DSI; Rebuild Floorboard Advice

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DSI; Rebuild Floorboard Advice

Postby hriehl1 » Mon Oct 27, 2008 3:36 pm

Now that my hull has been painted, the winter project is next.

The floorboard wood on my '68 DS1 is in basically decent shape, but they really need to be rebuilt to be sturdier. The original staples attaching the main slats to the crossmember ribs are corroded and popping loose, and various repairs with bronze ribbed-nails have been only marginally successful.

I am planning to re-do the whole thing, running #8 SS wood screws (with finish washers) from the topside of the slats down into the ribs. This will certainly alter the appearance of the floorboards with all those SS screw-head-and-washer "nubs", but those nubs may actually improve grip underfoot.

Before I proceed with spending $50 on SS screws and washers, has anyone else rebuilt their floorboards? How? Were you happy with the results? What would you have done differently... or how would you advise me?

Thanks in advance.
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Postby algonquin » Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:03 pm

I would hesitate to put the fasteners in through the top. It may give some extra foot grip but could cause bare foot passengers injury. Also it would look pretty tacky and not very nautical.

When I did mine I rebuilt the ribs and countersunk holes in the ribs so I could put the SS fasteners in from the bottom. I moved the ribs sightly so the fasteners went into fresh wood in the floorboards and not into the old holes. Brad

Yes I was happy with the results :D :D :D
"Feather" DS1 #818
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Postby hriehl1 » Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:25 pm

Interesting, I considered the bottom-up approach, but decided the slats were too thin to give the screws (from below) enough to bite on to hold fast.

The tacky look is why I'm hedging and seeking other opinions.

I also considered bronze screws, but their lack of strength scared me a bit.

And I considered counter-sinking the screws without the finish washers to get more of a flush result, but felt that would be more likely to create splinters in the floorboards that would be even harder on bare feet.
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floorboards

Postby MrPlywood » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:02 pm

I believe my floorboards are original, and they have flathead bronze screws installed from the top. The screws are countersunk and slightly below the wood surface. No worries about bare feet. After stripping the wood I varnished right over the screws. The boards are very non-slip with the new finish.

I found some good info on marine screws here: http://tinyurl.com/6gmyr5 - - ( the link takes you to a google.com book preview - the section on screws starts on page 28...)

This is a shot of mine 661

Here are some more complete pics of someone else's. Mine look like this except that mine are one piece, right and left sides.

http://www.vhst04.net/daysailer/floorbo ... _a_ds1.htm
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Postby djd » Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:04 am

My floor boards were in rough shape. Some of the slats were cracked and/or broken and the original cleats were replaced with pine. The undersides were painted with white latex and the varnish on top had weathered badly.

I removed the cleats and made new ones out of mahogany. Used a belt sander to remove the finish off the good boards and replaced the damaged ones. Put everything back together using countersunk brass screws from the top. Then sanded again and gave it several coats of Minwax Clear Shield.

They look very good and seem to be holding up after two years. I think the screws look OK from the top. Screwing them together from the bottom would hide the fasteners, but I always prefer to screw the thinner piece to the thicker piece. You can use longer screws for a better grip.

Dennis
(Don't know how to post pictures...)
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Postby kokko » Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:49 am

I completely disassembled the floorboards, sanded and refinished. I used West WoodPro. THere were a few ribs that were shot, so I cut some replacements out of oak. I reinstalled the original screws - countersunk as before, and replaced a few. Since some the the ribs were shot, I adhered little rubber feet to the bottom of the ribs so they were not in direct contact with the hull.
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Postby hriehl1 » Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:21 pm

Well, I went with Stainless Steel flathead screws and finish washers. I don't mind the look, and actually think the many "nubs" will be good for footing.

They are certainly solid now.
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