planking cabin top

[Kelsey]

I am getting ready to epoxy/glass the cabin top of my 1957 26' Chris Craft Sea Skiff. I have removed the old glass/epoxy and it is down to the plywood, which is in good shape. It was then that I had a thought that may look great, but be a lot more work (sound familiar?) Would it be horrible to - instead of glassing it and painting it white - to mill 1/2" thick by 6" wide v-groove tongue and groove mahogany, and lay that right on the plywood..and keep it bright....most of the rest of the boat is bright. Besides the maintenance factor of varnishing, what about the v-groove, water "should" drain down the grooves and off the boat if I build it correctly...IF. Is that v-groove asking for trouble? Maybe fill it with caulk for a more traditional look?

[Nicholas Carey]

Originally posted by Kelsey:
Would it be horrible to - instead of glassing it and painting it white - to mill 1/2" thick by 6" wide v-groove tongue and groove mahogany, and lay that right on the plywood..and keep it bright....Yes.


Besides the maintenance factor of varnishing, what about the v-groove, water "should" drain down the grooves and off the boat if I build it correctly...IF. Is that v-groove asking for trouble?Yes. The 'V-groove' would trap water and it would seep under the mahogany and cause leaks and rot.


[b]Maybe fill it with caulk for a more traditional look?[/QB]No you're on to something. The usual way would be laid teak, not mahogany. Mahogany is a louse wood for decking.

Then, the planks would be narrow — perhaps 1-1/2 inches wide. And they run fore-and-aft, not athwartships. The should have a rabbet cut in one side, maybe 1/4 inch wide and 1/4 inch deep, that receives polysulfide or polyurethan caulk.

Usually in a laid-teak-on-ply deck, the teak is thin, and epoxied to the plywood subdeck.

Suggest scoping out a good book on boatbuilding, as well as back issued of Our Sponsor's magazine. 2-3 years back, they did an article specifically on current technology in laid teak on plywood decks.

Also look up Teak Decking Systems (http://www.teakdecking.com/). They manufacture and install more teak-on-ply decks than anyone else in the world.

[formerlyknownasprince]

I've used Dynel and epoxy, followed by paint on the forward cabin tops on Grantala - a piece of cake to do. The decks are half done. We have ply with Dynel and epoxy down now, to be finished with 9mm Teak, with 20mm Teak cover boards in the near future - I'm sick of having to keep the epoxy covered with tarpaulins while we do more important tasks.

Before Dynelling, you can fair any irregularities in the surfaces with thickened epoxy (we had to do this in two small areas - not bad for a 65 year old cabin top).

Keep the Vee-grooved boards for the inside.

Ian

[stevenj]

epoxyworks magazine did an article on teak decking, 2 issues back I beleive. Article is online too.

stevenj