Why a wooden (teak cap rail)?

[psneeld]

The problem I have with darn near any of the clear finishes, if you nick or scratch through to the wood....I have always heard it needs to be fixed fast to preserve that area.

Longevity is one thing, but the in between damage is too much extra work in my book.

 

[angus99]

While not a traditional varnish, Awlwood is similar to other synthetic resin finishes.
I have used it by itself and over varnish and it was probably the best looking of 'em all.

We did the handrails in Awlwood last year and will start coating caprail this week, weather permitting. The look is close to varnish and I can deal with lightly sanding and recoating once every five years or so.

 

[tiltrider1]

Is the seven year lifespan applicable to SoCal, or just Seattle?

Edit: a former dock neighbor of mine refinished his cockpit cap rails in some two part stuff and it did not turn out - finish was all hazy. Unlike varnish (light sand and throw on another coat), he seemed to be looking at a pretty significant job to re-do the finish. Scared me off the two-part stuff, but I'm not very informed.

Have no knowledge about how well Awlwood lasts in SoCal. Take note, Awlwood is not a two part product. It is a two step process. There is a difference. With Awlwood there is no mixing of anything. However, there is a definite process. One of the key tricks is to remove all the masking after the primer process and remask fresh for the gloss process.

 

[Scooby5959]

Don’t forget to use your boat

I know some love their teak accent pieces but I think they are way too much trouble. What is the purpose of the cap rail? Decoration or functional? Is there any company that makes aluminum or SS cap rails to replace teak? If I take the cap rail off is it just smooth fiberglass and gel coat? A lot of upper end boats have no teak. I am looking at a 2000 Katy Krogan 39 and will sand all the varnish off and leave bare but would rather remove the teak all together.

The way the boat is built if I could remove the cap rail and just expose finished fiberglass/gelcoat i could patch and paint a relative small section of the boat without having to paint the entire boat.

Don’t forget to use your boat ,too many people boats are nothing more than a trophy ,keep it all shined up and on a shelf to admire . go out and use your boat have some adventures and then revisit your situation then

 

[BruceK]

Don’t forget to use your boat...

Do many people not use their boat out of forgetfulness? We don`t use ours because in lockdown we`re not allowed to, 10 weeks past, maybe ten to come.
But, a joy of the current Integrity over the previous IG is zero external teak. Stainless steel just needs an occasional wash and polish.

 

[Scooby5959]

I hope the Katie krogan 39 not the one with the flybridge, ruins the whole look of the boat .I like the teak accents though

 

[Scooby5959]

Sedan style trawler

Do many people not use their boat out of forgetfulness? We don`t use ours because in lockdown we`re not allowed to, 10 weeks past, maybe ten to come.
But, a joy of the current Integrity over the previous IG is zero external teak. Stainless steel just needs an occasional wash and polish.

My favorite trawler by far is a sedan style,you could lose the flybridge though ruins the whole look of the boat my dumb opinion

 

[Scooby5959]

Oh I almost forgot the main reason I don’t like teak accents, not the work involved in keeping them looking nice they do look beautiful when all Varnished , don’t like the screws that they use to hold them on ,causing all those water leaks. That goes for all the shiny stainless to . quit screwing holes into Water tight fiberglass

 

[Simi 60]

Do many people not use their boat out of forgetfulness?

No, but I know of many boats that very rarely get used because of the constant varnish and polishing.

 

[FF]

IF you are going to paint over teak, brush a few coats of varnish, then paint.


If the next owner loves teak , he will easily be able to strip back to the varnish and then have fun his way.

 

[Tator]

We keep our boat in Petersburg, AK year around. In my past I have owned not only two wooden boats but also owned an antique furniture restoration shop. I have much appreciation for fine finished wood. That being said, we finally called it quits on trying to keep the teak on Oz finished. There are few periods of days in SE AK that allow for keeping up varnished wood and we found that we would rather be out enjoying the reason that we have the boat than keeping up the varnish. There are enough other things on boats that must be done as well. With occasional cleaning, the teak will take care of itself.

Tator

 

[dhays]

Don’t forget to use your boat ,too many people boats are nothing more than a trophy ,keep it all shined up and on a shelf to admire . go out and use your boat have some adventures and then revisit your situation then

Then there are folks like me. I spend almost NO time working on the appearance of my boat. Believe me, it shows.

Limited free time and a really bad back are my two excuses. Really it is just a matter of priorities. I sure do love how my neighbors boats are all shiny and pretty though.

 

[mvweebles]

Then there are folks like me. I spend almost NO time working on the appearance of my boat. Believe me, it shows.

Limited free time and a really bad back are my two excuses. Really it is just a matter of priorities. I sure do love how my neighbors boats are all shiny and pretty though.

Pictures?

 

[Skip Sunnell]

Have a wonderful trip up to Whittier. As an Alaskan myself retired and transported back down to CONUS, I now own and operate Shantina out of Anacortes.

 

[Sofa King Fishy]

Strip, sand, prime & top coat with Brightside- looks good & holds up very well. Use a little chapstick on the stantion bases to make over rushing easy to remove.

 

[MVDarlin]

I read a lot of posts where folks talk about sanding their teak to remove varnish. This is not the preferred method and if repeated you soon will have very thin rails . Use a heat gun to remove old varnish. Lightly sand. Use wood bleach to lighten water stains. Much better process.

 

[ramkay]

Nothing like teak railings. Pain in the ass but well worth the look.

 

[Comodave]

Our last boat had quite a bit of teak rails, etc. We painted it with Brightside and loved how it made the boat look much more modern and oh BTW, a whole lot less work…

 

[BDidier]

A non finish teak option

We have the same wide teak cap rail on our 1963 Willard motorsailer that MV Weebles has. Ours had partial flaking varnish, partial fungal bloom black. We decided on the untreatment treatment. We are trying the Ditec system. It keeps the teak natural, not graying.

We saw a testimonial for Ditec Marine teak care products on the forum in the thread about the Sovereign of Malahide. It's a three part system, an aggressive one part teak wash, a water clear sealing treatment and a biocide to be used regularly between six month clean and treatment.

It was long couple days in the early spring scrubbing, initial treatment. Since then a monthly spray of biocide and after six months the rail still looks newly washed.

This is the fall cleaning month and it won't be the whole weekend event the first round was. Check back after a Seattle winter and we'll know more.

Neither photo was intended to showcase the teak, they just happen to be recent, end of August, snaps that have the rail in them.

 

[Fixin to]

Bought a Sabre 38 last year with a gorgeous varnished cap rail. Had a great first cruise down the ICW south and back. We loved it. But I wasn’t gonna sand and re varnish the cap rail. The admiral wouldn’t varnish the cap rail. Paid for revarnishing is completed. The boat is for sale. What was I thinking?

 

[BruceK]

Bought a Sabre 38 last year with a gorgeous varnished cap rail. Had a great first cruise down the ICW south and back. We loved it. But I wasn’t gonna sand and re varnish the cap rail. The admiral wouldn’t varnish the cap rail. Paid for revarnishing is completed. The boat is for sale. What was I thinking?

Makes so much sense. Inability to agree who maintains the caprail naturally leads to selling the boat after a year. Yeah, right.

 

[Scooby5959]

A boat like this Hass to be kept under cover

Nothing like teak railings. Pain in the ass but well worth the look.

A boat like this has to be kept under cover. At the very least you have to have a covered slip large enough to keep the rain off the boat.Boathouse would be much better.And never wash it ,wipe it down or blow it off.I know of a boat that was never washed just wiped with a some kind of a citrus spray.A lot of fancy mahogany . When I quired about the wipe off I was told , would you wash a piano ,that’s basically what you have a piece of furniture or instrument.All boats are beautiful in their unique way that only a mother would love

 

[Cigatoo]

Nothing like teak railings. Pain in the ass but well worth the look.

Looks nice Ramkay. Well worth the effort in my opinion.

 

[jgwinks]

+1 for Cetol, not only as an option for varnish but also instead of painting. It won't have the same high gloss finish as vanish but will still look like teak with minimal maintenance. My last sailboat was an older Island Packet with lots of exterior teak that was in bad shape when I bought it. Sanded and applied 2 coats of cetol. I don't think I ever had to touch it again for the years I had it, and it sure looked beautiful.

The Cetol "Natural Teak" color looks pretty good, especially if you over coat it with thier gloss top coat. The original version is quite orange colored and is the source of people not liking the product. My understanding is the orange came from the UV filter ingredient they used, I don't know if the natural color version is as good in that respect.

 

[backinblue]

The Cetol "Natural Teak" color looks pretty good, especially if you over coat it with thier gloss top coat. The original version is quite orange colored and is the source of people not liking the product. My understanding is the orange came from the UV filter ingredient they used, I don't know if the natural color version is as good in that respect.

The stuff I used was a long time ago and had a somewhat orange color. Kind of like a semi-transparent stain. For me it was great. Not as pretty as oil or varnish but still had the look of real wood with no maintenance for a number of years I owned it (5??)

 

[psneeld]

Not only is natural looking wood a personal preference, depending on climate, the cost or labor of maintaining it is too.

Some products are very poor candidates in Florida or the tropics as people have found out through the years and the only ones that do hold up may exceed their maintenance tolerance.

So any discussion thinking how can someone not want or like the look of wood must understand that people like me barely tolerate working at all on boats, so maintaining systems is my only priority. Getting around to looks and even washing takes a huge back seat to comfort and being able to cast off whenever.

A lifetime of working on boats..... both my own and commercially has burned me out, especially in the looks department.

 

[backinblue]

Not only is natural looking wood a personal preference, depending on climate, the cost or labor of maintaining it is too.

Some products are very poor candidates in Florida or the tropics as people have found out through the years and the only ones that do hold up may exceed their maintenance tolerance.

So any discussion thinking how can someone not want or like the look of wood must understand that people like me barely tolerate working at all on boats, so maintaining systems is my only priority. Getting around to looks and even washing takes a huge back seat to comfort and being able to cast off whenever.

A lifetime of working on boats..... both my own and commercially has burned me out, especially in the looks department.

Well-said. To each his own. I like my boat to look as good as possible, it makes me happy. But it's not that big and I am not in FL. In new England, it's a lot less work to keep most things looking like new. If you are in the South, you have other worries in addition to wood, things like canvas and upholstery and gelcoat all deteriorate from UV. I looked at a Back Cove once that was brought back from FL to ME to refurb it for sale. It was only about 5 years old but all the cockpit cushions needed replacement from lack of care or protection. Luckily I didn't buy that boat as I later found out that was only one of the areas that the original owner didn't care about.

 

[CapeWhaler]

This is obviously a "to each his own" subject (as most things should be). Boat ownership to me is a holistic experience, for lack of a better term. I enjoy the time underway but almost as much just being aboard, even on a mooring or in the slip (mooring preferred). And a day aboard just putzing around doing chores makes for a pleasant way to pass the time - even varnishing..

And to me, nicely finished brightwork is a thing of pure aesthetic beauty so I try to keep the most visible pieces up to snuff though I have Brightside-ed Serena's wooden spreaders and other more utilitarian wood parts. I do keep all the topside wood on my sailboat finished bright, but have made canvas sun covers for most of it which has let the varnish stand up through multiple seasons here in the northeast.

An acquaintance put me on to a teak sealer called Semco that kept his 47' sailboat looking snappy. Allegedly just clean the wood thoroughly, then brush on a couple of coats, with a yearly maintenance coat and that's all he claims to do. I used it on Serena's fly-bridge woodwork but decided to try it as a base coat and applied four coats of Minwax Spar urethane over it. Came out beautifully but we'll see how it stands up over time.
Joe

 

[jimfrens]

I am looking at a 2000 Katy Krogan 39 and will sand all the varnish off and leave bare but would rather remove the teak all together.

I think you meant "Kadey Krogen"

 

[backinblue]

This is obviously a "to each his own" subject (as most things should be). Boat ownership to me is a holistic experience, for lack of a better term. I enjoy the time underway but almost as much just being aboard, even on a mooring or in the slip (mooring preferred). And a day aboard just putzing around doing chores makes for a pleasant way to pass the time - even varnishing..

And to me, nicely finished brightwork is a thing of pure aesthetic beauty so I try to keep the most visible pieces up to snuff though I have Brightside-ed Serena's wooden spreaders and other more utilitarian wood parts. I do keep all the topside wood on my sailboat finished bright, but have made canvas sun covers for most of it which has let the varnish stand up through multiple seasons here in the northeast.

An acquaintance put me on to a teak sealer called Semco that kept his 47' sailboat looking snappy. Allegedly just clean the wood thoroughly, then brush on a couple of coats, with a yearly maintenance coat and that's all he claims to do. I used it on Serena's fly-bridge woodwork but decided to try it as a base coat and applied four coats of Minwax Spar urethane over it. Came out beautifully but we'll see how it stands up over time.
Joe

Good point about canvas covers over some teak handrails etc, adds a lot of protection.