Association Forum - Teak Exterior Cabin Trim

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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Teak Exterior Cabin Trim

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joegeiger
1st Mate

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USA
63 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/30/2003 : 15:25:23

I just purchased an '86 C25 and started working on the teak. The exterior teak rail along the top sides of the cabin need to be replaced. I haven't seen it available at CD or any other place. Can anyone suggest where I might find these parts?

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1768 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 15:33:20

Hi Joe,

Welcome to the group!

Why do you think the handrails need to be replaced? Are they broken, or do they just "look bad?"

If they aren't broken beyond repair, you'd be surprised how good they'll look after some elbow grease and some varnish (like Cetol). A PO painted the handrails on my boat with black lacquer ... 'looked awful!

After stripping, sanding, and varnishing, they look like new.

Edit: After some more thought, it dawned on me you might be talking about the teak rails on the sides of the sliding cabin top ... however, my comments remain unchanged ... they are likely salvageable, as long as they are structurally sound.

'Hope you love your Catalina ... they are great boats!

Edited by - Buzz Maring on 12/30/2003 15:36:22

joegeiger
1st Mate

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USA
63 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 15:50:17

Thanks for the welcome Buzz. I think one side is salvageable. The boat was secured to a slip with a heavy chain for over 18 months and it rubbed against the teak trim rail on one side cracking it.

I managed to get all of the exterior teak off and rough sanded (companion way, grab rails, hatch slides, etc...). I can't wait to refinish it and put it back on. The interior teak is is good condition so I don't think it will need to be redone this year.

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1768 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 16:00:11

The boat was secured to a slip with a heavy chain for over 18 months and it rubbed against the teak trim rail on one side cracking it.

Bummer!

I'm still not sure which piece you are talking about. The newer C-25s have an extra piece of teak trim on the side that my older boat doesn't have ... is that the piece you are referring to?

There is a fellow here in Texas who sells used boat parts, and he used to have a Catalina 25 with salvage parts ... I bought a couple of things from him, and he is a good guy to deal with. Here is a link to his web site: [url="http://www.sailingtexas.com/index.html"]Sailing Texas[/url]

His email address is posted on his web site ... it's davidluc@grayce.net ... maybe he can help.

Good luck!

Edited by - on

joegeiger
1st Mate

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USA
63 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 16:02:37

I'll drop this guy a note. I was also thinking I could have a piece made. I live near Cape Cod so I'm sure there are a few good woodworkers there.

Edited by - on

Raskal
Navigator

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USA
162 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 16:16:07

Joe, all of these pieces are definitely available from Catalina Direct--I think about $75 each for the grab rails. What's on the web site is only the tiniest fraction of what's out there, so everyone who doesn't have one needs to call the 800 number for a copy of the loose-leaf catalog that came out this Spring.

I did read a good criticism somewhere of wooden grab rails--many will have invisible cracks that you don't want to find when you're holding all of your body weight against a pitching sea. Another good point brought up in the same source (perhaps it was "Buying a boat" from the Practical Sailor library?) is that wooden rails are never anchored the theoretically best way--bolts all the way through the wood and backed with washers--even on very expensive boats. If safety matters, at some point form has to follow function!

In theory, starboard rails or the newer stainless rails that attach at only 2 points are the best form of rails, though you lose the look of wood. The starboard rails won't come in the full length we would need to replace the originals, but you could do a long rail and short rail on each side with only a single rail break in between. I'm also trying to figure out how to use the interior portion of the bolts to hold cabin roof rails, but it will probably require longer bolts.

Rich Kokoska

Edited by - on

Scotd
Navigator

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USA
136 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 18:41:47

I was going to ask the same question?

Is there a good wood worker on the forum that could tell me if this is fixable?

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 19:18:57

Scot D, "Getaway",
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Is there a good wood worker on the forum that could tell me if this is fixable?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Well, I don't consider myself to be a "good wood worker", but if that handrail were mine, it would be looking like new in a couple of evenings.

I'd start be making two small deep marks, one on each side of the break, a very precise distance apart. This is so the rail length can be verified when aligning for gluing. Another approach would be to drill a small hole down through the center of the break right where the two pieces are still in alignment (where their original centerlines still intersect). Then I'd remove the rail.

I'd clean up any frayed wood splinters at the broken surfaces so that they fit back together like well behaved puzzle pieces. Then I'd saturate the faying (mating) surfaces with epoxy resin. Once that had a chance to soak in, but not necessarily harden, I'd apply more than enough epoxy to fill any remaining gap. This second application could be thickened with teak flour or similar to reduce running and improve color matching. (Don't have teak flour in stock at home? Well then sand down the other weathered rail, and capture the fine, clean sanding dust. Mix some of that dust into the epoxy as thickener.) While aligning and clamping the broken pieces, use the previously established alignment reference marks to assure that the finished repair will still line up with the existing holes in the boat.

Once all that has cured, I'd use several grades of sandpaper to "wood" the rail. Based on the silver wood color, raised grain, and my preference for a bright finish, I'd start by power sanding agressively with maybe 80 grit until the grain was flat and the new teak color returned. If any air gaps show up in the glue repair, this would be the best point in the process to fill them. Then I'd work my way down hand sanding through 100, 120, 180, and 220 grit, removing the scratches from each previous coarser grit.

Once the rail was smooth and even colored, I'd apply about four coats of Cetol Marine or similar pigmented stain. One coat per day, scuffing with green ScotchBrite pad between coats. But that's just me.

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 19:28:26

I do Admire Leon. If it were me I would cut out the broken section and sand like HECK with my orbital palm sander on the ends to round them like the stock ends and end up with two shorter rails and a gap where that section was.
But that's just me.

Edited by - on

MattL
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2004 : 03:37:49

For another opinion on the subject of repair.
The ends are probably pretty ragged by now. How about just folding a bit of sandpaper in half sticking it in there and sand the facing ends at the same time, hopefully making them match a little better. Next squirt some epoxy in the joint, it looks like a nice scarf joint to me right now. to help get it in the middle use an old business card from your wallet that you don't need anyway and slide that in there pulling some of the glue along with it. Wrap that sucker up with a little masking tape and wait for it to cure. The edges will not match on the top and bottom, but they will just be a little off. Sand it smooth and your done.

should take less than 15 minutes to do, be sure to clean up any excess epoxy, rubbing alchol works great for this as long as it hasn't hardened. The alchol is also good for cleaning up any tools you might use too. I'd put on some rubber gloves so as to minimize the skin contact.

Edited by - on

martinsokolowski
Deckhand

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16 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2004 : 21:43:43

Are the topside hand rails oak or teak? On my boat they were varnished but the varnish has almost all pealed off. If they are teak I would like to sand them a bit and re-oil them. However, if they are oak I need to revarnish them.

Please help on this.

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1768 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2004 : 22:39:21

Are the topside hand rails oak or teak? On my boat they were varnished but the varnish has almost all pealed off. If they are teak I would like to sand them a bit and re-oil them. However, if they are oak I need to revarnish them.

Please help on this. - Martin

Hi Martin,

I'd bet they are teak ... as far as I know, Catalina only used teak handrails ... Bill Holcolm would know for sure. I suppose a PO might have installed something different, but it seems unlikely.

If they are teak, they'll look great after you use some elbow grease on them ... good luck!

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