Teak options?

[bmiller]

The exterior wood on Pooka is pretty worn and tired. Not sure if it is worth the bother of removing, sanding and refinishing. And there is not much of it. A couple handrails, coaming caps and companionway parts. So I'm thinking of replacing all of it but teak is hard to find here in CO. I'm thinking of using red oak instead, yes it will require attention but it's brightwork and not much of it.
Any other choice woods?

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha,

Have you looked into a good mahogany? Not Philippine mahogany which is not a real mahogany. There is Honduran and African. Both work easily and last a long time if taken care of.
JohnL

[Alan Wheeler]

I was also going to say Mahogany. There are some good South american mahoganies.
A timber I use a lot of down here, is Quilla(spell?) Hard and very similar looking to teak. But you have to weather the timber to get all the dye out, or it bleeds when it gets wet and you will get brownred dye over everything. It will silver with age in the sun just liek Teak as well.

[mickmul]

Burmese Iroko or Australian Redgum may be other options. There is a UK company called Onward Trading (google them) that supply the pre-made teak rails and other parts. From experience, check carraige costs before you commit . . best of luck!

[Lancerbye]

If it is just hand rails put in stainless and never worry about that problem again. I have gotten over the love of wood exposed to the elements. Spent too many hours finishing and refinishing to apreciate it anymore unless it's on someone elses boat. LOL

[dcstrng]

West Marine also lists raw teak as well as a modest variety of teak molding$...

[bmiller]

Originally Posted by Lancerbye

If it is just hand rails put in stainless and never worry about that problem again.

That is certainly a good option!

[charley]

I would go with stainless too. My father in law has been a furniture maker/carpenter for 30+ years and he has zero wood on the outside of his house where the weather will get it. Everything is steel because it will not rot.

If you are going to use wood do not get wood that is color treated as you will not be happy with the color when it dries out. But any hardwood should be fine as long as you are willing to maintenance it every 6 months. It would (wood) also be wise to not buy from a marine supplier (way to much mark up).

[Pblais]

The exterior wood on Pooka is pretty worn and tired. Not sure if it is worth the bother of removing, sanding and refinishing.

Why not try one piece and see. I've seen teak that was no where near being too tired but looked like it. Unless it has large splits it probably can be refinished. The gray layer of weather is usually very thin.

[mickmul]

I've posted on this before, but as we're on the general subject . . . the best brightwork on our local marina is on a boat whose owner religiously varnishes pre winter as against spring. He claims he's sealing the wood from any ice that might expand existing cracks . . when you think of it, he's got a point!

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by Pblais

Why not try one piece and see. I've seen teak that was no where near being too tired but looked like it. Unless it has large splits it probably can be refinished. The gray layer of weather is usually very thin.

I was going to suggest the same thing.......

Is there a reason that you would have to remove it to refinish it??

Teak is pretty amazing. It can look awful when dried & weathered but beautiful with just a moderate amount of sanding.

Now....having said all that, my Passport 45 was built in Taiwan and had teak all over the boat (Tons of it). I AM NOT an avid varnisher . When cruising, I preferred to do other things with my time, like exploring or diving.

Just before we left Hawaii, I painted most of my teak. I didn't touch it for several years after that and it looked great. When we returned and were getting ready to sell, we sanded the paint off, applied 3 coats of Sikens Cetol (Did I tell you.....I hate varnish ) and no one was the wiser......

[David M]

Originally Posted by Lancerbye

If it is just hand rails put in stainless and never worry about that problem again. I have gotten over the love of wood exposed to the elements. Spent too many hours finishing and refinishing to apreciate it anymore unless it's on someone elses boat. LOL

Agreed... I have learned to hate to have to varnish exterior wood. What a horrible waste of my time. And what do I get out of it?....maybe a complement from someone who likes my varnished teak? Oh boy! Days spent sanding and varnishing maybe for a compliment? Duh! That's time lost to being out on the water.

[bmiller]

The reason I plan on removing is several of the handrail bolts leak into the cabin. The coaming caps would just be easier to do in the shop. Then if I have them off it would be even easier to use them as a template and make new ones. The caps that is.

[mickmul]

Any nice pic or two of the Passport 45 Kanani? Jealous already . . .

[Phantom Corsair]

What everyone else said, and DON'T use red oak for exterior marine application. IF you must use oak, use white oak, as it resists water & weather far better. red oak is fine for interior use, and, as with everything (pets, food, kids...) coat liberally with epoxy and varnish.