Redoing floor panel and lids

[jandane]

After some years, the floor panel and the lids in the cockpit may look very tired. Mine did. During the winter I took it home. Removed all old varnish with paintstripper and then sanded it down - very carefully. The 7 layers of Hempel clear lacque on all plus 2 extra layers of Hempels silk satin on the floor panels. It looks very nice now.

[Sula]

That looks great, Jandane!    

[Brian & Glenda]

Sure does look fine! Great job! How'd you like to come to the west coast of Canada to do mine for me?

I also need to redo the teak grips along the sides and back of the wheelhouse roof, those along the cabin top, and the doors between the pilothouse and the cockpit on my boat... Been hoping they'd do themselves, but no luck so far.

Brian...

[oceandancer]

Hi All , Jan that certainly looks good !
How does Hempel silk satin stand up to knocks and scuffs? Do you find the finish tough enough?
I do all my horizontal surfaces that will be walked on, floor panels and locker lids with 2 pack polyurethane which is mega tough but it's a bit of a chore when you want to clean it off. I favour a hot air gun for varnish removal and Brian I have yet to find a really suitable finish for the handles.

Regards

Mick

[jandane]

Hi Mick.
As of now, I can not say anything about the “scratch durability” of any of the two types. This is the first time I have done so. Else the floor has been oiled. The Silky gloss should be as strong as the shiny, but should hide scratches better. A follow up will be brought in october

[jandane]

Follow up on durability of silk gloss. Absolutely no problem. Now in mid 2023 the floor is still very nice and no scratches

[Brian & Glenda]

Hi Jandane,

My cockpit sole still desperately needs refinishing. I haven't got to it in the two years since my note of admiration regarding your handiwork above.

Did you remove the floor panel and refinish the edges also? If yes: Did you have any troubles refitting the floor? I see a myriad of nuts on the underside of the fiberglass beneath the wooden panel that could be undone to it appears, remove the cockpit sole; but I wonder if the alignment of the holes and their bolts might shift with removal and reinstallation.

Glad to hear that the Hempels is wearing so well. However, their Canadian distributor only imports Hempel’s Marine Varnish 02220 - a quick-drying clear urethane alkyd varnish. I read above that you used a lacquer. I wonder how well this product might work...

Thanks for any advice you can offer,
Brian.

[jandane]

I took the lids and the floor panels home. The lids were fine on the underside and just received a little sanding corn 120 and the a layer of varnish. The floor panels were seperated from the longe hinge connecting them and just done on the upside and the corners. The underside attached to the fibre glass cover were not done - looked ok. I am not quite sure of the english words varnish and lack but im most marine shops you can buy a good, strong type of clear varnish/laque based on terpentine (?) I guess the Hempel you mention is the same I used and it is fine. The most important is the amount of layers being added to prevent scratches from entering through the layers and thus reach the wood. Just go ahead!
When I reinstalled the floor panels, I did in two and skipped the long piano hinge. They are stable and it is much more easy to get to the bottom this way.
(and by the way: a well paid consultant’s job in BC is always attractive😜)

[Brian & Glenda]

Thanks Jandane. If you ever get to Nanaimo BC ... let's go sailing together, but I must confess that my funds for consulting fees are rather limited these days.

I took a look at your April 2021 pictures again, and see that there is quite a difference in the arrangement of the cockpit flooring between your boat and mine. On our LM32, the section of an LM32's cockpit floor that opens to allow access into the storage in the bilge, is set within a larger surround that is securely bolted to the fiberglass floor of the cockpit. The arrangement of the removable lids with the piano hinge, does however sound very similar to yours. I'd post a photo, but the site doesn't currently allow same. If you are interested in seeing the difference, there is a photograph of the arrangement in an LM32 in the fourth image down on the site: www.mcyachts.co.uk/news/new-listing-1979-lm32-argosy-iii/

If there are others who may have refinished the cockpit sole by removing the bolts that hold down the wooden surround, perhaps they can advise if they had any challenges refitting the floor post refinishing.

Thanks again for your help,
Brian.

Brian.

[jandane]

Sure Brian…..I forgot you are the owner of the Flag Ship and not one of the more modest cruisers😜. I guess the sides are fastened with screws from below. I will ask one of the LM32 owners in the Danish LMklubben how-to-do and bring back their reply.
And thanks for the invitation..

[jandane]

Brian . I have now been in contact wit a couple of LM32 owners. They tell, that the panels beside of the engine cover panels, are fastenen from below with screws. A bit troublesome to get to but not rocket science. One of this forum’s administrators, Cris Munson, also owns a LM32 an if you contact him, he may be of additional help.
Good luck

[Brian & Glenda]

Thanks Jandane, You've gone above and beyond to answer my question. Your efforts are very much appreciated.

Yes, I recognise that the wooden panel that forms a surround for the opening lid in the floor of the cockpit is bolted down to the underlying fiberglass sub-deck; but my questions is: If I remove the nuts from all the bolts that hold the wooden surround down, and lift wooden surround from it's fiberglass subfloor, will I be able to get all these bolts back in place when it is time to replace the wooden cockpit floor surround? Will they align properly after all this time? I worry that there may be some stresses on these bolts after fourty years of use that may make the realignment of the bolts back into the holes in the fiberglass sub floor that they came from, very challenging. I was wondering if anyone had ever undone all of these nuts from their bolts, and removed the wooden surround from their cockpit floor of their LM 30 or 32, and how their refit of that floor went.