Teak...again

[adamganz]

The teak conversation that never ends. A few questions:

Still waffling on my decision between varnish and teak. As I lean towards cetol, I'm a little concerned about how the companionway should be treated. In additon to the boards themselves, there are trim pieces that face both interior and exterior, and I'm wondering if using cetol here will look strange inside the boat. I guess i'm wondering whether i should use varnish on the companionway so the interior teak doesn't take on the cetol tint. Overthinking?

Also, i want to re-caulk the exterior trim around the companionway. Any advice on the best way to remove the existing caulk, and any suggestions on what to use for the new caulk?

Thanks!

Adam

[John Stone]

My recommendation: The drop boards are teak. Don't varnish or treat them with cetol. They are very tough. If you leave them bare, they look great against varnish wood. Also, they won't scratch when you stack them . . . if you leave them bare.

[Steve Laume]

I went exactly the opposite way as Adam.

The exterior sides of the companionway are finished with Cetol along with the rest of the ext teak. I switched to poly for the interior and the break line is in the groove that the drop boards ride in. It makes for a neat and simple transition. My drop boards are gorgeous with 14 or more coats of varnish on them at this point. It is like having a really nice door on a house. It is the first thing you see before entering and one one treats the int and ext trim the same way.

To keep the drop boards in such pristine condition is pretty easy. I made up a one piece, winter board out of a sheet of 3/4", construction grade, plywood. It is painted white and has a vent in the top board. It goes in for the winter or any time I want to take the drop boards home to put a few more coats of varnish on them; while sitting at a bench. During the summer the boards are somewhat protected from direct sunlight by the dodger. When I take them out of the slot they go directly into a fleece bag I made for them. It was a pretty simple sewing project that is just a bag with three slots to keep them all playing nice with each other and their surroundings.

The only other ext teak that gets varnish instead of Cetol is the cockpit table and my belaying pin handles, for similar reasons. It is easy to take home and can be protected most of the time.

I also keep the ships bell and the builder's plate polished while all other brass and bronze are left to have some sort of patina. There is a similar logic involved here and just a bit of bling is nice, Steve.

[swhfire21]

I'm a fan of bare teak on exterior with a coat of teak oil in the spring. It's easy, simple and look goods. On the interior of the boards I follow the scheme set by the grab rails etc... If varnished that's what I do, if bare I leave the inside of boards bare.

I would not use cetol on interior. It would look funny compared to other finishes.

Hope this helps,

[adamganz]

Steve (Laume), I think I'm trying to do the same thing you've done, Cetol on the exterior and varnish on the drop boards both exterior and interior. The groove for the boards on the side of the companionway is the perfect stopping point. But what did you do on the teak "sill" below the drop boards? That piece runs from the exterior to the interior on my boat; there's no groove or natural break point...and on the interior that silk piece is part of additional teak trim so there's no transition point inside the boat. Adam

[Steve Laume]

I handled the sill the exact same way. The reason it works on Raven is that I do have a break. I could never understand why there wasn't any sort of stop on the sill to keep water from getting in under the bottom drop board, so I made one out of teak and screwed it in place. It is only 1/4 to 3/8" thick but it does keep water from seeping in and provides a nice transition. The outside of my sill is Cetol, the stop and Int are Poly.

It really doesn't effect stepping in and out of the boat, Steve.

[Jim Walsh]

I handled the sill the exact same way. The reason it works on Raven is that I do have a break. I could never understand why there wasn't any sort of stop on the sill to keep water from getting in under the bottom drop board, so I made one out of teak and screwed it in place. It is only 1/4 to 3/8" thick but it does keep water from seeping in and provides a nice transition. The outside of my sill is Cetol, the stop and Int are Poly.

It really doesn't effect stepping in and out of the boat, Steve.

That's a fine solution. I wish I were that talented. I used some self stick weatherstripping and popped it on the base of the bottom drop board. It works.....even though it's not one of the more elegant features normally associated with Cape Dory's. If anyone ever points at it and giggles I'll claim it was affixed as a temporary solution.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Steve:

Any photos you can share

Thanks.

[Capt Hook]

Living in the Gulf South and having the boat exposed to sun 24/7/365 I'm hesitant to tackle varnishing the teak.

How much different is multiple coats of Cetol without topping with gloss versus just oiling the teak?

[tjr818]

This all depends on the look you want. All of our teak is Cetol, some with gloss some not, but the drop boards are the easiest teak to take care of. We bring ours home, strip, scrape or sand as required and use poly spar varnish, it lasts for years. This is a very easy winter project. If the boat is not going to be under cover, make a simple plywood drop board to use while refinishing the teak.
I wish all of our teak was gray, but it was freshly Settled when we bought her six years ago and I just cannot let her go through the long ugly process of peeling finish . . . yet!

[Jim Walsh]

Living in the Gulf South and having the boat exposed to sun 24/7/365 I'm hesitant to tackle varnishing the teak.

How much different is multiple coats of Cetol without topping with gloss versus just oiling the teak?

This is not a specific answer to your question but I can state that I followed the Cetol application guide which recommends three coats of Cetol followed by two coats of their gloss. It has performed very well but our season is six months long and the sun is certainly less severe up here. This fall or next spring I will sand lightly and apply another coat of gloss as they recommend. Since first wooded and applied in 2013 it has performed quite well in my opinion.

[adamganz]

Jumping back to my initial post...I want to recaulk the sides of the companionway where the teak meets the gelcoat - after I've refinished that exterior teak. Any thoughts on removal of the existing caulk? And what to use for new caulk?

[mgphl52]

As typical, my suggestion is to caulk with marine grade rubber butyl tape.