Jointing teak cap rail and what varnish/sealer

[Keith-i]

I'm in the process of replacing some rotten balsa core in the walls of the wheelhouse on my boat. Where the wheelhouse finished aft at the cockpit it is capped with a teak rail. Part of my repair process (and possibly one source of the moisture ingress) is the method of bonding this rail in place and sealing the joints where it butts against other pieces. It was screwed to the grp from the side and sealed with some pretty inflexible material, possibly epoxy with coloured filler.

As the boat is 30 odd years old and the teak covered in layers of old varnish and Sadolin wood stain it all blended in fairly well. However, I now want to strip and varnish the teak so need some method of filling the joints and bonding it in place which won't look out of place with a lighter varnished finish. Thoughts please on suitable sealant/filler for butt joints and the teak-grp junction.

Which brings me on to my second question. The caprail is protected 99% of the time by the cockpit canopy so I think varnish will be fairly attractive and durable but are there better stain/sealer options to consider? I've had good results internally using Hempel Duragloss with matt top coat.

 

[Pye_End]

A bit of Sikaflex 291 seems to work, though I see that 290 is advertised as a specialist deck caulk.

Varnish tends not to like sticking to teak, which is why other products are often discussed here. Personally, I prefer International Woodskin. Not that it is particularly more durable, but mainly because a bit of damage does not leave a finish with water getting under it, and that it is much easier to sand and re-finish.

 

[V1701]

I would use CT1 to bond/seal, I use Woodskin (reapply once a year) on some of the exterior wood (substantial guard rail around the stern & grab rails) and Danish oil on the toerail (reapply couple of times a year). All very low maintenance and looks good...

 

[Keith-i]

I’ve bought a tin of Woodskin which looks very similar to Sikkens Cetol. I’m going to try Geocel 791 frame sealant for the joints as it is available in brown and adheres to most substrates, painted or otherwise.