This is for those of you who on occasion inhabit the cabin of your pocket yacht.
A few weeks ago I dropped something hard and edgy on the bottom of my cabin. It left a nice size divot in the plywood that I had to dig out and fill with epoxy. (PITA) To prevent that from happening again, I bought a couple packages of foam rubber puzzle joint shop mats. You know the kind, half inch thick, lock together for placement in front of your work bench to relieve joint pain. I cut them to fit right up to the stringers so that they cover the whole floor and fit tightly enough that they won't move around. An added benefit beyond protecting the bottom of the boat is they sure are easy on the knees and elbows. They are water proof and will float. They come apart so you can take them out without making a mess, and they are cheap.Â
They may not be classy, but they sure work.
Al
That's good thinking Al, though do remove them or stand them up when the boat is going to spend more then a few days unused. These mats (my shop is full of them) will trap moisture under them, which will lead to trouble, unless they're ventilated all around. They make good cockpit seat cushions too.
Yah, I found out about the moisture thing right away.
Last night I left my weekender sticking half out of my pole building without thinking. It wasn't supposed to rain hah! It just so happened that I had left the hatch cover open and the hatch perfectly under the lip of the roof. When I went out to make sure everything was off in the shop, I realized my mistake. There's nothing like bailing out a boat just before going to bed. The floor was floating like it was on a lake. This morning I pulled the boat out to dry it off and found that the under sides of the pads was happily hanging onto what ever water it could. I lifted up the whole thing because I had to really dry it and in the process found that it would take a nice arch shape if I just lifted in the middle and pushed the sides in a bit. That should take care of venting the floor while idle. This would be a home run if the only looked better.
Al
I've got the same floor in the cabin of my Okahu Vacationer and it feels good to have that protection underfoot - hasn't got wet yet but will keep a weather eye on the trapped moisture possibilities; thanks!
Looking forward to getting some sailing time in the next two weeks and will post some pictures.
cheers
Gerrard
We do the same on our Weekender, never thought about cockpit seating, will try that too.
I used a product called dri dek , it's used in industrial sites , tiles that lock together, but are a soft open grid. Protects the floor but also breathes. Downside is stuff can fall through
So, remember how I was complaining about how ugly the rubber floor was on my weekender? Well I have fixed that. The other day I was at Menards picking up carpeting for my boat trailer, when I noticed a product called Comfort Flooring nearby. It is the same stuff as the grey pad I put in last year except that it is finished to look like wood flooring. I bought two packs which was more than I needed for about $25.00. If you don't look too close it looks like wood. Now I have nothing to complain about.
Al
Great score. Looks pretty nice.
At the same time as I picked up the comfort flooring, I bought the chaise lounge pad you can see in the photo. It was about the same price as the flooring and is thick enough that it will be my bed on over night trips. I also plan to use it as a pad in the cockpit while sitting on the bridge deck.Â
Al
Well I'm on my way to Menards. That would look great in "Life Is Good"..............
