Cabin sole mod eval
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2026 11:14 am
This sums up my cabin sole redo this past fall.
I did this while waiting for the new engine to be ordered.
This job required grinding the gelcoat nonskid off the floor in the cabin. The floor had always been a little thin and had a small space under it, so it would noticeably flex and hit the more solid underneath structure when walked on. I had a teak veneer plywood overlay to fix this for a while, but the veneer got beat up after 12 years of use. I opted not to spend 500 on the solid teak lumber stock to properly build
another, and decided to add some fiberglass and another type of finish instead.
I used a cordless angle drill with roloc sanding pads to grind off the nonskid texture. I wet the area to keep the dust down and scooped and sponged the resultant soup up as needed. I stayed precisely to the nonskid area. After the floor dried out I applied 3 passes of biaxial fabric in polyester resin and then topcoated with blue pigmented epoxy to give a glossy finish. I then laid down some inexpensive self-stick black deck foam.
Ive been quite happy with this job. The floor feels very solid now, the foam is comfortable on the feet. The foam sheeting is hard to cut precisely. When its time to replace it I may send the pattern out to have it cut professionally by a shop.
The blue borders are there to collect the dirt and make it easier to vacuum with a mini car vacuum cleaner.
Also in the picture is the cover for the access I cut under the galleys foreward position. Another worthwhile project.
Ix
I did this while waiting for the new engine to be ordered.
This job required grinding the gelcoat nonskid off the floor in the cabin. The floor had always been a little thin and had a small space under it, so it would noticeably flex and hit the more solid underneath structure when walked on. I had a teak veneer plywood overlay to fix this for a while, but the veneer got beat up after 12 years of use. I opted not to spend 500 on the solid teak lumber stock to properly build
another, and decided to add some fiberglass and another type of finish instead.
I used a cordless angle drill with roloc sanding pads to grind off the nonskid texture. I wet the area to keep the dust down and scooped and sponged the resultant soup up as needed. I stayed precisely to the nonskid area. After the floor dried out I applied 3 passes of biaxial fabric in polyester resin and then topcoated with blue pigmented epoxy to give a glossy finish. I then laid down some inexpensive self-stick black deck foam.
Ive been quite happy with this job. The floor feels very solid now, the foam is comfortable on the feet. The foam sheeting is hard to cut precisely. When its time to replace it I may send the pattern out to have it cut professionally by a shop.
The blue borders are there to collect the dirt and make it easier to vacuum with a mini car vacuum cleaner.
Also in the picture is the cover for the access I cut under the galleys foreward position. Another worthwhile project.
Ix
