Iroko or Mahogany?

[QuantumLeap]

I am having a new traditional forward hatch made out of wood for my boat in the Mediterranean. I have already have had made the main cabin hatch made out of fiberglass with Mahogany sides. So far with decent varnishing it has held up quite well. I have a choice of make the forward hatch out of Iroko or Mahogany. What do you think will stand up the best to the sun?

 

[Gymnopedie]

Mahogany every time. Iroko is a "semi" hardwood, vulnerable to fresh water and shrinkage to a much greater degree than mahogany. Many years ago I maintained a one-of 15 ft dinghy clinker planked in iroko. By the time it was 5 years old i recall there was more new planking than original.

 

[cameocrew]

I have 38ft cutter iroko on oak with mahogany/iroko superstructure built 1972
She has spent most of her life in the sun-presently on Costa-and there is very
little of the orignal mahogany left but all of of the iroko. Iroko seems a lot tougher
and durable but is more difficult to maintain a good 'finish' on . If I were making
a hatch it would be Iroko every time. If i were making a deck ornament I'd
go for mahogany

 

[john_morris_uk]

I think it also depends on what the boat builder (hatch-builder?) is calling mahogany? There is a lot of tropical hardwood that is labelled mahogany that isn't really. Proper mahogany is in very short supply and almost impossible to get. I managed to get some to replace some strakes on our SCOD once upon a time, and it was a delight to work with and finish. I was suprised at how light it was. The yard was a specialist boat building timber yard in S Devon and 'twas the yard owner and manager that showed me the difference.

Haven't quite got my mind round the idea of a hatch of mixed construction but that's another matter.

Looks like Iroko might be the answer - although why can't you use Teak for such a relatively small job? It doesn't have the grain problems that Iroko has sometimes and is as durable as timber gets.

 

[Roach1948]

Brazilian "flame" mahogany is still readilly available although it not cheap - I have recently made an entire cockpit out of the stuff. It will far outlast iroko and as mentioned above, will be joy to work with. Iroko is known to be tough on saw blades. I would go and see the wood he intends to use and probe on its origins; you may be lucky and it could be real mahogany.

 

[graham]

I am surprised at the comments about Iroko not being durable. I have allways found it to be extremely durable ,only beaten by teak. Iroko can be left unpainted and just scrubbed now and then . Mahogany on the other hand will go black and deteriorate if left unvarnished/painted.

 

[alan006]

I agree with you Iroko seems to cope very well with the marine environment. I was told its the "poor man's teak".
I used to think mahogany was better suited to cabinets than boats however on my 1946 Osbourne the wheelhouse is made from mahogany and although it has suffered neglect it is in remarkably good condition, so I have to assume it is down to the quality of the mahogany as other people have said. I suspect it would be hard to buy that quality of mahogany nowadays. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Perhaps Iroko varys less in quality, whereas Mahogany can over a much wider range of qualities.