Floorboard lock-downs

[Valiente]

This is sort of a continuation of the "floorboard latch" thread.

I have a nice carpeted saloon. Trust me, you'd like it. But one of the hazards of "owner-finished" custom boats is that it is painfully obvious where they've either failed to think things through, or have just cheaped out. My cabin sole and locker lids are examples of this. The entire floor is held together with galvanized drywall screws. Cheap and will rust in salt air. Haven't rusted in fresh water air, which proves to me even more than the minimal surface rust that the boat's never seen salt. So: OK...all those screws must be replaced with SS or silicon bronze #10s. Tedious, but necessary.

Now, the PO made a lot of snugly fitting lids in what looks like birch veneer ply. They all have nice little brass pull rings...but no positive lock-downs whatsoever.

Anywhere. Gravity is the only tie-down.

Given I'll be putting literally a ton or two of loose gear under those same floorboards, what would be a good recommendation? The joists beneath are structural timber.

[sailaway21]

Val,
Originally, I thought perhaps you could use something like the "Flush Ring Catch" as shown on page 559, figure 'M' of the 2007 West Marine catalog. But then my Dutch heritage kicked in. How about making up a channel, out of wood, affixing one to each end on the underside of the lids, with a piece of wood to slide outward in it. Then, route a slot in the lid, just big enough for your finger to go through, and will a similar hole in the piece of wood, you could slide your "latch" back and forth. Or you could route a slimmer hole, and glue a brass pin in the wooden "dog". The channels I am trying to describe would look like those on one of those wine glass racks, where the glasses hang upside down. If you epoxied all the wooden parts up for moisture sealing (which you've probably already done to the birch ply) you could slide them out and give them a rub down periodically with paraffin and I'd bet they'd slide just dandy.

If you didn't want to make the channels out of wood, you could use the window channel WM has on page 582 at 8' for $26, instead. But I think a trip to the lumber yard, in the molding department, will probably reveal something you can just cut and screw/glue down.

I find that the WM catalog brings out the thriftiness in me like nothing else.(g)

[sailingdog]

I think that what you use for a catch for the floorboards really depends on what is stowed beneath said floorboards. If you stow heavy, relatively unsecured items below, then you want to have massive latches, that can resist the force of them hitting the floorboards in the case of a knockdown or capsize. If the items below the floorboards are either light, or well-secured, then you would need less massive latches.

I personally like the recessed quarter-turn twist lock latches... but they're a bit expensive and not suitable for some purposes.

[Cruisingdad]

Val,

I have the same project coming up. Let me know what you went with and how you like them. THanks.

- CD

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by sailaway21

I find that the WM catalog brings out the thriftiness in me like nothing else.(g)

No kidding. Catalogues inspire me to design better stuff than catalogues offer. Thanks for the tip. Seeing as I'll have to entirely dissemble the sole anyway to rectify the drywall screw issue, I'll have plenty of time to think this through.

If I put skinny AGMs down there, I'll need a lot more and beefier access hatches, anyway. I might just use sheets of 1/4" aluminum, covered in carpet and gasketed over wooden square frames.

[sailaway21]

If you did that, those quarter turn dogs/latches that the Dog was talking about would work neato-gee-boss. What is the trade name for those things, Dog?

[Idiens]

Originally Posted by Valiente

If I put skinny AGMs down there, I'll need a lot more and beefier access hatches

True, tie those babies down individually. Now that spare anchor.... Those extra water bottles...

[hellosailor]

PYI has some nice bayonet fittings that run about $15 each in brass or stainless.

http://www.pyiinc.com/images/pdf/pan...oor_Anchor.pdf

Good in that they leave no holes, bad in that they need a coin or screwdriver to open.

A fingerhole allowing you to work a barrel bolt or slider below the floorboard probably would wind up costing even more in time and materials by the time you got down, but certainly could be made up for less if you had some time and materials.