filling wood; decks and screw holes

[KayZee]

Hi,

I have 2 questions abour repair. The first is that several places in my teak deck have open grain cracks in the middle of the planks. Most are shortish, a few inches, but one in a cockpit seat runs about 6 inches. Widths are around 1/8th; enough to look open but not gaping maws. Also around most of the bungs in the cap rail (no bungs in deck) there are 1/16 splits from where someone got a little heavy tapping in the bungs instead or using a sharp chisel later. What would you use? Thin epoxy? Thickened epoxy or an exterior grade "teak" colored putty?

Second question: The boat, a Wauquiez 41 Pilot Saloon, has louvers as seen in the photo, that cover part of the pilot house windows. They aren't REALLY heavy, about 20lb and aren't structural but we take them off every now and again to do a thourough job of cleaning the windows. They are held on with #10 2.5 inch screws into the cabinhouse sides. The louvers are secure but several of the holes are stripped and like the decks I'm curious what you would use to repair them. I'm thinking epoxying in hardwood dowels and redrilling. I think it would be neater than trying to ram in a thickened epoxy that hardwood should hold the threads for a long time. I've also considered non-metal threaded inserts and changing to machine screws from the wood screws. Thoughts?

[tkeithlu]

Damned pretty boat, KayZee.

Number one: You've got some choices, and none are really bad. Consider the possibility of filling the cracks with black butyl rubber sealant. That doesn't conceal the cracks, if anything it makes them an accepted part of your boat, but it's tidy and finished in appearance.

Number two : I like the dowel plug and re-drill option. Be careful to not wobble the drill as you make the holes so that the plugs will fit tightly with a really permanent adhesive, such as epoxy. Don't use oak, since it will go black when wet. Maple would be good. Pre-drill the screw holes so you don't shatter the plugs and have to start over.....

[psk125]

Tkeithlu's suggestion of butyl rubber makes sense. It's soft and sticky. If the teak gets wet and swells, the butyl will squish and not make the crack bigger. If the teak dries out and shrinks, it will still stick to the edges of the crack and stretch, so it won't leak. A hard filler would serve as a wedge to open and enlarge cracks as the wood expands and contracts.

[Jammer]

On the screws, I would first prepare the screws by dipping them briefly in hot wax to get a very thin coat. Then fill the holes with epoxy and gently install the screws. After the epoxy has cured the screws can be tightened somewhat if desired. The wax will keep them from bonding to the epoxy. The epoxy can be thickened slightly if necessary, and placed using a toothpick, skewer, or whatever that has been dipped in epoxy then spun to keep it from dripping until it is in the hole.


This is much less work than setting dowels.