Iroko Decking?

[yachtorion]

Teak and even fake teak decking is horribly expensive.

I've got some iroko bench slats left over. 1mx40mmx20mm.

Any reason I couldn't route some edge profiles on to them and lay them as cockpit decking?

 

[tolhurstorganic]

You could use them but the result may not be as you would like a year after completion. Unless the quality of the timber is good and in particular that it was quarter sawn it will possibly shrink and warp leading to water ingress and de-lamination from the deck material. I would avoid the iroko unless you know for sure the way it has been sawn and the general quality. Iroko has been used for decking but it is unusual. The fact that your timber thickness is 50% of its width is however an advantage and quarter sawn could make for a decent job if well laid.

 

[yachtorion]

If it helps, they came out of this eBay listing, without the moulding.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Iroko-Har...ies_Carpentry_Woodwork_ET&hash=item3a6fe5a27c

Quality does seem very good... I will ask the chap how they are sawn unless it's possible to tell from the pictures?

If I did it I'd be planning to bed them on to the GRP with the relevant Sika product and given the location there is no reason why I couldn't put some bolts through as well.

 

[afterpegassus]

I had some iroko from the very same ebay suppliers and was very pleased with it. It was 8mm and I used it for my cockpit flooring and seating. Fitted two years ago with Marinemastics sikka equivalent and so far very it has behaved itself.
From a moderate distance, it looks very good.
Close up you have to contend with my carpentry skills.

 

[MikeBz]

We had a boat with an iroko laid deck. Still looked pretty much like new after 15 years.

 

[yachtorion]

If I did lay an iroko deck, would it be worth biscuit jointing the planks together? I've got a biscuit joiner handy...

 

[Tranona]

If I did lay an iroko deck, would it be worth biscuit jointing the planks together? I've got a biscuit joiner handy...

Don't lay a whole deck - just think of the additional weight in the wrong place! Cockpit seats are fine but you really do not want 20mm thick. 6mm is fine for cockpit seats. Bed the strips in Sika or Saba with 5mm caulking gaps and caulk with the proper caulk. Do not biscuit join - the strips need to be independent of eachother and the caulk and adhesive will allow for any expansion and contraction of the strips relative to the substrate.

Don't know how much you paid for your iroko, but the proper teak from either Howells in Poole or Robbins in Bristol is not hugely expensive if you are only doing a cockpit.

 

[Actionmat]

i rebuilt the cockpit of my 1970 RLM using iroko bench slats from ebay. The thickness was right and the quality was excellent, but I had to biscuit joint some timbers together to get the right size. According to the brochure, the original construction was iroko, I assumed wrongly that it was teak. Two years on and I'm very happy with the results.

 

[Storyline]

Iroko stands up well to the marine environment. Had a solid iroko worktop fitted in our kitchen and used an offcut as a mounting pad for our windlass and now 5 years on it looks as good as new.

Nb, always wear a mask when machining/sanding it as the dust is extremely irritant and can even be dangerous if you get sensitised.

 

[yachtorion]

Nb, always wear a mask when machining/sanding it as the dust is extremely irritant and can even be dangerous if you get sensitised.

Thanks for the warning. Well worth mentioning. I've already found the dust is horrible.

Whenever I'm painting/varnishing/sanding/grinding/scraping/etc I wear one of these -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000VDPNCQ/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1416840592&sr=1&keywords=3m+mask

I never smell the paint or the dust. Really can't recommend them enough!

 

[afterpegassus]

"Whenever I'm painting/varnishing/sanding/grinding/scraping/etc I wear one of these -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000VDPNC...ywords=3m+mask"

I was surprised when I recently found out I had been using a wrong size mask. This was after being face-fit tested, so if your mask is to be effective, make sure you have the right size.

You also ought to be clean shaven.