Planks or solid wood??

[JohnK]

Any opinions welcome!!

I appologise in advance for any terms I have wrong, please feel free to correct me (new boat owner).

I'm replacing the planking in the wheel house (the open area at the stern) on my Shetland 535. The area is only about 7' x 7'. I'm going to replace it with 1/2" marine ply but I don't know whether or not to cut shallow slots in it to make it look like planking.

I'm confident I can make the ply look like planking but I'm not sure whether I want to or not (I used to be indecisive but I'm not sure if I still am, what do you think?)

What would look best?

TIA
John

 

[aztec]

don't know if my opinion counts for much! planking works great on a classic styled boat. but also looks nice if added as a feature. but is more time consuming to do. plywood looks boring but is easier,
i would'nt waste time cutting pretend joins in plywood due to the time it takes to refill the joins with sealer,to make them look nice, in my opinion faced ply with added "seams" looks nice, is non slip and easier. also it can be taken up easily if you need to gain access.

please feel free to drop me an email if you like as i have a list of suppliers (taken from this forum) who supply these products, unfortunately i cannot personally recomend any but i'm sure that most of those out there have better knowlege than me.

s.amos@ntlworld.com
good luck, steve.

 

[Sammy]

Ply is most suitable and I have seen it grooved to look like planking if it is well treated with varnish or similar should last for a long time.
If you don't mind spending money then the simulated teak decking made up of a formica type laminate looks very good and does not require any treatment except around the edges.
Warerite flooring can be bought direct from Odyssey (01489 575550) in an 8’ x 4’ sheet, cost about £140 plus carriage, plus VAT, or from Robbins Timber
Hope this helps.
Chris

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Sammy on Mon Dec 31 16:47:36 2001 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

RE: Planks or wood? When you lay in your new bulkhead, routing out a plank line will expose the edge of the grain on each cut. This will leave the ply far more likely to de-laminate at an earlier age. If you want to spruce up the face of the wood, I suggest gluing a strip of hardwood say 4" x 0.5" around the edges of the bulkhead and down the middle to make a door panel effect. This will also cover all the fastenings/glassfibre used on the bulkhead. Lastly, you said you were using marine ply, as the bulkhead does not get submerged permanently you can use exterior ply with no loss of quality or durability (it's just a lot cheaper!).

 

[Strathglass]

Whilst you can make a visually attractive job by fitting teak faced ply with a grove cut in it then filled. It is unlikely to last for very long irrespective of sealing treatment when compared with solid wood, some syntethic substitutes or preformed wooden ply decking sheets specifically manufactured for OUTSIDE USE. Do not consider internal teak sole ply (if you are keeping the boat).
As a seperate question. Where do you get MARINE teak faced ply at a reasonable price?

 

[JohnK]

Thanks for the advice everybody.

The ply I'm going to use isn't teak faced, it's just standard marine ply, I picked it up for about £25 for an 8' x 4' sheet from a timber merchants in Nottingham.

I was thinking of doing a couple of coats of exterior woodstain then a coat of yacht varnish on top of that.

Thanks again and happy New Year,
John

 

[longjohnsilver]

Rather than use woodstain and yacht varnish, I would use Sikkens Ceetol, they have a base coat and a finish coat. I have found it excellent, far better than anyof the marine wood coatings sold in the chandlers.

 

[castaway]

Try this. Fit yr deck and and varnish finish. When it is all well cured (dry) mask off narrow strips approx 5mm wide (as though they are deck seams) and reapply varnish to this area. With a fine sprinkler from yr wifes kitchen scatter very dry fine white sand into the wet varnish strips. The rest is obvious. The finish can be dusted off when dry and a finish coat put on. Looks good v hard wareing and dead cheap...

 

[JohnK]

Is Ceetol known by any other names? I can't find it anywhere on the Net

 

[BarryH]

I routed the joins in the ply then infilled the routed joint with bleeched pine, all sealed up with 2 pack varnish, satin finish. the end result looks as good as "proper" teak laid decks. fraction of the price and its been down for 3 seasons now with no lifting or resealing. the only tip is to cut any individual panels first so its easier to route the edge strips.

 

[longjohnsilver]

The producers are Sikkens, any good paint shop or builders merchants should stock it.

 

[JohnK]

I found Sikkens (www.sikkens.co.uk) but there are ten different Cetol products.

Do you remember which one you used?

 

[longjohnsilver]

HLS and Filter 7, one is a base coat and the other a top coat, can't remeber which is which but it does tell you on the tin. It is very thin stuff and a half litre tin will last a long time.

 

[JohnK]

Thanks very much ... I've just ordered a litre of each from www.decoratingdirect.co.uk

John

 

[JohnK]

Thanks LongJohn,

I applied the first coat of Cetol today and I'm very impressed, it's the easiest wood finish I've applied.

Thanks again,
John