Westsail 32' Shower Grate

[Danibug]

Hi all. Our Westsail 32' 1974 boat has the original (HEAVY) teak and holly floor panel covering the bottom of the shower.

This means everytime I want to shower I have to somehow lift this heavy thing up put it "somewhere", then replace.

I have seen pictures of a Westsail 32' with a shower grate in place of the floor panel, that looks like it can be left permanently and is flush with the rest of the cabin floor.

Anyone have any experience/advice installing something similar? Cost?

I know they make custom teak (expensive and not for us) and starboard (cheaper and right up our alley like this one: Custom Shower And Cockpit Grates - King Starboard Anti-Skid)

I have attached a pic of the Westsail (not of our boat) aforementioned shower area.

Any advice would be helpful! Thanks.
Dani

[SV Demeter]

I think you posted the answer to your own question with the starboard version. Sounds like the way to go to me.

[Kawan]

We had a teak shower grate on our trawler which gave up the ghost after a mere 30 years, so I replaced with a large cedar patio tile I found in a garden store. I had to trim it to size, and paint it with Cetol, but it's now done 2 years and seems to be holding up fine. It was assembled ,as bought,with SS screws.
Jon

[Cheechako]

I made one out of clear cedar too. Lightweight and rot resistant. The newer cedar from small trees is not near as good though. Also... watch for slivers with cedar! Find CVG cedar and more likely to be old growth. Starboard would be nice . Heavy though. Sounds like an easy project...

[SV Demeter]

My friend has a wetsnail 32 as well and he says:

Mine is not a grate but teak 'slats' which was cheaper and more durable, made by me taking a template of paper, folding it up and sending it to someone like this : http://www.cruisingconcepts.com/Flrbrds.htm

[Danibug]

Wow thanks for all the input. I got with Tate and he doesn't like the idea of Starboard (the look and feel is cheap to him I suppose).

Also he is afraid if we replace the floor panel completely with a grate it might squeak, and creak right there in the boat (flexing). We plan to live on the boat full time, Any one experience creaking?

His idea is to take the existing floor panel (HEAVY, thick cabin sole, teak and holly) and cut a square or circle out of it and then install a grate into the floor panel itself..Leaving the edges of the floor panel to deal with the boats shifting and creaking.

It will also ensure that the floor panel in the shower area is flush with the cabin sole for walking.

Great find with the Cedar... I'd have to check the prices to see if it's cheaper than teak.

I will post pics later If I can remember of the process...The weather is keeping us from really diving back into work yet on Sundowner, so I was milling about different ideas of projects I'd like to undertake in the future.

Thanks again!! Cruisers forum is such a great resource.
Dani

[cburger]

Originally Posted by Danibug

Wow thanks for all the input. I got with Tate and he doesn't like the idea of Starboard (the look and feel is cheap to him I suppose).

Also he is afraid if we replace the floor panel completely with a grate it might squeak, and creak right there in the boat (flexing). We plan to live on the boat full time, Any one experience creaking?

His idea is to take the existing floor panel (HEAVY, thick cabin sole, teak and holly) and cut a square or circle out of it and then install a grate into the floor panel itself..Leaving the edges of the floor panel to deal with the boats shifting and creaking.

It will also ensure that the floor panel in the shower area is flush with the cabin sole for walking.

Great find with the Cedar... I'd have to check the prices to see if it's cheaper than teak.

I will post pics later If I can remember of the process...The weather is keeping us from really diving back into work yet on Sundowner, so I was milling about different ideas of projects I'd like to undertake in the future.

Thanks again!! Cruisers forum is such a great resource.
Dani

Sounds like this might be a good way to go, however it is possible that the existing teak and holly could be plywood with a veneer laminate that mimics a solid teak and holly floor. The problem with this is that the end grain on the ply will absorb shower water and eventually rot. If this is the case all exposed end grain should be thoroughly sealed with epoxy.

[Danibug]

Originally Posted by cburger

Sounds like this might be a good way to go, however it is possible that the existing teak and holly could be plywood with a veneer laminate that mimics a solid teak and holly floor. The problem with this is that the end grain on the ply will absorb shower water and eventually rot. If this is the case all exposed end grain should be thoroughly sealed with epoxy.

Thanks for the tip! I'm pretty sure our floor panel is solid teak and holly panels (about 1/2" thick?) You can see the panels when you look horizontally at the floor panel. I hope to remember this thread and post pics when we tackle this project..With SOO many other things to do I imagine it will be 2 years until we get to this one. We don't currently live on the boat, but plan to move on in about 2.5 years..we should have it fixed by then.