Cabin Sole/floorboards

[dguidry]

Any suggestions on design and construction of cabin sole/floorboards for small skiff?

[Thorne]

Varnished lumberyard fir, holes for tube bilgepump. Screwed and glued to oak cross supports underneath, gaps between the boards too small to catch hardware or line.

I tried an oiled wood surface but the mud got into the grain rapidly, so sanded back and now use varnish.

http://www.luckhardt.com/floorboards1.jpg

[dguidry]

How do you support and secure them?

[Thorne]

Good question! I'll let you know when I figger it out...

;0 )

They are supported by the oak crossbars resting on the bottom planks between the frames -- the photo shows 'em upside down.

Securing is more difficult. Currently I use large SB screws with the heads cut off as pins into the cleats on the bottom planks. The pins go through holes in the floorboards which keep them from shifting around. This works fine but is very dangerous if you remove the floorboards -- now you have spikes in the bottom of the boat.

Did it that way because I wanted to be able to use tape-wrapped lead plates as ballast between the frames and under the floorboards. So if I dump the dory skiff, the lead can push the floorboards out of the way and sink to the bottom. However recently I don't bother with the ballast.

Otherwise I'd work up a more normal twist-button lock like most small boats use.

Bob's excellent web article on floorboards for his Gunning Dory -

http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/smalser/articles_614e.shtml
http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/images/619d.jpg

[Daniel Noyes]

The floor boards on the Ipswich Bay I built just drop in between deck supports and centerboard trunk, and extend forward under deck beams. they stay put very well.
http://dansdories.googlepages.com

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/146/380051104_5ea98220a6.jpg?v=1170643410http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/380010348_05cea954b3.jpg?v=0