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New wood, where do I start?

2K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  grnrngr 
#1 ·
A few years ago my stepdad made me a set of new wood for the boat. Everything but the toe rails. I was mad because before I could even talk to him about it he had gone ahead and made them out of pine and after I bitched he switch to white oak. Either way I have not been able to keep up with varnish and the wood is turning black. The toe rail that I cleaned and cetoled looks much better. I still have the original wood that I could clean and replace but thought it would be better to remake. So where do I look for wood? I may make it myself although I am a metal worker not a wood worker and dont have many tools. I may have a friend make it. What other options do I have to have someone else make me it for me? Any help appreciated.
 
#2 ·
I've been replaceing the teak on my boat with 'ironwood' or epi?!?!? son's work had some left over from a deck install. Seams to work a lot like teak so far. Its a very hard wood. Found I needed 36 grit paper on a belt sander to remove anything semi quickly. 50 and 80 is like 200-400 grit on softer woods like pine, cedar, poplar etc.

Marty
 
#3 ·
Abe teak, white oak, and others will all "turn" in the sun. varnish and other coatings just delay the inevitable. Many people leave teak untreated and it turns gray. which oak can do the same but it can spilt allot when doing so.

Some people have used plastic lumber used for decks on things like toe rails and non structural parts.

As you are a metal worker there are metal alternatives for hand rails. aluminum toe rails and other parts that could be a godsend for someone that isn't interested in yearly brightwork work!
 
#4 ·
Look around your area. What lumber sources are there? What do they stock? What would withstand damp? There are a couple of "exotic wood" retailers near me. You're not so much looking for super fancy, but one of the basic tropical hardwoods.

Are there any boat-building operations nearby? What sources do they use?

How big a project is this? A dinghy? A canoe? A cruiser?
 
#8 ·
Not a big job, tartan 30. Minimal wood, ofcourse tried all the lumber yards. They dont do teak. Im in a boating town in harrison twp on lake st clair. Mi Great lakes. Just dont know of any marine lumberyards with teak. Does it come in 2x4,s like standard lumber. I am a licensed builder and know all about the lumber yards, just dont know alot of boaters and cant seem to find teak very easily. I just need about four handrails and a couple winch islands. and a couple mounts for my dorade vents and cleatmountings. I build stuff all day long and am more than capable of making and installing it myself. Just my tools all moved to Florida and I dont have any real woodworking tools or shop. Would rather have someone make me the wood based off the original and just do the install myself.
 
#10 ·
hand rails are like inch and a half by inch and I think we made the winch islands out of three quarter, prehaps 5/8. Would really have to check. Winch island is like, guessing is like 30x8xhalf or whatever we used. The old teak was much thinner due to wear and cleaning etc... I have found some nice plywood teak, just no real wood.
 
#11 ·
If you are a licensed builder, I would be surprised if the "ironwood" I used was not available to you. similar to teak in how it works etc. IIRC same family of trees, but a better resourced tree that is more harvestable etc than teak from rainforests. looked up here. IPE is another name for it. Mostly used in decking.

Teak in general can be a pain to find, as it it common, but at the same time scarce as to who has it. Here in seattle, maybe one or two of the lumber yards has it. Out of maybe 50-100+ places.

Marty
 
#12 · (Edited)
Oak and pine, especially the types of oak and pine that you can typically find at a lumber yard make very poor choices for trim on boats being rot prone and subject to staining. There are readily available materials like western red cedar which are rot resistant, but which are soft and would get pretty beat up if not saturated with epoxy. Real Burma teak is almost unavailable in the marketplace. There are species which behave something like teak. Ipe is one of them that is popular right now. Ipe is actually harder to work with, does not hold finishes all that well (real teak does not either), and is much heavier than teak so it does not appeal to me at all. I also do not especially like the color.

One of my favorites of these is teak like woods is Angelique, which is a South and Central American import. Angelique is just slightly harder than oak, but is lighter in weight, easier to mill and work with than IPE. I have not bought any Angelique in quite a few years, but I was able to buy it online quite reasonably priced from an outfit in Georgia. That company doesn't seem to be around anymore. Angelique is supposed to be environmentally responsibly harvested which meant something to me. I was able to buy 1X_ and 5/4 planks as well as some metric sized square stock. Some possible sources are:
Lumber | Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway
ENVIRO HARDWOOD - Premium Exotic Hardwood Flooring That's 100% Environmentally Friendly

I would only use angelique if you were planning to varnish or oil the wood since it tends to check a little (like Ipe) if not protected.

If your were looking for an easier (and perhaps less expensive) wood to work, you can purchase wood in the Mahogany family or woods like Spanish Cedar, which are similar to mahogany in hardness and rot resistance. Mahogany like woods would need to be kept varnished, and I would seal any surfaces that are in contact with other surfaces with epoxy to prevent moisture uptake. Mahogany was an original option on the Tartan 30's, although most that I have seen have teak.

Jeff
 
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#13 ·
Ipe (spelled just that way) is one of many species called "ironwood" that are similar to teak, i.e. hard enough to stop a musket ball, ergo "iron wood".

It is a very popular house decking material because it is so durable.

"Plastic" lumber can vary quite a bit, I've heard that "Lumberock" is one of the few that has no wood content, so it will not stain or wear as the wood degrades.

I'd be tempted to keep the new wood after a good cleaning, and then apply multiple coats of a stain doped with fungicide or mildecide, to try making it toxic to the mildew. Followed by a good top coat to seal it.

But personally I hate doing brightwork, I like the look of gray teak as it ages. Clean gray teak. And for toerails, I prefer aluminum for the very practical holes, even if that's a fading anodized or paint job on it.

But pine...cheap soft wood for cheap floors and such. Never did have any great respect for it, other than as firewood. And it isn't even great for that, just easy to cut.

Any of the "Wood Boat" magazines or workshops should be able to get you the names of some yards that carry teak and other good woods, the only stopper is the cost.
 
#15 ·
I get my wood through a local company that builds cabinet doors. The owner of the cabinet door shop calls his supplier to see if what I need is available, and (it has always been available) he orders it and it comes with his delivery (each week on Tuesday) and he charges me no shipping as a result. I have been able to get teak, mahogany, Spanish cedar, ash, Brazilian cherry, marine (BS1088) plywood, and cedar.

I found the company in the yellow pages, went and talked to the owner, and he was happy to help me out.
 
#17 ·
Teak really is the best but, as mentioned by others, there are other tropical species that are durable and rot resistant. I used a piece of Canary wood to replace a piece of teak. It silvered up nicely and blends in so you can't tell it's not teak. White Pine really has few uses on a boat. Yellow Pine has some good rot resistant properties but has little character and is fairly soft. Better to use it for stair treads.

Some local lumber yards around here carry hardwood species for furniture and cabinet work. If you have a good, old-time lumber yard around you may be surprised at what they have and what they can get for you. There's a LOT to know about wood and a knowledgeable lumber yard person is invaluable in locating what you need. Check to see where your locals get their hardwood. You could maybe find a local mill but you need dried lumber, not green stuff.
 
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#18 ·
The going rate for teak in new England is currently in the high $20s per board foot. Just stupid expensive. I only use teak for areas that will be under foot (great nonskid properties) and i do not varnish. For everything that is to be varnished I go with a mahogany species. True Honduras mahogany is about $12 per board foot right now and the quality varies greatly. I am currently using sapele which is an African mahogany that has a lovely ribbon grain when quarter sawn and looks great varnished. It doesn't work as well as true mahogany (it is harder), but is acceptable. Sapele is about $7 per board foot now so it makes big projects reasonable.
 
#19 ·
We just had a mahogany deck built around our clubhouse and had a bunch of scraps left over, inch thick, 5 3/4 wide, 8-16 long. I'm making grab handles, winch and cleat pedestals, and other fun stuff. Check with folks who do outdoor construction, they usually use wood that can handle the elements.
 
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