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Teak sole and gunwale/covering boards new install

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Beau, Feb 23, 2020.

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  1. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    But they don't just do flat covering boards over your fiberglass covering board, the covering board is L shaped and wraps around the inside of the gunnel too, where they used to put the old school coming pads, SO you don't see it being raised AT ALL. Go to a marina and look at a new Viking or Hatteras or etc with teak covering boards and you will understand what I'm talking about.

    LIKE THIS:
    https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=1452B4F6C41C35387A8807EE132AC99C4298A104&thid=OIP.QIjNzR26ajzXhdMcAYQ1nQHaE7&mediaurl=http://www.tradeaboat.co.nz/media/15330515/hatteras-45-fishing-deck_500x333.jpg&exph=333&expw=500&q=hatteras+sportfish+teak+covering+boards&selectedindex=15&qpvt=hatteras+sportfish+teak+covering+boards&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=1,2,6
  2. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    If you are referring to the photo I posted, none of the high-gloss varnished surfaces are meant to walk on them.
    Natural caulked planks forming the main part of the deck floor are.
    BTW, walking areas on that boat are MUCH larger elsewhere, compared to the walkarounds: cockpit, bow, flybridge.
    And in spite of being all made in structural caulked teak planks, kept 100% natural, I can assure you that also those surfaces can become slippery when wet.
    Much less than when varnished or coated of course, but definitely more than the typical micro-diamonds gelcoat surface of moulded GRP decks, anyway.

    That said, considering Beau explanations on how the cockpit boards were built in his boat, I agree that doing the cockpit sole alone is the best compromise.
    I wouldn't do it if it were my boat, for the reasons I already mentioned, but there's no denying that it would look very nice indeed, also leaving the boards as they are.
  3. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    I see what you mean, but can't get round the need to have some further wood thickness on top of the existing boards: L shaped boards might not look higher, but they are.
    As I understood, what Beau doesn't want (but I'm glad to be corrected by him if I got it wrong) is to further increase the height, rather than just give the visual impression of not having done so.
  4. Alzira II

    Alzira II Member

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    The L shaped boards may raise the height but the deck of the cockpit would also go up some so the difference would net out a bit.
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Exactly this, deck height is increasing a little over 3/4" at the same time.
  6. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    I get that, but aesthetically the cockpit would appear overall higher anyhwow.
    And even more so considering that the teak capping would catch the eye, so to speak.
    We are now splitting hairs a bit, anyway.
  7. cleanslate

    cleanslate Senior Member

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    It looks like you have oil on your deck. It's dark, not grey or light golden . Like Deks Olje or tung oil.
  8. Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    Thankfully it's loaded inside. Best place for it! After all my bluster, I'll probably just keep it the way it is - but the teak covering boards and sole look sooo nice.
  9. cleanslate

    cleanslate Senior Member

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    Since I posted that picture of my old Matthews you got your wood up!
    Why not trade that Post in for a classic Rybovich, Merrit, or Monterey! Plenty of wood there.
    See Old Cleanslate knows his Sportfishing boats...nothing against Post , they are a fine Glass Sportfisherman. I'm talking wood right now.
  10. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    There is a company that painted a new Hatteras 70' GT toe rail to look just like varnished wood and it looked really sharp. I don't know the name of it, but if you're already happy with the shape and height of your gunnels, possibly just have them painted to look like teak without any of the maintenance.
  11. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    I can see why you would say so from the above photo, but nope, that deck never saw one single drop of oil.
    It's a bit darkish in the photo for two reasons: at that time, it had just been sanded after recaulking.
    Besides, there wasn't much sun light inside the shelter where the photo was taken.
    In fact, also the varnished parts look darker in that photo than they were in flesh.

    Aside from the necessary sanding upon recaulking, I never did anything at all to the deck.
    So, they quickly turned grey-ish.
    Some people don't like that, and keep sanding, cleaning with two parts stuff, whatever.
    For me, it's just the nature of the beast.
    Trying to keep the decks of a timber boat constantly light golden is just a recipe for wearing them out faster.
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2020
  12. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    R U sure it was a paint job? I've seen a similar result achieved with wrapping, and it wasn't bad at all (though I can't vouch for its durability).
    I would expect the pattern variations of natural wood to be very hard to replicate with paint.
  13. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    This one was paint. They laid down a base brown color, then airbrushed the grain into it, then clear coated it.
  14. CTdave

    CTdave Senior Member

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    I haven't read the responses yet so this might have already been said. I replaced the covering boards on my old 42' Post. It really is a simple job! I removed the existing and made templates with heavy construction paper. To make it with only three pieces, the transom piece was something like 18" wide to cover the whole curve. I cut the new 5/8" pieces with a regular skill saw with a 5" blade which made the curves easily. I rounded over the top edges with a 1/4 round router bit then I dry fit everything, made some small modifications then installed. I did not use screws! All I did was get 14 good adjustable clamps and two sand bags. The bow of the transom was much more than you would think so the sand bags worked perfectly while I made final adjustments. I used West System Epoxy to secure it all and it never had an issue. It was a fun job & didn't take long at all.
  15. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    Having never seen a Post in flesh, you are now making me curious to understand how the original covering boards were made, because I would have guessed that removing them is a helluva job.
    Beau (or anyone else), do you possibly have any photo that you don't mind publishing?
  16. Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    There are at least two types/ One is an actual teak board fastened to the flat cockpit gunwale surround. The other is a raised glass "board" that's part of the original mold. It has a non skid surface and is part of the deck plate fastened to the hull. Just like a glass toe rail in place of a teak toe rail.
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2020
  17. Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    From outside the boat that's going to be a mountain of glass and teak
  18. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    AND weight?
  19. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    You're only talking about 3/4" thick for the teak covering boards.
  20. CTdave

    CTdave Senior Member

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    In my case, not too bad. The original covering boards were glued and screwed. The screws were easy, I just knocked out what was left of the bungs and backed out the screws. I forget what it was called but the adhesive was that old brownish epoxy but it was so brittle at that point, it scraped off pretty easily then I used an orbital sander to remove the rest and scuff up the glass a bit for a clean surface for the West System epoxy to adhere to.

    Ok, I can't find any old photos of the cockpit (pre cell phone cameras) but I'll poke fun at myself as it was a first. A celestial tide, wind blow out and a notoriously shallow area of the ICW heading to CT from Stuart, Fl in an area called Palm Bay FL. Notice the posture of the sea tow guy? He's hopelessly stuck too. So were five other boats close by. You can almost see covering boards LOL! Post time sudden stop 4.jpg Post Time sudden stop2.jpg