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I have a 61 Sea Coaster and I would like to paint the floor. It appears to be original masonite with a texture to it. It is currently painted a tan color and I don't know if this was original color or not. I don't know if it is oil based or not, Sherwin Williams couldn't tell me. I see this porch enamel stuff but will it shine too much in the sun? or is it muted enough? Is there a product that could cover all bets? Paint is currently in a good state, no flaking or peeling. I just want to bring it up to a new look. By the way what was the original floor color? Thanks for any info. Dan

Dan, I have a 1960 Sea Coaster with the same question. My floorboards are also painted a tan color. Does anyone have an answer to this question? Dave

Dan, My unrestored '60 Sea Coaster has flooring that appears to be off-white, while the storage shelf under the dash is tan.

[img][img]http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j320/ ... 016859.jpg[/img]

Perhaps Andreas may know if the floor color was optional. Verne[/img]

Thanks Dan, its pretty similar to mine. Dave

Fellas... I scraped through layers of paint on the floorboards, after removing plastic grassy carpet from my 1960 Seacoaster.... I concluded that it was a pale green mist type color. I have seen other Thompson's that looked like this, so I figured it was original.

I had a local paint company match it for me. Then I added, I believe it was Interlux, anti skid compound to the paint when I repainted. You don't need much. The original texture remained in some spots, but in others it was gone.

By the way, I believe I used the 3M Safe Stripper on these, and I think sanded them as well. I hated to sand, but I wanted to get a lot of the paint off, without sanding the texture off.

Here are a couple of pics. I think it looks a little darker in the pics than it really is. (The speckels here and there on the dash must have been dust on my lens) Also by the way, I raised the bench seat up to the proper height since that photo was taken, and reinstalled the center support.

John.

John,
Looks like you have the same instrument cluster and metalflake Atwood wheel as I do.

They MUST have offered the flooring in different colors, based on original evidence. I'm waiting for Andreas to comment...

Verne

Thanks very much guys you have given me some direction. When I sand down my floorboards I will look for misty green. I will let you know when I get that far. Dave

If you sand them down, they will not be the correct texture. IF you want to remove old paint, you can use automotive paint stripper and a bristle brush, then hose them off.

The misty green is typical for the original factory floor colour that I have witnessed. I have not seen a tan. A grayish tone was used too. Colours and other items changed over the years.

Nautolex vinyl floor covering started to get used on top of the tempered hardboard flooring about 1963???

Andreas

I have a '59 Sea Lancer and I believe that the floor boards are original because they are the same color on both sides and don't have a paint build-up on them like they had been repainted. The color is like a blueish gray similar to Verns in the first picture on this topic. They are like masonite with one side being rougher than the other. The boat still has the original seat cushions in good shape, so that makes it believable to me that the floor boards are original. Some day I will look into posting some pictures of my baby for all to see. I have yet to put it in the water without having to wipe some drool off the deck from some bystanders. This is a great hobby, and hopefully everyone keeps up all the great info coming on this site.

Bill Dunn

Bill, I think you might be looking at the other boat. My floors are an eggshell white and are definitely original, based on the oil stains on them. Nothing on my boat shows any evidence of refinishing. It appears entirely original, used but not abused.

I've been catching up on the news around here when I saw this one. I too believe that this off white/or tan color is original. It is the same look and color as W guy. I gave it a good scrup and it took a substantial part of the grime away. I decided at this point to leave alone and laid some outdoor carpet on it. Nobody freak out here I just laid it on and held it down with the trim boards. I'm leaving my options open for now. This boat stays in the garage so it never wet for any apreaciable amount of time. I did have a great time running it this summer and got a lot of looks. Well, there was the one time the hub blew out on the prop!! Dan

So I'll chime in and horrify everyone. Note that I have a Cortland Built Sea Lancer.

I believe my floors are original. They are this Masonite material, and are painted a boring brown. They are not rotted but lost their rigidity and have a flimsy feel under foot. I scraped down to find the colors as well and believe they were originally white, which would make sense as a match to the white factory vinyl decks.....

SO! I will be cutting new floors out of 3/8 inch ply. So here is the "horrify" moment. I am thinking of using spread on truck bed liner. Ahem. I forget the brand as I am typing this but it comes in black, white, red, and gray. It has a light texture, does not heat up, is impervious to water, wont fade, chip, scratch, stain. It's very flexible. The red they have is a close match the red I am considering when I change out the boring brown. Or then there is the white to match the deck.

I'll use a high quality sealer/paint on the undersides and edges.

When I pulled back the carpet to give the boat a good cleaning this fall I realized that the floor boards are actually grey. They are only painted on the top side and are masonite with the top being rough. The only piece that has been replaced is the back one where the gas tanks ect. sit. This is a Peshtigo Sea Lancer if that helps anyone.
Bill