Marinette Boat Forum

Has anyone installed a wood floor in the salon? I would love to get rid of the carpet and go with a hardwood or even a laminate (wood vaneer) but in my research I have not seen any of them done, everyone seems to have carpet. I have some pretty good conceled hinge ideas for the engine compartment so I don't think that will be an issue. Any thoughts?

I was considering doing the same thing. Weighing the pros and cons decided against it. Too easy for wet feet to slip on, doesn't muffle engine compartment noise. Wood is expensive to purchase and install. But a nice wood sole would look awesome! Hope you go for it and post results.

I personally think a wood floor would not look good. Lots of beautiful wood in our boats already. I am currently considering cork flooring. It's light, sound dampening, , nonslip, rugged, warm and soft on the feet. I need to do a little research on the subject, but I think it would work great.

I installed a cork floor in my 28' express. It looks nice and cleans well, but keep some spare pieces for repairs and remember to reseal it every once and a while. If I ever replace it, I might consider nautolex. Throw rugs or (if you are so inclined) snap in carpet might be a good solution as well--take it out and the end of the season and either wash it or replace it.

Wood and imitation wood looks great but can be slippery. We boarded several gold platers at the Annapolis boat show last week and I slipped more than once--of course they make you remove your shoes so maybe I should have worn nonskid socks!

Joe

Used a lot of cork flooring in kitchens as an Architect......it looks good for a while, then goes downhill pretty fast as a rule.

Here is a product that maybe worth a look
http://www.lowes.com/pd_516565-60080-LX ... yl%2Bplank
I believe Home Depot and Menards carry a similar product.
bill

Hi Guys I used starboard on my salon deck. It has a non-skid pattern molded into the surface that is easy on the feet and the stuff is easy to work with and is unaffected by sun and sea water. When screwed down from the bottom side it makes for a nice looking deck and easy to clean and maintain,nothing sticks to it.

Rivetman wrote:Used a lot of cork flooring in kitchens as an Architect......it looks good for a while, then goes downhill pretty fast as a rule.

Thanks! That's why I love this forum... Saves me mistakes and cash. All you guys are the best!

Snap in carpet is the best idea I've heard! Great idea!

I taped off the perimeter of the plywood salon floor about 18" to 2' deep. I power sanded only this area down to nice fresh wood. I hooked up a small shop vac to catch all the dust. I stained and varnished the bands of wood. I used minwax "gunstock" stain and a minwax quick drying varnish that was floor rated. It was all done in a couple of hours. I found a nice oriental style rug at Menards that had colors that looked good in the salon. I think it was about 5' by 7'. When I rolled it out it made the salon looked great. If I am entertaining any rowdy beer spilling dock mates I can roll it up and put it in the V-berth. It provides good sound deadening and covers the cracks in the engine hatches. When put aside, the rug adds no weight to those hatches.

We laid linoleum down 10 years ago and it's been troublesome and durable. (The wife has allergy problems with mold, so rugs were out.)

The cheapo throw rugs shown are tossed out when they need to be.

Jeff