Phoenix's New Cabin Sole Part 2: Installation

Our unfinished cabin sole never stopped us from enjoying Phoenix, and never got in the way of a good raft up with friends at anchor.

Rafted up with friends after the Governor's Cup Race in St. Mary's, Maryland

Enjoying afternoon cocktails with friends aboard Phoenix after the Governor's Cup, in St. Mary's Maryland

Yet, with the boat winterized and all of the teak and white oak milled and planed, it was time to install Phoenix's new cabin sole. Our friend Kurt came to visit and helped Bill get things started in the main cabin. After removing the salon table and putting Phoenix in "construction mode," it was time to go to work.

Nearly every floorboard on Phoenix is removable, allowing us to access the tanks, wiring, water lines, and of course, stowage. The access is great by all means, but adds a level of difficulty when installing a tongue and groove floor.

The first thing they did was replace a handful of the old 3/4" plywood floorboards. Some of the old boards were slightly warped, but more importantly they were irregularly shaped and would make removal of the new hatch boards and fitting in the new teak more difficult. So the first day's work was spent cutting new hatch boards, measuring, and running snap lines to make sure our teak and white oak stripes would be properly aligned.

They began working on one of the hatch boards in the middle of the main cabin, just aft of the main mast. Each teak board was glued and nailed in place with stainless brad nails. We opted not to nail the oak strips since they were so much lighter in color -- those were snapped into each teak board and glued in spot.

Installing the first teak and white oak tongue and groove boards

Bill was installing while Kurt cut the boards to length

First hatch board complete!

With good planning (and possibly a little luck) the first hatch board ended with a full board width. For many others, the teak or white oak strips had to be ripped so that it was partially on one hatch and partially on another, all the while being careful to align the stripes!

They continued working outboard in the main cabin, and were able to get the majority of the main cabin done while Kurt was visiting.

 

Bill making his way around the main cabin

Most of the main cabin done, except the intricate angle cuts!

Bill continued working throughout the winter when it wasn't too cold to be on the boat. The forward and aft cabins proved to be more difficult than the main cabin, since they had many severe angles along the cabinets and for some of the hatch boards. He carefully cut each board so that the grain would be continuous for the full run whenever possible, and painstakingly made sure that all of the stripes were aligned, even with the breaks in the hatch boards. Many intricate cuts later, we couldn't be happier with the results!

Main cabin done!

New cabin sole in the galley

Looking forward towards the main cabin

Looking aft from the forward cabin. The holes in the floor on the left are where the salon table is screwed into the sole (with backing plates on the other side)

After the installation, we put cardboard on the floor to protect it while we waited for the weather to warm up enough to seal and protect the wood. So close to finishing this project and getting back out there to enjoy the boat again!

s/v Phoenix and s/v Tortuga's Lie enjoying the sunset on St. Mary's River