Teak

[chicknwing]

Hello all, I have a question. I was down at the boat shop today talking to the guys and I asked the question, what is the difference between teak decks you would find in a boat and teak flooring you would find in a home? The teak in question is solid, no laminate, comes in various sizes from 3/8 to 9/16 in thickness and is "Brazilian Teak". They are tongue and groove planks. Anyone got any idea about the suitability of these for use on a cockpit and cabin sole? Could they be covered with an epoxy like this? http://www.glazecoat.com/GlazeCoat.htm A buddy of mine is using this to build up a solid surface on a plank counter top. Thanks for your thoughts...

TC

 

[salty87]

Re: Teak

teak is very oily, resins don't work too well with it.

 

[chicknwing]

Re: Teak

so if treated with the proper oils could Thisor similar be used on a boat?

TC

 

[Bondo]

Re: Teak

Ayuh,... 9/16" sounds pretty Heavy....

I wouldn't, but You should try it,+ report back how it behaves when drenched with Water.....

As for the Epoxy question,... Epoxy just Can't take Sunlight,... It would have to be coated...

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Teak

I would be interested if the manufacturer has designed it to stand up in a very wet area ....... ask if it would work in a household bathroom.

 

[Paul Bell]

Re: Teak

Epoxy without UV protection will yellow and look nasty over time.
Unsure if UV protected epoxy is available.

 

[TheWoodCrafter]

Re: Teak

That sure looks like engineered flooring. Which means it is not solid teak only the surface has a veneer skin.
It will not stand up to water.
Teak runs about $21 a board foot today.
That is 12" square x 1" thick. VERY expensive.
Use something else like mahogany, cheaper by far.

 

[Tiwaz]

Re: Teak

I wish that I could find it for $21 a BF best price around here that I could find was $49 1/4" teak and Holly ply was 215 a 4'x 8' sheet. Trying to find some alternatives for the cabin of my boat as carpet is not an option. As for teak if properly cleaned first you could try using Ultimate sole if its inside ( I'm not sure if its UV stabilized). If outside just keep it oiled or use a top coat like Gold-spar but if its finished it will be slippery when wet.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Teak

The "Brazilian teak" is not actually teak wood, which is why it's cheaper. It's not laminate either for the most part, it's solid planking.

It's a wood named Cumaru, a different species from teak. Supposedly it's more sustainable, being grown for wood use, as opposed to naturally grown harvested teak.

It is similar to ipe, but a slightly different color. Uncoated it is supposed to last 25-50 years and be maintenance free. It should work very well for boat use. It's very fungus, insect, and weather resistant. To give you an idea, railroad ties made from it commonly last 15 years without any coating or care, and that's in constant contact with the ground, rain, insects,etc.

The only downside is that it's about 3x harder than teak, so you'll want to use carbide tipped tools to work with it, and it'll be harder to sand and finish than teak or other, lighter woods. It's also rather heavy, using it might make your deck 2x as heavy as eg. a ply and glass deck.

But it should otherwise be great for making your deck. I'm gonna try some when the time comes for brightwork on my new boat.

Erik

 

[chicknwing]

Re: Teak

That sure looks like engineered flooring. Which means it is not solid teak only the surface has a veneer skin.

If one were to look under the specs tab one would see this is 100% solid wood. No engineered wood here so they say!

Ayuh,... 9/16" sounds pretty Heavy....

Agree 9/16 is heavy but this product is available in sizes ranging from 3/8 to 9/16.

I have a local source for this product, I simply used the site above to give you guys something to look at for reference. The local product is "Brazilian Teak" it does not appear to be an engineered flooring product. I am going to get a sample piece and record the weight of the product, then i will submerge the sample in water for a week and check the weight again. I will repeat this process for 4 weeks. I think that will tell me if the wood is suitable for exposure. I will report back and let you see the results. Thanks for your replies.

TC

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Teak

It is used for decking around backyard pools and usually with no treatment or preservative.
Should be no reason it can't be used on a boat.

 

[83mulligan]

Re: Teak

Agree 9/16 is heavy but this product is available in sizes ranging from 3/8 to 9/16.

TC

Teak weighs 43 lbs. per cubic foot if you want to calculate the weight you'll be adding to the boat.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Teak

As mentioned above, this is not teak, and it's quite a bit heavier. So the weight will add up fairly high if you use 9/16... but you can use something thinner.

And actually, soaking a piece of it in water won't tell you whether it's suitable for exposure, all it will tell you is how much water it absorbs (not much, it's dense wood). Hopefully your deck wouldn't be under standing water for more than a few hours at a time, right?

Just look at the product in the store or whatever.. probably you can find the species name, which will be Dipteryx something, or there'll be a label saying it's Cumaru. That'll tell you what you need to know.

It's sold as Cumaru, Brazilian teak, Dipteryx Odorata, Almendrillo, Champanha, Tonka, or Southern Chestnut. If the stuff in the store is labeled Brazilian teak, then it's almost certainly this wood.

Erik

 

[83mulligan]

Re: Teak

good catch erik, brazillian teak is 71 pounds per cubic foot.

 

[chicknwing]

Re: Teak

probably you can find the species name, which will be Dipteryx something, or there'll be a label saying it's Cumaru. That'll tell you what you need to know.

It's sold as Cumaru, Brazilian teak, Dipteryx Odorata, Almendrillo, Champanha, Tonka, or Southern Chestnut. If the stuff in the store is labeled Brazilian teak, then it's almost certainly this wood.

Erik

found exactly that during further searching. Looking only at alternative ideas for a decent deck. Like I said in an earlier post I have a local source, (homebuilder) who is looking to unload this stuff. I have contacts with a local company who rips 2x12x16 for pallets, they could rip this material to any desired thickness. (i have some of the remaining materials from the pallet manufacturing process in 1/4x6 that a buddy used to finish his counter tops.)

 

[redfury]

Re: Teak

The "Brazilian teak" is not actually teak wood, which is why it's cheaper. It's not laminate either for the most part, it's solid planking.

It's a wood named Cumaru, a different species from teak. Supposedly it's more sustainable, being grown for wood use, as opposed to naturally grown harvested teak.

It is similar to ipe, but a slightly different color. Uncoated it is supposed to last 25-50 years and be maintenance free. It should work very well for boat use. It's very fungus, insect, and weather resistant. To give you an idea, railroad ties made from it commonly last 15 years without any coating or care, and that's in constant contact with the ground, rain, insects,etc.

The only downside is that it's about 3x harder than teak, so you'll want to use carbide tipped tools to work with it, and it'll be harder to sand and finish than teak or other, lighter woods. It's also rather heavy, using it might make your deck 2x as heavy as eg. a ply and glass deck.

But it should otherwise be great for making your deck. I'm gonna try some when the time comes for brightwork on my new boat.

Erik

As mentioned above, this is not teak, and it's quite a bit heavier. So the weight will add up fairly high if you use 9/16... but you can use something thinner.

And actually, soaking a piece of it in water won't tell you whether it's suitable for exposure, all it will tell you is how much water it absorbs (not much, it's dense wood). Hopefully your deck wouldn't be under standing water for more than a few hours at a time, right?

Just look at the product in the store or whatever.. probably you can find the species name, which will be Dipteryx something, or there'll be a label saying it's Cumaru. That'll tell you what you need to know.

It's sold as Cumaru, Brazilian teak, Dipteryx Odorata, Almendrillo, Champanha, Tonka, or Southern Chestnut. If the stuff in the store is labeled Brazilian teak, then it's almost certainly this wood.

Erik

Cumaru, not so bad to coat and get adhesion. Ipe, forget it on a boat. It's so oily that it stops the drying process of oil based polyurethanes in the best of conditions.

I've done a few Cumaru floors in homes though, with oil and water based polyurethanes. Our guys actually don't mine sanding the Cumaru or working with it...but it is heavy stuff. Haul in a typical job worth of wood ( 800 sq. ft ) at 25 sq.ft. bundles and imagine the work out you get!

One thing to consider is dimensional stability. Denser woods have a tendancy to "move" like an glacier when they swell and contract...forcefully, instead of being able to "absorb" some squeezing due to an open grain, such as a wood like Fir and Pine. Make sure you leave a little wiggle room so when the wood adjusts to temp and humidity, it won't stress the hull edges.

I think I'd try to find a different flooring material though just due to the raw weight of the stuff, unless you are going for a wood look on the floor. Personally, I'd go for some redwood because it's lightweight and exhibits the same properties as the Cumaru and Ipe, but can you find redwood these days like that?