Alternative to teak for cockpit coaming

There is Teak and then there is everything else. There is no other
wood that will stand up to the elements without any maintenance
whatsoever and not be damaged -- sure, it turns gray, but if you get
tired of gray, you can scrape it off and you have brown again.

If you go aboard the battleship Massachusetts, you will see gray Teak
decks -- take a key or blade and make a light scrape and you'll see
golden brown, even though it must be thirty years since her decks have
had any significant attention....

The only real problem with Teak is that it looks so good when brown
that people scrape, sand, scrub, clean, it down so that eventually it
goes away. Better to just touch it lightly once or twice a season and
be happy with gray-brown.

You'll pay more or less double for Teak versus the other candidates
(real Mahogany -- swietenia species -- Iroko, etc.) but IMHO its worth
every penny. We may decide to cap Fintry's bulwarks with wood; if we
do, there's no question what wood it will be....

Jim Woodward
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.mvfintry.com" target="_blank">www.mvfintry.com</a>


over40pirate RemoveThis @aol.comnospam (Over40pirate) wrote in message news:<20030819125536.06546.00000222 RemoveThis @mb-m28.aol.com>...
 > I am looking for a recomendation for a type of wood to use to replace the teak
 > cockpit coamings on my sailboat.
 > The widest end is 11" and they are 8' long.
 > Someone recomended Iroko. Is anyone familiar with this wood, and its
 > suitability? How does it glue, bend? I will need to bend it silghtly.
 > Thanks in advance, K<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Alternative to teak for cockpit coaming 

I'd avoid Iroko for exterior coaming, etc.

Its 'transparent'/permeable to water vapor causing most coatings -
varnish, paint, the modern '2 parts', epoxy, etc. to have 'water
lifting' problems. The bare wood surface rapidly oxidizes to a THICK
grey and not as stable as naturally grey teak. It will rot eventually.
Apply ONLY with a total epoxy seal coat but expect that when water vapor
and oxygen eventualy permeates through the epoxy, that the epoxy-Iroko
bond will fail. The only finish that 'sticks' to Iroko is a thick heavy
resinated tung oil finish. If left bare, the soft grain will rapidly erode.
Pearson used Iroko in the 70s & 80s for brightwork trim ... most of
those older Pearson have replaced the eroded Iroko on external bright
work. It is a especially beautiful wood - especially for interior work.


Over40pirate wrote:
 > I am looking for a recomendation for a type of wood to use to replace the teak
 > cockpit coamings on my sailboat.
 > The widest end is 11" and they are 8' long.
 > Someone recomended Iroko. Is anyone familiar with this wood, and its
 > suitability? How does it glue, bend? I will need to bend it silghtly.
 > Thanks in advance, K<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Alternative to teak for cockpit coaming 

If the budget won't stand teak, there's:
Honduras mahogany (60% of teak's cost)
Sapele, an African mahogany (40%)
White Oak (40%)

All but the teak must be varnished.

Over40pirate wrote:

 > I am looking for a recomendation for a type of wood to use to replace the teak
 > cockpit coamings on my sailboat.
 > The widest end is 11" and they are 8' long.
 > Someone recomended Iroko. Is anyone familiar with this wood, and its
 > suitability? How does it glue, bend? I will need to bend it silghtly.
 > Thanks in advance, K<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Alternative to teak for cockpit coaming 

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 15:31:38 GMT, Jim Conlin <conlin DeleteThis @attbi.com> wrote:

 >If the budget won't stand teak, there's:
 >Honduras mahogany (60% of teak's cost)
Honduras is, of course, a wonderful wood. But I have not seen decent
quality around Seattle for years.
 >Sapele, an African mahogany (40%)
One of the African mahaganies wood be a good choice.
 >White Oak (40%)
White oak should not be used as bright exterior trim. Discolors
terribly.

It
 >All but the teak must be varnished.
 >
 >Over40pirate wrote:
 >
  >> I am looking for a recomendation for a type of wood to use to replace the teak
  >> cockpit coamings on my sailboat.
  >> The widest end is 11" and they are 8' long.
  >> Someone recomended Iroko. Is anyone familiar with this wood, and its
  >> suitability? How does it glue, bend? I will need to bend it silghtly.
  >> Thanks in advance, K<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Alternative to teak for cockpit coaming 

and i should have added "only if you're willing to maintain the varnish
RELIGIOUSLY". OK?

"P.C. Ford" wrote:

 > <SNIP>
  > >White Oak (40%)
 > White oak should not be used as bright exterior trim. Discolors
 > terribly.
 >
 > It
  > >All but the teak must be varnished.
  > >
  > >Over40pirate wrote:
  > >
   > >> I am looking for a recomendation for a type of wood to use to replace the teak
   > >> cockpit coamings on my sailboat.
   > >> The widest end is 11" and they are 8' long.
   > >> Someone recomended Iroko. Is anyone familiar with this wood, and its
   > >> suitability? How does it glue, bend? I will need to bend it silghtly.
   > >> Thanks in advance, K<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Alternative to teak for cockpit coaming 

hi
I replaced my teak rubbing strake with Iroko and got on fine with it, one
side broke but at the scarf joint i put in so i re-glued it with west epoxy
and all was well.
Another mistake i made was drilling 2 fixing holes side by side instead of
staggering them about every 10 inches but did that on the other side.
It helps that i have a huge supply of free rook from the school where I
work ,

fragged

"Over40pirate" <over40pirate.RemoveThis@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20030819125536.06546.00000222@mb-m28.aol.com...
 > I am looking for a recomendation for a type of wood to use to replace the
teak
 > cockpit coamings on my sailboat.
 > The widest end is 11" and they are 8' long.
 > Someone recomended Iroko. Is anyone familiar with this wood, and its
 > suitability? How does it glue, bend? I will need to bend it silghtly.
 > Thanks in advance, K<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Alternative to teak for cockpit coaming