Teak Grating

Roach1948

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Joined
27 Apr 2006
Messages
1,268
www.dallimoredesigns.nl
OK my cockpit teak grating has given up the ghost. Single castle construction and I am too heavy for it. I've kept it patched up for two seasons, but now I want a new one and I can't be ****ed to make one myself as I have so many other less fiddly projects on.

Any idea who I could approach to make a me one up without breaking the bank so I can start getting quotes?
 
Know the feeling. We gave up on repairing the cockpit floor after one elephant too many jumped on it. Why do people feel they have to jump around on boats.
Went over to some tiles from a DIY shop in the Netherlands - intended for patios and flat roof verandahs. Look like they are made of compressed rubber bands, in various colours. Can be cut to shape, lovely to stand on, sound insulating and let water pass through them so the cockpit is always dry.
Look nice and just need a wash once a season!
Going to try and find the name of this stuff -
 
I have the facility to make them, not sure about the time though. However , if your stuck or if someone wants both arms & a leg let me know. As long as you don't want them this weekend. By the way, is your "Roach" the one on a swinging mooring in the Orwell, sailed past it several times earlier in the summer even took some photos, if it is it has very similar lines to mine.
 
gwylan - yup, the elephant onboard is me I'm afraid, so nobody to blame there. One thing I know, and that is Roach will never forgive for fitting rubberised tiles onboard (nor will this forum).

Mollyhawks - yup, that's me.

Pyro - sent them template - shame it tapers if not I could use a kit of theirs and screw and West each double castle.
 
I asked them for a quote and got a silly price back. I'd really go and make one yourself. I was going to make a grating, but have decided to just have a teak decking floor to the cockpit - easier to clean and looks the part anyway.
 
No problem making a tapered grating from a Howells kit. You just have to adjust the sides to suit your taper and then cut the cross pieces. I have made 3 gratings with their kits, all successful.
 
Another vote for KJHowells, made some of their grids from kits and funnily enough just ordered two more yesterday, to make a side passerelle.
Dependant on the taper, the kits can be made to fit.
 
If the fore/aft grating pieces are precut for a 90 deg grid they can never fit properly if they angled to to accommodate a tapered cockpit for two reasons : the spacing of the cutouts to take the athwart ships gratings will be greater and the angle of intersection will no longer be 90 deg. A solution would be to make/buy a 90 deg grating the width of the small end of the cockpit (or a bit more which can be planed off) and add a tapered cheek each side. These cheeks can be made from a piece of wood the same thickness as the grating and of width the difference between outside of the grating and the width of cockpit at the wide end - you would cut it diagonally. If the cockpit has a very large taper a similar technique could be employed using two cheeks each side but only when the cockpit width exceeds two grating pitches. Vitalba.
 
Another vote for Howell's. Depends on your mooring but I'm not convinced teak grating is always right for the cockpit floor. The air circulation is great - unfortunately gratings in the cockpit also hastens the transmission of general cr*p into the bilge pump. Plain teak planking is OK. Nothing quite like hot teak on bare feet. Use the gratings somewhere where the grit and filth has already had a chance to drop off footwear.
 
Re: Providers of Teak on the East Coast?

Ouuchhh- I think I will make one myself as I have not had a quote under £500 yet. Gosh, these things are expensive.

In the meantime I will make temp. cockpit slats in softwood - but really looking for good providers of teak planks if anybody knows of one on the East Coast
 
Re: Providers of Teak on the East Coast?

I`ve checked the Gratings on Vitalba (which I think are the original - 1966) and I`m sure they are Iroko. They have seen more than their fairshare of exposure over their life and are still sound and have cleaned up nicely. The glued joints had failed so I reglued and screwed from the underside. This could solve your cost/ sourcing problem. VITALBA
 
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