Coaming boards - thickness and material

[csoule13]

The local lumber yard just got a pile of 4/4 quarter sawn sapele, and the coaming boards on myCD27 have seen better days. Is there a general rule of thumb for coaming board thickness? I figure 4/4 will end up closer to 3/4 by time of install, and not sure if that's going to do the trick.

Chris

[tjr818]

I think that if you can keep it a 3/4" or more you will be okay, Sapele is plenty strong enough. Many of the coming boards on today's Cape Dorys have been sanded so much that they are less than 3/4" of an inch in thickness

[jbenagh]

Christine C's are 3/4. CD30
Jeff

[Jim Walsh]

If I were in your shoes I’d be happy to start with the 4/4 and once run through a planer, or sanded smooth, the final result would be perfect. This would be the perfect opportunity to cap the coamings with strips of raw teak, or something else of your choice, if you plan to varnish the coamings, as done by John Stone on Far Reach. Another method to save wear and tear on the varnish is to add a strip of quarter round brass as Steve Laume has done on Raven….looks great.

[csoule13]

Thanks everyone, looks like if it ever stops raining here it's time to get to measuring.

[John Stone]

You don't want quarter sawn for this application. It will resist bending that is necessary to be bolted flush to the vertical sides of the molded cockpit.

Sapele is good wood. I used African mahogany as its lighter and works easily. Both mahogany and sapele will need to be painted varnished or need some other protective coating applied. Burmese teak, iroko, ipe and a few other wood can be left bare.

Picture below of bare teak cap we used on top edge of our coaming. I repurposed the original teak coaming for the cap.

[csoule13]

Much appreciated John. And always nice to get photos of the FR, that teak cap is a nice touch.