Decking wood questions...

Andy Garrett · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:16 am

I'm considering the look I want for the deck of my boat and had a few questions.

Teak:
This wood is a bit oily. I'm wondering if that means that it should be used naturally, or can it be successfully encapsulated without risk of shedding the epoxy. How does this apply to Teak plywood? After all, they got it to glue together to make the plywood. This leads me to believe that encapsulation would be no problem.

Padauk:
This wood is similar in grain structure to the mahoganies, but I haven't heard or read of any marine use. It's beautiful stuff, and I though it might make nice deck planks as this is not a structural function.

Koa and Maple intrigue me as well, but I'm thinking all that stunning figure would look out of place on a boat, even if it could be used.

kens · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:57 am

IMHO, the better looking decks/natural finish boats are ones with rather plain grain patterns.
As example, you mentioned maple (assuming fiddleback grain) this applied in a large area like a deck would be too much to be pleasing. The really stunning grain patterns look good on rifle stocks, guitars and dashboards.
A larger area looks better with a more moderate grain pattern because there is such a large area to see.
Teak is such a pricey item, and Sapele does look very good at a better price, I would investigate the Sapele.
just my 2 cents

darthplywood · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:24 am

I'll tell you what i am doing on my Sea Knight. Whenever my Grandfather built his boats he used Nautolex, which was a realatively cheap wood-grain looking deck covering that you glued to your plywood deck. They don't make it anymore (at least in the wood-finish).

I am going to do my deck in NuTeak. It is a synthetic decking that looks and feels like real teak but required little to no maintainance. It is also non-skid. they are putting it on a lot of upscale cruisers (i know Meridian Yachts uses it a lot). I have seen and felt it and I am very impressed.

here is their website: http://www.nuteak.com/

Also, below are some picks of (realatively) what my boat will look like (that is a pick of my grandfathers SeaKnight with nautolex on it.)

Not to be too long winded but the reasons i am going with Nu-Teak are:
*I want and need a deck on my boat that i can climb up on and walk around on without the danger of slipping
*I really want somthing thats lower maintenance then a real finished wood deck
*I am trying to replicate my grandfathers Sea Knight as closely as I can
*I really do think that the Nu-Teak looks and feels great!

If you are a purest you may not want to use it.

Andy Garrett · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:43 am

Thanks guys!

I feel the same way about too much figure.

Another question: What is the standard width of deck strips?

upspirate · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:19 am

Andy Garrett wrote:

Thanks guys!

I feel the same way about too much figure.

Another question: What is the standard width of deck strips?

Can 'o' worms there!!!! :wink:

Darth, is that stuff you are talking about for exterior use? I've seen it at boat show vender's booths and literature,but always as an interior cabin sole

Dave Grason · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:25 am

Well, I just went through their entire website and it looks like it's good for both interior and exterior marine applications.

This just might be a really good option for some builders. I had not thought about it until I just now saw this thread. I'd like to really think about at least using it for my sole. Is the stuff expensive? Also, I wish there was someway I could see the stuff in person.

upspirate · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:26 am

Dave, what is the stuff Bob Maskel used on his Sea Knight fore deck?

Is it similar?

Dave Grason · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:29 am

Andy Garrett wrote:

Another question: What is the standard width of deck strips?

The reason Warren says that this is a "can of worms" is that you can really go with any width stripe you want. Virtually every boat manufacturer back in the "day" had their own dimensions. But standard hardwood flooring is 2 1/4" and that's what I was going to use as a starting point on my Zip.

Warren, Bob Maskel used real teak on his Sea Knight. I think it was used and he salvaged it from a different project that was redoing their look and he sanded and retreated everything. At least that's what I THINK he did.

Here is what my concern would be if I were to use this. It's true that this may not be what a "purist" would use. But if it had the look and feel of the real McCoy, it would be just fine. I mean, after all, the guys on this forum are NOT building old boats. We're building new boats that only look old. We're a group of guys that embrace new technology for the exact reason the new technology is developed. ..... namely to improve boating. I just wouldn't want something that looked anything remotely plastic.

However, one thing that I've always noticed about people who develop "plastic" alternatives to wood is that their advertising hype always, always, always, presents wood as something that will grey, rot, mold, mildew, etc, etc. We all know on this forum that this only happens to wood that IS NOT TAKEN CARE OF! We also know that wood is NOT THAT DIFFICULT TO TAKE CARE OF!! But the general boating community is made up of a lot of other boaters that treat their boats like prostitutes. They take them out, wear them out and then kick them to the curb until the next time they want to have fun. There are no boats that will look good for very long when treated like that.

BTW, real teak can be extremely grey, resanded, retreated and brought back to life in the most amazing way. That's one of the huge advantages to it.

Andy Garrett · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:36 am

I think I like the look of slightly thinner strips on a smaller boat like the Zip. Maybe I'll go with 2" or so...

I think I can rip those from 60+ inch lumber and fit it to my deck plan with 1/4" gaps.

Now... for cover boards... Hydrotek or Okuome? Can I use ply cut to shape for this? Does that come with a whole mess of 'edge' issues?

Lowka53 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:16 pm

sorry but I love real wood if taken care of properly can last almost for ever. through the years i have seen a number of products come out and have used them now these products are failing and have to be replaced.

some are good though if used properly. I guess basically that its beware a lot of this stuff hasn't been time tested my 2 cents worth.

darthplywood · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:21 pm

Dave Grason wrote:

Well, I just went through their entire website and it looks like it's good for both interior and exterior marine applications.

This just might be a really good option for some builders. I had not thought about it until I just now saw this thread. I'd like to really think about at least using it for my sole. Is the stuff expensive? Also, I wish there was someway I could see the stuff in person.

I don't yet know what the cost of the Nu-Teak is. It states on the website that it is "less expensive then real teak". I will be sending in a template for a quote pretty soon so I will find out and share.

Iggy · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:46 pm

'Standard' is probably 2" and more than likely because its cut from a 8/4 (2" thick) rough stock of lumber on edge. In other words.. you get a lot more usage by cutting 1/4"~3/8" strips off the edge of a 2" thick piece of lumber.

The beauty of solid lumber is that you can sand it down to fix it later. Plywood simply don't have that option.... you have to protect it (with a layer of fiberglass for example) form wear in the first place.

Composites can be tricyky to fasten, to fill (nicks), and you have to watch out for thermal expansion/contraction and UV fading.

I am going the plywood + fiberglass route.. but I am also not going for showroom shine either. If I was building layered cold-molded hull.. I would use a solid lumber varnished top deck for sure.

Teak... personally.. I really like it for 'walkable' & 'wearable' decks. Salvaged teak is just as good as brand new stuff with a little bit of TLC.

galamb · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:05 pm

I priced Nu-teak at the Toronto boat show last month and when they quoted 29 bucks a square foot I asked how they could advertise that it was cheaper than real teak. The answer was, since you can install it yourself it's cheaper than having a real teak deck installed by a pro.

So for us types that do all the work ourselves, even if teak is selling for $20/bf, if you don't count your time and a bit of electricity, you can cut your own for about 1/6th the cost of Nu-teak. Once you add in the glue/epoxy to bond it down and caulking if you decide to put the "little lines" in between, you would still come in at about 20% of the cost of the "ready to install" product.

So while it really is nice stuff, and there would be virtually zero maintenance, it is definately a very very expensive alternative to the real thing - especially in my case since I'm looking at about 80 square feet of sole to cover. That would equate to almost 20% of my entire build cost.

Dave Grason · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:48 pm

Well, it that really is the price for the stuff, that would be a deal killer for me. I'd rather go with the real thrill.

Oyster · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:03 pm

If someone gave me that faux wood to put on my custom wooden boat that I have toiled over for hundreds of hours that I know that people will drool and lust over too even at stoplights, the first thing that I would expect to come out of their mouths is why did you use famowood to trim it out?
Sorry I had to say it and make no apologizes to anyone thats offended. Its just my opinion and may not reflect the views of others. But been there, done that, with thinking that I maybe doing myself some favor. Unless I was building a beatumup boat to dig clams or oysters in, plastic or hardwood plywood for decks goes nowhere remotely close to the boat.
The size also depends and changes depending on the size of the boat too, even by eighths of an inch. Of course a lot depends the room that you are installing strips in, which also tweaks the widths too so that hopefully all the strips and seamlines are the same. Sometimes the edge pieces of the strips taper into the wider border planks in the more extreme curves.

Glen-L.com

Decking wood questions...

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