We have been wanting the luxury of teak and holly flooring in Moonshine's saloon and forward and mid cabins for a while now. So we recently took the plunge and after carefully measuring the floor area, placed an order with Robbins Timber for 3 sheets of 2430 x 1210 x 6mm Laminate Cabin Sole Plywood.
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| The first cut! |
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| Templates in position for marking out |
To tackle the complex shapes disposable templates of the floor area were made using 6mm MDF board. Theses were made using the existing floor coverings and altered where appropriate to create an exact fit. These templates had to fit perfectly with no room for error, as at nearly £200 a sheet for the teak and holly this would be a very costly mistake. The templates were cut at home and transported to Moonshine. Once we had ensured a good fit, these were taken back home to begin cutting the teak and holly laminate.
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| Making up the corners of the hatch |
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| Saloon floor joint levelled |
The existing floorboards were made good, any joins in the floor were sanded over to be made perfectly level. The hinged hatch in the main saloon was removed and will be made so it just lifts out, therefore where the hinges had been in the hatch these needed in fills to be made.
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| Weighing the floor down |
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| Forward cabin |
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Enlarged forward hatch, perfect for
storing beer as ballast. |
Once cut the teak and holly was carefully transported to Moonshine to ensure a snug fit, and glued in place and weighted down by numerous buckets of water.
The small hatch in the front cabin floor will be enlarged to accommodate better access to underfloor storage.
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| Adhesive |
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| Main Saloon prior to edging |
One excellent find was a teak duckboard that a work colleague of Peter's had found. This was dismantled and teak edging strips were cut, varnished and glued in place.
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| Forward cabin completed |
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| Mid cabin completed |
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| Saloon completed |
After all the meticulous measuring and time spent on this project we are very pleased with the finished look of the new flooring, and this raises Moonshine up another level alongside her other Seawings 355 counterparts.
Jobs for the future which are nagging away at us are the leather saloon seating which after it's restoration 18 months ago is looking tired now, and possibly the modernisation of the galley and bathroom counter tops, however these jobs can wait whilst we enjoy what this coming seasons boating weather throws at us.
