Replacement Coamings

[casampson]

My coamings are in rough shape, plus I split the port one trying to get it off. I will destroy it if I try to remove it more. leaving me only two options: I can try to refinish it in place or replace the pair. I do not think I can do a good job of sanding it down in place as there are deep grooves in the wood. If I replaced the pair, I was thinking of having them made in mahogany. This would save hundreds of dollars in material costs and might look beautiful in contrast to the teak. Any thoughts?

[jbenagh]

I think mahogany would look good provided you keep it varnished. It reacts worse to water exposure than teak; it kind of darkens.

I used it on the transom of both dinghies I built and it looks really good.

Jeff

[Frenchy]

Chris, I vote for keeping your existing coamings. Hopefully you can get some epoxy into the split and screw everything back
in place. Then, do whatever it takes to smooth out the teak - an 80 grit disc in an oscillating sander should work. It is less
work and less expensive than buying mahogany - real mahogany, that is- not the Philippine ersatz stuff they sell in lumber stores.
The good stuff comes from Africa or Honduras. The teak won't rot, is durable, and you already have it. Good luck - Jean

[John Stone]

Chris
Without pictures of your coamings and the damage I can give no opinion on to replace or repair.

However, I had the same choice to make on the Far Reach. I couldn’t afford to replace them in teak. I chose African Mahogany. Beautiful wood. About $5 a board foot in 2012, or about 1/5 the coat of teak. African Mahogany is lovely wood. It machines well, glues well, holds fasteners pretty well, and varnishes beautifully. I rebuilt the interior on the Far Reach with African Mahogany too. African Mahogany should be varnished as it does not have the preservative oils that teak has.

Jean is correct that you need purchase your wood from a reputable wood merchant.

You can repair anything. Sometimes it’s just not worth it and can be more work and aggravation than starting new. All the CDs are getting old. Wood, even teak won’t last forever especially if it’s had a hard life without much care. Doesn’t mean it’s not a good choice to repair the ones you have. It depends on what’s involved and what results will leave you happy and satisfied.

Here is a link to how I rebuilt the coamings. Scroll down about half way. http://www.farreachvoyages.com/projects ... mings.html

Couple pictures of our coamings attached below.

[casampson]

Thanks for the good advice so far. I've included some pictures of my coamings. They are in pretty rough shape, and sanding them down in situ would be a difficult and tedious task, as there are lots of nooks and crannies where a sander cannot reach. I think I would be disappointed. Nevertheless, I am willing to give it a try.

John, the mahogany coamings are beautiful. I would rely on my ability to keep them varnished, and so I am a little hesitant to go that route, all things considered.

Thanks again.

[John Stone]

Whether you remove them or not, (I’d be inclined to remove them) clean them first with a two part cleaner like Te-ka. Do not try to sand that off.

My go to reference for all brightwork is: Brightwork, the Art of Refinishing Wood by Rebecca Whittman. If you want to know how to restore and care for wood she covers it all in detail. Cleaning, restoring, oiling, varnishing. Gear, technique, supplies, do’s and don’ts.

Good luck.

[casampson]

I will try the two-part cleaner, but the problem is that the previous owner varnished over the coamings without cleaning up the weathered areas first. There's varnish in the grooves that is nearly impossible to get out without deep sanding. And if I try to remove the port coaming (the starboard is already off), I will destroy it for sure. It seems to be glued on and is already starting to come apart horizontally in additional to the length-wise, three-foot split. It can easily be epoxied as is, however. One thought I have is to epoxy it first to preserve it and then try to remove it for refinishing.

[John Stone]

I don’t think you can do a good job trying to repair and refinish these on the boat. Just depends on what your skills are and what you are going to be satisfied with as results. Your going to want to use a heat gun and a pull scraper before you sand.

We’re it me, I’d take them off. If they get destroyed, safe the teak. Strip them with a heat gun and re use them for other trim or wood projects. I have made a lot of things to include the dinghy step up, bug screen frames, and companionway cup caddy from the old coamings. Also I used the old coaming to make the teak cap rails for the new coamings.

It’s not to say you can’t achieve some success leaving in place but I would remove them and start over.

[casampson]

Another option would be to paint the coamings. Sacrilegious, I know, but maybe the best solution for the time being.

[John Stone]

Another option would be to paint the coamings. Sacrilegious, I know, but maybe the best solution for the time being.

Pish posh. Says who? Painting is a very sensible thing to do. Very seamanlike. All of us wringing our hands over varnishing are the ones that are nuts.

But once you varnish you can’t reasonably go back. So think it through.

[casampson]

I'm thinking Interlux Brightsides "Sundown Buff" on the toerails and "Bristol Beige" on the coamings and trim. Could be beautiful.

https://images.jamestowndistributors.co ... rge/64.jpg

[Steve Laume]

Part of the problem with any route you chose, other than replacement, is how badly those boards are weathered. It seems like you will need to get them both off to do a reasonable job of refinishing them. Whether you decide to paint or varnish, these boards would be good candidates for a base coat of clear epoxy. West Systems sells a special clear hardener that you can varnish over. Even if you decide to paint, a base of epoxy will build up the finish so you can level out the weathered areas. To do a proper job of this, the boards should be laying flat to do one side at a time. Once you add enough epoxy, you will be able to sand to a smooth finish without removing anymore wood.

Your biggest challenge will be getting them off in one piece, Steve.

[John Stone]

Here is something to think about. If you want, because they are in bad shape, repair the coamings in place. Clean them up. Make no mistake, to paint them right is a still a lot of work. The wood needs to be restored, sanded, primed, then painted. There is no easy way out of this. When you say “honey I’m going to go work on the boat.” That’s what it means. Well, most of the time anyway.

Replacing the coamings is not that big a project. So later, you can rebuild them. But the toe rails are different. They are much more work to rebuild than the coamings...by an order of magnitude. And they are important that they are done correctly because if not they will leak and just look terrible.

So, strip the varnish from the toe rails easily with a heat gun and a pull scraper. Read Wittman’s book first. Then after they are properly stripped and restored leave them bare. Or if you must paint them, get a couple coats of varnish on them first. Then paint them. That way, if you decide later you want to varnish them they will strip back to bare wood without too much work. The varnish acts as the sealer coat and the paint goes on the varnish and does not soak into the wood grain. If you never decide to strip the paint and varnish them but the next owner wants too, he will sing your name in praise because he can easily strip the paint and the teak will be preserved. He will be certain there is a special place in heaven for you.

[casampson]

Thanks again for the advice. I will most certainly lay down a coat of varnish before painting, if that is indeed what I decide to do. But first, I must deal with the damaged port coaming. The starboard coaming is shown below. I sanded it down as much as I felt necessary, and then treated it with Danish Teak Sealer from Jamestown Distributors. I was not happy with the results, as it was splotchy -- you can tell this from the photo. That's when I took it to my brother, a cabinetmaker, who said he could do them for about $200 each in mahogany. So maybe I should just get them done as that seems to be a good price. Anyway, the port coaming will be most certainly be destroyed if I try to remove it. So, I think I'm going to epoxy the split in place, grind the coaming down as best I can to remove the weathering, and then try refinishing it by painting it, varnishing it, or using a sealer. (Building it up with a layer of epoxy first is a great idea and might work if I can use something thick enough so that it won't run.) If it looks good, I will keep it. If it doesn't, I'll replace the pair with new mahogany ones. I think this is my best strategy.

Chris

[Frenchy]

Chris, If you decide to replace, you should contact St. Angelo's Hardwoods in Tiverton, R. I. I've bought teak from them
over the years and have been surprised at the prices (in a good way). They have old growth teak, not the plantation type,
and I believe they were the original supplier of teak for Cape Dory and many other local boatbuilders in Bristol, R. I. They
have quite a selection and will plane for you. Just a thought - Jean