teak - to pull or not to pull

[H Meyrick]

Hi folks.

As the end of the sailing season approaches, I've been contemplating winter projects. Over the summer I've had pretty good success refinishing the smaller teak bits w/out removing them from the boat. However, I suspect that the coaming boards and the helmsman's seat/steering box will need to be removed in order to be refinished properly. No sense doing this halfway right.

Before I do anything rash, though, I'd appreciate any insight or wisdom of experience that I could get.

-Is there any hazard in removing the boards? will they come out in one piece? any trick in removing them? I assume there are screws under the plugs, and probably some bedding compound under them. how do you separate them from the bedding? any advise here?

-is there any hazard in leaving the boat laid up without the boards in place? I will cover boat w/ canvas - any other precautions necessary?

-after a winter out of the boat, will the boards straighten out, and subsequently not go back into their places?

-or would I be best advised to leave the coamng boards in place, and try to do my best job there? (not a good option - when I'm on board, I'm sorely tempted to sail, not sand!)

as always, thanks for any input that may be forthcoming.

Huw



hmeyrick@post.com

[Bill]

Hi folks.

As the end of the sailing season approaches, I've been contemplating winter projects. Over the summer I've had pretty good success refinishing the smaller teak bits w/out removing them from the boat. However, I suspect that the coaming boards and the helmsman's seat/steering box will need to be removed in order to be refinished properly. No sense doing this halfway right.

Before I do anything rash, though, I'd appreciate any insight or wisdom of experience that I could get.

-Is there any hazard in removing the boards? will they come out in one piece? any trick in removing them? I assume there are screws under the plugs, and probably some bedding compound under them. how do you separate them from the bedding? any advise here?

-is there any hazard in leaving the boat laid up without the boards in place? I will cover boat w/ canvas - any other precautions necessary?

-after a winter out of the boat, will the boards straighten out, and subsequently not go back into their places?

-or would I be best advised to leave the coamng boards in place, and try to do my best job there? (not a good option - when I'm on board, I'm sorely tempted to sail, not sand!)

as always, thanks for any input that may be forthcoming.

Huw

I contemplated the same thing...to pull or not to pull. I have decided, since I have the time and energy, to very, very carefully redo the teak in place. I estimate it will take twice, maybe thrice as long, but I will be ON the boat with coffee/tea and my usual bagel and enjoying every minute of it. So there! Good luck whichever way to decide to go. Bill on Chebeague.



meislandbill@yahoo.com

[Boyd]

I am currently redoing the teak on Tern. Being a woodworker by heart my instinct is to remove and refinish rather than finish in place. Its a trade off on what is the most effort. The reality is that you have to do the final finish on the boat after the plugs are installed so you might as well finish in place as much as possible. Getting some pieces off is a lot of work. Some of the boards are set in 5200 making them really hard to remove. A product called Unbond, available at West, works pretty well in breaking the bonds. When I pulled my combing boards I was not being careful enough and some of the gelcoat came with them. Got another fix to do. Combing boards are installed different on my boat and not typical for the other CD models. I was forced to remove mine to fix a long standing leak.

I remove teak pieces such as dorade boxes for refinishing because they are easyly removed.. no heroics unless there is no other option. The rest I finish in place. The finish in place stuff usually is easier than it looks at first. Use lots of masking tape and work carefully.

I put the first coat of brown Cetol on the wood before I reinstall it on the boat. This allows me to seal the back of the wood. I put the second coat on after I set the plugs and sand them. Then complete the finish on the boat.

The plugs hide screws like you suspect. Typically the plugs were set in a little brown lifecaulk on my boat. I remove them by screwing a sheet metal screw into the plug and then grabing the head of the screw with pliers and pulling out. Some split and have to be dug out with a small screwdriver. Clean out the hole carefully so as not to enlarge it.

I replace them with a little life caulk on the head of the screw. It helps hold them in and tends to seal the opening. I like to see a little caulk squirt out the edges when I tap them into place. Wait till the next day and trim the plugs with a sharp chisel. Sand flush.

There has been considerable discussion on removing combing boards .. Search previous posts on this issue.. Yes they will tend to straighten out but can be bent and replaced. Its not an impossible task. I dont think leaving the boards off all winter will effect anything.

Nothing looks better than beautifully finished teak.

Boyd
s/v Tern
CD30 MkII
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.


I: As the end of the sailing season approaches, I've been contemplating winter projects. Over the summer I've had pretty good success refinishing the smaller teak bits w/out removing them from the boat. However, I suspect that the coaming boards and the helmsman's seat/steering box will need to be removed in order to be refinished properly. No sense doing this halfway right.

Before I do anything rash, though, I'd appreciate any insight or wisdom of experience that I could get.

-Is there any hazard in removing the boards? will they come out in one piece? any trick in removing them? I assume there are screws under the plugs, and probably some bedding compound under them. how do you separate them from the bedding? any advise here?

-is there any hazard in leaving the boat laid up without the boards in place? I will cover boat w/ canvas - any other precautions necessary?

-after a winter out of the boat, will the boards straighten out, and subsequently not go back into their places?

-or would I be best advised to leave the coamng boards in place, and try to do my best job there? (not a good option - when I'm on board, I'm sorely tempted to sail, not sand!)

as always, thanks for any input that may be forthcoming.

Huw

Boyd@wbta.cc

[Jonathan Dodge]

Hi Huw

Year before last I pulled ALL the teak from my Typhoon.
I had best luck scribing around the plug with a small exacto
knife, then drilling out the old plugs.
The combing boards did straighten out but I had no problem
bending them back into shape (I'm not sure if they are thicker
as the boat gets longer??) If you’re concerned I would set each
end on paint can and put a weight in the middle.
Nothing better on a cold winter afternoon than cleaning and varnishing
beautiful teak!!



Jonathan.D.Dodge@healthPartners.com

[john doyle]

Hi folks.

As the end of the sailing season approaches, I've been contemplating winter projects. Over the summer I've had pretty good success refinishing the smaller teak bits w/out removing them from the boat. However, I suspect that the coaming boards and the helmsman's seat/steering box will need to be removed in order to be refinished properly. No sense doing this halfway right.

Before I do anything rash, though, I'd appreciate any insight or wisdom of experience that I could get.

-Is there any hazard in removing the boards? will they come out in one piece? any trick in removing them? I assume there are screws under the plugs, and probably some bedding compound under them. how do you separate them from the bedding? any advise here?

-is there any hazard in leaving the boat laid up without the boards in place? I will cover boat w/ canvas - any other precautions necessary?

-after a winter out of the boat, will the boards straighten out, and subsequently not go back into their places?

-or would I be best advised to leave the coamng boards in place, and try to do my best job there? (not a good option - when I'm on board, I'm sorely tempted to sail, not sand!)

as always, thanks for any input that may be forthcoming.

Huw

Presently have all my teak off. Much easier to remove the old varnish that the previous owner let go to pot. I too pulled a couple of small spots of gel coat off, but it is behind the wood.
John CD31 #18 Bonnie Blue



redzeplin@yahoo.com