Replacing Interior Floor. Advice Welcomed!

[CaptMcMorganaut]

Hi there everyone, first poster here.

 

Recently bought my first barge (a Sheffield Keel 61 footer called Sobriety), and getting her ready to become a liveaboard. Her interior deck is in some places completely rotted away, and appears to have been made from some sort of inferior grade chipboard, topped with oak floorboards. Our plan is to gut the entire interior and rebuild from the deck up, but I'm wondering what is best to replace the interior floor with so that we don't end up having to face the same problem down the line. I'm pretty sure all the moisture has just come from her being sat empty for a few years, her bilges are fairly dry.

 

My original thought was marine ply backed with some kind of sealant layer (obviously still leaving room for bilge hatches) Am I on the right track with this?

 

(pic below of the most damaged area of floor. My foot went through it)

 

[Tracy D'arth]

Can I recommend code 3 or 4 waterproof OSB. Its inert, won't rot or fall apart and not expensive. Its stable and durable out in the weather even.

Modern Marine ply is not what it used to be, cheaper stuff is rubbish.

We won't even talk about chip or MDF will we?

[CaptMcMorganaut]

Just looked it up. Looks good! And about ten quid cheaper per sheet than the marine ply I was looking at. Thanks for the tip! I'd probably still coat the underside with something just for my peace of mind.

[PD1964]

Did you have a pre purchase survey? If this is the Keel I think it is, it was at Google for years and was for sale for a while.

[Tony Brooks]

48 minutes ago, CaptMcMorganaut said:

Just looked it up. Looks good! And about ten quid cheaper per sheet than the marine ply I was looking at. Thanks for the tip! I'd probably still coat the underside with something just for my peace of mind.

That won't be decent marine ply, more like far eastern rubbish from a shed.

[Tracy D'arth]

Just now, Tony Brooks said:

That won't be decent marine ply, more like far eastern rubbish from a shed.

? thought it was OSB he was referring to.

[Tony Brooks]

Just now, Tracy D'arth said:

? thought it was OSB he was referring to.

 

I was on about the "marine" ply he thinks is just £10 a sheet more then decent OSB.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

I take it this is the Sobriety, previously moored by the Yorkshire Waterways Museum in Goole?

Congratulations on taking it on. Never seen the appeal in sobriety myself. ?

Edited January 31, 2021 by Jen-in-Wellies

[CaptMcMorganaut]

11 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

I take it this is the Sobriety, previously moored by the Yorkshire Waterways Museum in Goole?

Congratulations on taking it on. Never seen the appeal in sobriety myself. ?

Yes it is! She's a beauty, but is going to need a lot of work! We found a lot of documentation relating to the museum and the "sobriety project" on board.

 

 

21 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

Did you have a pre purchase survey? If this is the Keel I think it is, it was at Google for years and was for sale for a while.

 

Yes, she had a survey done in June of last year, and then a load of remedial work carried out on her as a result. 

[PD1964]

20 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

I take it this is the Sobriety, previously moored by the Yorkshire Waterways Museum in Goole?

Congratulations on taking it on. Never seen the appeal in sobriety myself. ?

Probably, last time I heard anything about it was after the survey last year then it went off to either Harkers/Knottingley or Castleford for work. 
 

6 minutes ago, CaptMcMorganaut said:

Yes, she had a survey done in June of last year, and then a load of remedial work carried out on her as a result. 

Yes that was what I was hoping as I know the survey didn’t go too well at Stannilands. Good luck.

Edited January 31, 2021 by PD1964

[CaptMcMorganaut]

11 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

Probably, last time I heard anything about it was after the survey last year then it went off to either Harkers/Knottingley or Castleford for work. 
 

Yes that was what I was hoping as I know the survey didn’t go too well at Stannilands. Good luck.

 

Thank you! Yeah, the survey had a long old list of recommended repairs. Thankfully most of the mechanical, structural and electrical work was sorted as a result. Still has a few quirks to iron out (what boat hasn't?), but the main problem for us is the interior, which needs a full refit.

[BEngo]

For flooring you can do worse than 18 mm WBP ply.  Good one side shuttering ply is another name.

Lay it (good side up!) on 1000 gauge builders poly sheet as a vapour barrier, ( the stuff used as a damp proof course under garage floor slabs and house oversite concrete) or treat the underside with oil based primer/undercoat/finish.

 

Mine is still going after 31 years in the boat.

 

N

Edited January 31, 2021 by BEngo