Teak and Holly cabin sole. S/V Leoma

[JD-MDR]

While waiting for haulout in December Im bored and decided to start on the cabin sole. I’ll start with the small section in front of the engine compartment. I bought a piece of Burmanese Teak and hard maple. They dont have holly anywhere. Teak is so expensive. A 7/8” x 5.5 x 80” was $200. The Veneer plywood came up easy. The contact cement they used wasnt stuck at all.

I ripped the teak to 5/16” thickness and 2.5” wide. The Holly( Maple) I made 5/16 x 5/16. I sanded the surfaces clean. I applied epoxy on all surfaces and put some thickened epoxied as i set the pieces in place. I found it easier to just do a few pieces at a time. When these set and dry. I’ll work on the other pieces

[jbenagh]

Looking good! I can't wait to see how it progresses.
Jeff

[JD-MDR]

Im following “ Refit and Sail” utube. I guess he works on a lot if Contessas.

[Jim Walsh]

Wow…nice work. I’m sure it’ll look fantastic when completed. Thanks for documenting so others can benefit from your project. Leoma must be happy!

[JD-MDR]

Ill wait a couple days to sand and varnish.

I think I have enough material to refinish the section at the v-berth. If anyone remembers. I did a little exploratory work there a few months ago and covered it with pieces of scrap veneer plywood

[JD-MDR]

I finished setting the pieces at the v- berth section. I wiil sand and finish next. I wonder what i should coat it with. It seems like varnish would be too slick. I don't know when I can do the main salon area. Its gonna cost about $500 for wood and more resin I made a couple mistakes. I made the white strips too wide at the galley area. I’m making the rest of the job a little thinner. Hopefully not noticeable except to me. It was not easy holding the pieces tight there is some gap between in a couple places. Here are the photos if the galley area again and the forepeak section. That bench locker is not attached so it will fit much tighter

[JD-MDR]

See that hatch board in the head area. I don't know why there is a sump there its only 2” deep. Maybe they thought it a good place to shower and put a bilge pump. Any way I wonder how a teak grate would look like this pic. Probably not worth it But the plain board I have is not very good looking

[jbenagh]

JD,
I have a grate in the head exactly like you show. I have a sump too, about 2in deep. It goes all the way back to the hatch near the galley where it drains to a pump. The sump picks up water if you shower in the head.
Jeff

[JD-MDR]

Here is the other side of that plain board, the sump cover.

Ive applied two coats of epiphanes gloss. Because thats what i have on hand.

Ive made some mistakes nothing that cant be corrected sometime. I should have made the surface more even because my boards a were too uneven. I thought it would not be a problem to sand but what a mess and too much xtra work. I used the disc grinder then the rotary. I still see some gouges. Im not so particular as some of you. Ill do the main saloon soon. Thats why i practiced on the small pieces.Hopefully the main part will be better. I might try to redesign so i have easier access to the bilge alley Now its too difficult to stow the anchor and chain down there.
Problem is the mounts for the dining table kinda restrict the position of the access hatches

[Jim Walsh]

I think you did a fine job. The minor imperfections that you may know are there would never be apparent to the casual observer taking in the totality of the job.
I used Epifanes Gloss on my cabin sole several years ago and it could use a light sanding and a reapplication. Perhaps after the boat is hauled…perhaps next year It held up extremely well and it wasn’t slippery in the least. It lost the “gloss” just through foot traffic and appeared to be a satin finish but still looked fine. It’s a very durable finish.