Cork flooring

[Jentine]

for sure. I have looked into Marine Tek to replace the teak seats in my cockpit. It is a vinyl and comes in 3"wide strips that interlock. It is a nice product. They sent samples. I am going to lay them in the sun for the summer to see how they weather. Now, as for cork!!!!!!!
Sean, I know, from the photos of your boat and the intense labor that you have described, that you have better taste than cork. It is ugly................ugly,ugly,ugly. That is the only description for it. It looks like hell after a short period. Six or seven years ago, a friend in the flooring business approached me with the idea of redoing my kitchen with it. I told him to give me a tile and left it in my driveway for a month. I assumed that would replicate the use it would get in the kitchen in a couple of years. After several weeks of wind, rain and sun, I would not give it space in the **** can. It was horrible. We now have ceramic tile.
There are many products that would lend themselves to your application that would wear well for many years. Google has many sites that relate to floors.
Jim

[Lodesman]

Jim - you get a lot of wind rain and sun in your kitchen, do you? Forget about the floor and worry about your roofing Beauty and for that matter, ugliness is in the eye of the beholder. Not sure I'd trust your taste, if you want to replace teak with vinyl...

Wheels - fashion in flooring, like other things is cyclical. If cork is 'out' in NZ, what's in - shag carpet and peel-n-stick tile?

Kevin

[sneuman]

Jim,

I think you're thinking of Tek-Dek, that is different - as you described.

I am not 100% positive it was called MarineTek 2000, but it was definitely a different product than what you're describing (I too was sent samples of Tek-Dek - interesting).

[ssullivan]

Whew... this isn't getting any easier.

It's tough to sort out the vastly differing points of view. Now if cork is not going to look good, how else could I achieve a very dark brown flooring with black specks in it at an extremely high gloss? That is what we are shooting for.

Thanks!

What's with the wine bottle reference? All mine have screw caps
I have looked into the Tek stuff, and do not like the look. It just has a look of plastic to it. IMHO It does wear well from what I have heard, but I would stick with the cork.

[capt lar]

I stayed off this one, but here goes....in residential construction.... cork flooring was found only in the kitchens of high end homes in the 50's. It was very expensive even then. Hand made tile was also popular. They both lasted forever so they can still be found. Cork went out of style, but really was replaced by less expensive wood flooring. Cork has been making a modest comeback, but today's version is thinner and therefor there are more call backs and unhappy owners after install. Smart contractors avoid it because they know with wood or tile, there is little risk of warranty issues. Proper subfloor is critical. I guess that means you want a stiff boat so edges will not lift.
Sean, I know your existing sole is just veneer ply and you have some damaged areas. If this were a job on land, I would have a good veneer guy, cabinet maker or furniture restorer patch the damaged areas with new veneer and refinish. They can make it invisible. She is a boat, after all, and I fear you will put a lot of time and $ into a floor - not really needed. I would buy a dark runner, or a few area rugs with desired flecks and move on. This one could bite you in the ass. If the cork does not hold up, you will have a mess on your hands and you really need to focus on charter business. Service and good cruising will make them happy, not the cabin sole.

Larry

[CaptainK]

I agree. I'm begining to think as well. That cork might be a bad call, Sean.

I'd go with something cheaper and more effective. And be thinking more away from cork. Try putting a dark rug in?

[ssullivan]

Thanks for the inputs. Larry, I know you are a contractor/builder so I'm all ears with what you have to say. We are going back to the stores today to try and find alternatives.

Thanks to everyone who responded. It was a good exercise in trying to figure out what to do. It helped with 90% of the difficulty in finding a floor, and helped me find some new options I hadn't evne though of.

[ssullivan]

After all these great discussions, we have arrived at a conclusion.

Cork: I was able to push my fingernail into a sample and pop out a chunk of cork. Ouch. While I do like it, I can't use it becase it will likely rip apart where the cabin sole boards meet each other.

Vinyl: Some interesting patterns, but when you see it in person, it looks cheap.

Teak and Holly Laminate: We are going for a different design. Just doesn't fit.

Ipay or Okume Laminate: This is it! We will get 5/8" sheets, like the current cabin sole, stain it to the dark brown, and varnish, varnish and varnish some more. This should result in a very dark, but very glossy sole.

Thanks for the input. It has helped us explore all of the options and land on one that seems to work. No flecks, but it's going to be durable!