Removal of teak rubbing strip.

[ANDY_W]

I am in the process of refurbishing an old Westerly which has a teak rubbing strip all the way round the deck to hull join.The teak has cracked and split in places.I've tried letting in a new piece in one spot but there are three more areas that need replacing and I think the overall effect would look rather patchy.It would be better to replace the lot.

I know that it's not a classic boat but I feel that this forum might have the expertise.

The strip is bolted through with the nuts glassed over-it would be a real pain to have to strip off each nut, particularly as some of the interior woodwork has been fitted over some of the nuts, and many of the others are difficult to access.

It would be far easier to use some sort of hole saw to drill through wood and fibreglass in one go and fill in the holes.

Could anyone suggest a suitable tool approximately 13-14mm ID for use with an electric drill?

If there are any thoughts as to how else to tackle the problem, I would be grateful.

Thanks, Andy.

 

[old_salt]

Did a similar job years ago and cut the rubbing strip away around the bolt heads then just unscrewed them. We only had two nuts that would not let go and re tighten on the replaced bolts so cut them short and glassed then in and drilled for new in an appropriate spot. Looked nice when all the bolt counter bores had the plugs in. New strip bedded on Seka. It is worth a try to see if the bolts will remove if the job was done well with removal in mind in the first place it should work if not then you know you where your at. A good quality hole saw ( a Starrett ) will cut the hole around the bolt head and the nut if you have to, start it with the centre drill in then remove the drill and proceed with care if the bolt has been removed you may be able to get the drill though the nut and so have a guide. Hope this helps.

 

[Peterduck]

I'll go along with all of that. When you come to buy your replacement timber look at alternatives to teak, eg iroko. Teak's grain is very erratic, which leads to the cracking and splitting. Ideally, the grain should be straight and continuous within the piece.
Peter.

 

[JasB]

I replaced the rotten wood strip on my Snapdragon by cutting the old stuff off with a hacksaw, and then used a junior hacksaw to remove the bolts that wouldn't unscrew.

Are you replacing the strip with wood, or with a rubber/pvc strip?

 

[old_salt]

Yes as Peterduck says iroko is probably the more suitable with it's straighter grain.
Look for some old school science lab tops. You may have to look around the second hand builders suppliers. timber and demolition outfits. We found most of our wood that way for the work on Mercia III.

 

[ANDY_W]

Many thanks for the replies.

I hav'nt really decided what to use to replace the the strip. If I use wood it will require periodic attention but would look nice. Vetus do a rubber moulding with the choice of different coloured inserts which would probably be more practical and easier to fit.

If I were to use iroko, could it be oiled as for teak, left bare or would it need to be varnished? When fitting, presumably it would have to be steamed to fit around the curve of the hull. ( the original teak is 40mm x 30mm )

As regards the nuts and bolts, the ones I have removed so far have all had to have the fibreglass chiselled away from the nuts since they all moved when trying to undo from the outside. Hence the search for an easier way to deal with them.

Andy

 

[JasB]

for pvc strip, try Wilkes at Tollesbury .

 

[old_salt]

The hole saw should cut around the nut a suitable socket then to hold or remove the nut.
Iroko may benefit from steaming if you have a the access to one or soak in brine for a day or so the curve of the hull is not so great as to be a big problem start fixing at the bow it will be easier to bend and fix.
Iroko will take oil and varnish with no probs.

 

[Peterduck]

Consider replacing the strip with a laminated strip, with two 15mm laminations. Do not glue them together, but bond the first strip to the hull with whichever method you choose. The dry screw the second strip to the first. This can then be regarded as a sacrificial strip which will take all the 'slings and arrows of outrageous docking'. I would definitley advocate oiling rather than varnishing because of the aforementioned slings and arrows. Oil will be easier to touch up than varnish. You may also consider a strip of half-oval brass extrusion to go over all the strips to take some of the abuse.
Peter.

 

[old_salt]

What an excellent suggestion and quite a definite one I will use on Mercia III when we get to fitting the rubbing strake.

 

[poter]

I would also like to remove & replace my teak rubbing strip

Its a 'Dufour 35'

Fixings are not a problem.

But my problem would be the curve, how do you get the rubbing strip to follow the curve of the boat?? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

poter

 

[tcm]

Peterducks suggestion will work for curved boats *and* for other boats that somehow manage to be flat-sided. In thin/narrow strips, a piece of wood that is actually straight can be made to follow a curve simply by fixing it fimly every so often along its length. Indeed, if wood did not exhibit this property then all classics would look as though they had ben made from packing cases, instead of just a few.