Teak planking on Typhoon hatch

[Brad Fuller]

I am planning to cover the hatch of my Typhoon with strips of teak, using plans from "The Sailors Sketchbook" by Bruce Bingham. The plans say to trowel a two-part "paste-type" epoxy onto the area to be planked. It is recommended that the epoxy have a setting time of two or three hours. The plans are circa 1983. Assuming the technology has changed in the last 20 years, any suggestions on what type of adhesive I should buy when I visit West Marine?

Also, do you think this planking will make the hatch less flexible when it is stepped on? Or is there another(or additional) way to strengthen it?

Thanks,
Brad Fuller

[winthrop fisher]

hi....
i have the same plans by him and two of his books as well...
i used west system at the time and i did it after dark and it dried in 20 mins with a slow harder.
that did look good on the 27...
that was years ago....
winthrop

[winthrop fisher]

the flexible will go away and it will make it very harder as steel...

you stand on your hatch ???

before i redid my hatch my weight would have broken it in half.

i took 6' long batten made of wood from a marine store , 1/4 X 1 1/2 X 22" and on the bottom side of the hatch, using west system, and covered the bottom side so it would not flex at all...

i did that because i do off shore sailing and some of the lakes around here are ten miles wide and twenty miles long and they can get 4 to 6 foot waves and only 4 to 6 feet apart at times.

you get wet allot.
but its fun.
winthrop

[Lew Gresham]

Cut your planking wider and thicker and screw them from the bottom side of your sliding hatch. Round over the edges on each plank end and on the sides of your outer edge pieces. Use one screw on each end and one in the middle. Back up the screws with stainless button washers. That's what I plan to do on my Typhoon!

[Steve Laume]

Lew, if you are looking to gain stiffness in the hatch you might need more than screws. Screws and adhesive would work good to hold things in place and then form a permanate lamination. If you just use screws I am afraid your layup will start to work. Eventually it will want to pull the screws out of the fairly thin wood and will be prone to leaks even before that. A bed of epoxy is probably the safest bet. Follow the instructions. You will be looking for a slow cure hardener and some sort of thickener to form an adhesive. If you don't think you will have enough working time you could always tape off sections. Then you could scrape off the excess epoxy and pull the tape to reveal clean hatch top. Mix up another batch and keep going. I have the Bruce Bingham book and enjoy it very much. Not only does he have some great ideas, he presents them in a fun sort of way, Steve.

[Lew Gresham]

Thanks Steve! When I first saw the picture below, I liked the hatch right off. That's where I got the idea that maybe I would build one. Knowing it would be way too expensive and pains taking work, I just decided to butt strip a small area of the hatch for looks. There is a small teak rail on the top of the hatch I will butt up too. As for the strength I am not concerned about load strength, as said, it's mostly for looks.
I don't ever plan to step on the hatch. The hatch edges that these light weights slide on are thin, and the chances I should put all my 200 lbs there, it's sure to break. My advise is to never stand on the Typhoon's hatch. FWIW

[img]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p52/ ... kHatch.jpg[/img]