remove the squares and wash them in soapy water to remove the dirt & hairs (I have a dog aboard), which I do about 2x/yr. Super easy to install with a straight edge and razor knife. It is very Durable & easy to clean spills& stains. You would want a few extra squares in case of accidents like the crew I had who put a HOT pan on it and made a burned circle in one square. Sorry I can’t give you the cost, but it was very reasonable. I think they will send you small samples if you want to feel it, etc. It is comfortable to walk on since it has foam backing. Just remember to mark a number & arrow on each square AND the floor so you can relay it in the correct order after you wash it! I didn’t do this the first time and what a Circus! I’ll try to send u a photo, but haven’t done this on CF before, so don’t count on it. I took a photo of a grey tile that I use on the floors in both hulls, but it looks more stone color than gray. Lousy iPhone 5! Evan on JAVA

[Harryg]

Thank you to all for replying. The structural floor is 19mm balsa core laminated with epoxy/glass (Duflex), so looking for a comfortable/cosmetic floor covering. I like the idea of cork tiles (coated with clear polyurethane).

[chrisr]

must say when we had cork tiles in a house (back in the 80's i think it was), we found them pretty soft and easy to damage.

i expect they are better these days...

cheers,