Replacement Coamings

[Jeff D]

Chris,

Call St. Angelo hardwood in Tiverton (401-624-3900) before you make a decision - they are right off 24. They have mountains of teak, mahogany and most other exotic woods. When I first bought my Ty DS the coamings were covered in a really bad varnish job which I wanted to remove. They had been installed using 5200 and in my efforts to remove them they were pretty damaged. St. Angelo was able to sell me 2 - 1 x 10 teak planks 10' long for ~$200. In a few hours I was able to replicate the originals and I am set for another 30 years. The comings on a 25 are a lot shorter than a Ty DS, so the cost should not be outrageous. The beauty of teak is that you can let it weather. At I do to mine is lightly clean at the beginning of the season to remove mildew and other dirt. Even without the cracks it looks like your comings have been cleaned to death.

Jeff

[Keith]

I second the recommendation for St Angelos. I bought my teak bow sprit from them and it was significantly cheaper than anywhere else.

Keith

[Steve Laume]

Epoxy is pretty amazing stuff. Building up enough thickness to level out the surface is not really a problem. If you apply it with a brush or just pour some on and use a squeegee to level it,, you will fill the depressions without building up the high spots. A couple of coats would probably be enough to level things out. The color of the underlying wood is your biggest issue, if you are going to varnish. You could even add a layer or two of glass cloth to strengthen the combing boards. All of this would be invisible as long as you give it some kind of UV protection. Grinding away enough wood to level things out is going to leave you with some very thin and weak combings. It would be far better to fill the low spots than take down the high ones, Steve.

[John Stone]

I agree with Jean...if you can swing Burmese teak as a replacement over A. Mahogany I would do it. No doubt about it. But....

I don’t want to disparage St Angelos or any of the other recommended places on this thread for purchasing teak. I have never been to those places and never seen the wood they sell.

Keep in mind all teak is not the same. Plantation teak is widely sold now and to call it teak is a stretch. I used a small amount in my icebox framing and I was not impressed. It’s weak and splotchy and has wide growth rings. It smells funny. The real stuff (Tactona grandis) comes from SE Asia— Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, etc. my friend Matt who used to live in my neighborhood and who owns and operates World Timber Imports in Hubert NC has explained to me in detail why so much of the exotic wood is expensive. Burmese teak is considered one of the most endangered species of wood in the world and it takes a pile of money and a ton of paperwork for importers to get it into the US. There are all kinds of fees associated with importing teak. I find it impossible to believe you can get real teak, like I am describing, in length anywhere close to 10’ for under $30 a BF. That’s like saying you can buy gas for $1 a gallon. It’s possible I am wrong, but I doubt it.

There are various species of similar wood within a genus and family and it’s well know that some suppliers are stretching the truth about what it is they are selling. So make sure you are doing your homework or take someone with you that has a lot of experience in identifying the wood you want to purchase.

I get a 20 percent builders discount at a competitor to World Timber. I never paid less than $25 a BF for a 10’ long piece of Burmese teak and that was 8 years ago. I can get offcuts for $14-18 a BF but no way on a 10’ length in the 8-10” wide range.

Real Burmese teak is gorgeous. There is nothing else like it. It mills great. It feels great. It smells heavenly.

[casampson]

The question now is whether to repair the damaged coaming with epoxy or with a waterproof glue, such as Gorilla Glue. Both ways have been recommended to me, and I'm leaning toward glue. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

[casampson]

I guess the glue vs. epoxy question does not rank up there in the same category as leaving your propeller locked or unlocked. Still hoping for an opinion or two on the matter, however. In addition, besides teak and mahogany, what other woods could be considered for my coamings if and when I decide to replace them? Has anyone ever worked with silver bali, for example? Thanks.

Chris

[John Stone]

There is simply not enough info to answer your question. Don’t care for gorilla glue. It foams out as it cures. Others may feel different. Epoxy is not 100 percent waterproof despite some claims to the contrary. If used externally it should be painted or varnished. Resorcinol (aerodux 185) is the only 100 percent waterproof glue. It’s approved for overhead structures and aircraft construction. Has to be applied in a fairly exacting manner. Probably not appropriate for your project. I use a lot of Tite Bond III. Good glue. Must be clamped well. All depends on how long you want the finished product to last and look.

Silver Bali is exceptionally good wood. Very rot resistant. Like all wood though it depends on the quality. Beware of imposters and shady merchants.

[casampson]

I ended up using epoxy, as shown below. It came out pretty well. I have a little touching up to do, but I have sanded the teak to the best of my ability and am now going to varnish it. I am hoping that the varnish will hide the discolorations a little and make the coaming look nice enough to leave unpainted. The inside of the coaming looks much nicer, btw.

Chris

[John Stone]

Varnish does not hide. It magnifies evry imperfection, blemish, flaw. If the surface is not absolutely clean and free of sanding residue, grime, mildew, or flakes or broken surface varnish the new varnish will not adhere properly. Your teak is in bad shape. I recommend you strip the varnish with a pull scraper and a heat gun. Doesn’t take long. Sand the few areas you can’t get with the scraper. Then clean with Te-Ka two part cleaner (see Whitman’s book mentioned earlier). They will be golden brown. Almost like new. Then sand and start appling varnish with multiple coats like Epifanes or apply whatever coating you wish.

[Frenchy]

I know you're not crazy about Cetol, Chris, but your coamings are a perfect candidate, I think. With a few coats of
the Natural Teak and two coats of the gloss, it will look very good. The Cetol is just cloudy enough to hide imperfections.
Plus, the maintenance is easy. - Jean