Need Amtico flooring advice!

[hibanx]

I am considering Amtico flooring for the galley, companionway, v-berth, and head on my 43C. I know a lot of you have used Amtico on your Hatt's. My question is, how do you treat the border of the access hatches in the sole? Is there an edging material that can be used to create a border around the access panels, or do you trim it out with aluminum angle molding? Upon searching the forum I saw one person used a router to create a notch to inset strips of real teak mitered at the corners to trim out each hatch. Is there an easier way? I would be grateful if anyone can post pictures of other methods. Thanks.

 

[MikeP]

We did "picture framing" using (real) teak. It requires routing the hatches and the floor but it looks nice (to us, anyway).

Here's a pic of the little hatch at the aft end of the passageway but we did them all the same way. In addition to the passageway hatch, there are two hatches in the galley - the double (hinged) one for the genny and the single one under the dinette table and the hatch in the forward compartment.

In the pic you can see the the gray bilge coat paint under the hatch at the joint seam due to the reflection from the camera flash. That grey is not visible in any conditions other than a photo with flash taken from that specific angle. Carpet aft of passageway is now different.

 

[hibanx]

Mike,

You replied while I was editing my post. I saw your solution during my forum search. Looks great, but I was looking for an easier solution. My carpentry skills would make your method very challenging for me. I was hoping there was a product that is the same thickness as the Amtico so you don't have to route a channel around every hatch. Otherwise, I guess it will have to T-molding.

 

[MikeP]

We started out with the same stuff as the oem AL molding for the same reason - it was the easiest thing but after about a month we just didn't like the look at all with the Amtico teak/holly.

"My carpentry skills would make your method very challenging for me."

It would have been for me too! I can do basic woodwork but I don't consider it one of my skills.The hatch surrounds are one of the very few items I didn't do on the boat myself, we had a cabinet guy who has made some custom cabinets for us do it. Didn't take him very long and, as I recall, the total cost for all the hatches was 300 bucks. He routed/cut/fit/attached the teak, all I did was apply the finish.

 

[hibanx]

Thanks Mike, I will consider having a real carpenter do it. I just came across this an option too..
http://www.lowes.com/pd_326797-6008...-_-Shaw 1-3/4" x 94" T-Moulding&"cagpspn=pla" Might look better than aluminum...

 

[MikeP]

We tried that too after we decided we didn't like the oem trim! But we didn't like it because we thought was too thick off the floor level - thicker than the oem AL trim. If you don't find the thickness to be objectionable, it's an inexpensive way to do it.

We might have been OK with the oem-style AL trim but we couldn't find it in a color that we liked with the teak/holly.

Good Luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Angela]

I did what MikeP did, sort of. Instead of going around the hatch lid and then going around the hatch opening, I used a single piece of teak batten that was as wide as the two smaller stripe would be. Then, I cut them like the "picture frame" as Mike did, but I screwed them down with black screws (like Hatt did in the trim around the boat) where I centered the batten over the cut of the hatch. So, when I pulled the hatch up, I had a raw hole, but who's going to see that? With the hatch in place, it looks nice. I'll post a photo of mine later. I started out intending to do it the way Mike did, but with the way I ultimately decided to proceed, it was half the work since I would be going around the hatch once instead of twice. The way I did it worked for all of my hatches except the big one that accesses the generator room. That one is too heavy to stand on it's end and not risk breaking the teak trim. The other, little ones I just set down flat when I open them.

 

[hibanx]

Ang,

Did you use a router to recess the trim to be flush with the floor, or did you overlap it on top of both sides of the gap? Post a pic when you get a chance, thanks.

 

[Angela]

I did not route out the flooring, but that would make for a very nice touch, and I'd probably still be working on them today had I gone to that level of detail. I had about 13 hatches downstairs to do. I did not cover up the hatches for all of the struts, shower drain access, etc. like lots of people do, but rather, I finished out the hatch so I could access them without having to rip up the floor. I used the teak batten to straddle the crevice. To do it like I did, however, your hatches will need to be in good shape, with good support underneath ensuring they are level and sound. Any wobbling in the hatch and the trim could split. I had some hatches that needed some shoring up from below, and I was glad to have an excuse to make me go do that - it's annoying to me to step on a hatch and have it wiggle.

The teak batten I used is probably 1/4" thick, or less. The thickness doesn't bother me while walking on it, though. I was able to finish those teak pieces with two wipings of tung oil, and then it looked just like the walls.

 

[Angela]

Now, if you want to get real anal about these hatches, like I started out doing....I did my first hatch in a back corner of the master closet, the one that lets me get to the valve at the bottom of the second water tank, because I was still experimenting with how to finish all these hatches and if I screwed it up, I wanted it to be out of sight. Turned out that it was the prettiest hatch I have ever trimmed out.

I took 90° teak angle trim and when around the outside of the hatch, and then around the hatch lid. This created a finished edge inside and out so that when the lid was off the hatch, the hole was finished off both on top of the floor and down the side. This involved a lot of complex angle cuts and took me damn near all day for that one little booger! That's when I decided...yeah, that's all nice and pretty but who, other than me, is going to see an open hatch and be critical of the raw edge? Certainly not a guest on the boat and if so, then I've got bigger worries than what an open hatch looks like - it's not like the bilge below is particularly pretty. And at that rate, I'd be working on those hatches forever.

That's when I oped for Plan B. I'll post a photo of that one pretty hatch I did. I am going to do the generator room hatch in that fashion so that when I open that big heavy lid, I can still stow it upright in it's frame. I've not been looking forward to that chore and a small decorative rug covers the hatch nicely for now.

 

[hibanx]

Thanks Ang. That answers my question. Good luck on the big hatch!

 

[MikeP]

WOW Ang! You trimmed out all those little hatches? I never counted them when the carpet was out but I'm sure there are at least 12-15. There are 5 just in the passageway from the guest stateroom head to the master suite. Of course I have to pull up the W/W carpeting to get to them but it's not that difficult - it's up as we speak a I'm putting in the PVC waste pipe to the mater head (taking another break!).

 

[Angela]

WOW Ang! You trimmed out all those little hatches?

Yep, every stinkin' one of them! I have no carpet on the boat anywhere (and a lot less dust as a result!), so I had to cut the hatches because I can't just take up the floor to get at them when I needed to. It's a boat, and floor hatches look "boaty", I guess.

 

[MikeP]

Totally agree re carpet - we now have carpet in about 1/2 the boat and when it's time to replace it, we won't! Currently carpet is in the master and guest SRs, the passageway between them (from the passageway door just aft of the eng rooms), and 2/3 of the salon. The rest is Amtico teak/holly.

 

[johnluz]

Very interested in this topic, I am looking to install the marine grade Amtico in my helm, aft deck and cockpit. Would like to no if if the installation is easy to DYS or needs to be hired out. Also would like comments on installing it on my swim platform.

 

[PeterK]

Amtico makes excellent flooring products. In my previous lives (boating is becoming my life now!), I was a flooring contractor (did some very large ?Amtico jobs) and a flooring failure analyst (looked at many vinyl failures). With he urethane adhesives now being used, you can install these products (there are more than a few luxury vinyl manufacturers) without a big concern if they will stay in place, PROVIDED your subfloors are suitable. If the type of substrate is suitable, bear in mind any irregularities will telegraph through to the face of the material, even a grain of sand!

As for installing it on a swim platform, I can't state with certainty if it will be acceptable long term. I'm pretty confident if the adhesive is put on when the platform is dry and is allowed to fully cure before getting wet, it would hold. I would be more concerned with UV degradation. I would suspect there will be some color loss and even some plasticizer migration issues.

Square tiles are quite easy to install. Planks are not too much harder but require a little different approach when you strike your starting points.

I'd be happy to answer any floor questions on products, installation and/or maintenance for any who might like help. It may be the only topic I can contribute any assistance on for this board and would make me feel like I'm giving a little back!

 

[MikeP]

I did all the Amtico teak/holly install on our boat - if you do a search there should be several posts re that, including what I learned as I progressed. I had a lot of pics posted as well but they may be gone now. It's not hard but there are a few things to be aware of, especially if you are doing something like teak/holly as opposed to flooring tiles.