Cost of teak coamings

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lsheaf
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Cost of teak coamings

Post by lsheaf »

Hey guys,

What would you expect to pay for two pieces of team that measure 10” tall x 1” wide x 9 feet long?
I was quoted locally in the Caribbean $1050 before milling. That sounds pretty crazy to me.
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atomvoyager
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Re: Cost of teak coamings

Post by atomvoyager »

Last time I bought some for an Alberg 30 from Maritime Wood Products in FL 5 years ago it was $26 per board foot for 3/4" x 11" x 93" length was $400 for two pieces. Less wide planks are sold cheaper so you could try epoxy gluing two together on edge. If you can't find affordable teak you might try using iroko or one of the so-called African mahoganies like sapele and always keep it maintained with varnish. Or use some cheaper wood or repair your existing damaged wood with epoxy fillers
of even fiberglass over cracks and seal it in epoxy resin and paint it some contrasting color like a brown wood color. Maybe someone else has some suggestion?
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Re: Cost of teak coamings

Post by CapnK »

After seeing it in use on docks and decking, I'd thought of using Ipe because it is so tough and durable. Drawback is that it is a rare and expensive wood, and not very sustainable from what I've read.

One alternative that has similar characteristics is Cumaru (aka Brazilian Teak, Dipteryx Odorata, Almendrillo, Tonka, and Tonquin Bean), and it's supposed to be 1/3 or so cheaper than Ipe. It is, like Ipe, very dense and not the easiest to work.

Sounds kind of crazy maybe, but why not build a thin skinned foam cored board in the shape needed, and then epoxy a veneer (or 3) onto it? If kept up, I'd think that would last. It would be lighter by a fair bit. Thoughts?
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atomvoyager
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Re: Cost of teak coamings

Post by atomvoyager »

If you want to keep it varnished or sealed with a two-part clear coating then there are many woods you could choose. A veneered foam board is interesting. Coamings often have fasteners for cleats, winch bases, dodger attachment and so on so you'd need to engineer around that and then adding veneer around edges may be a problem. Probably need to add a solid wood edge trim in places at the least. And veneers are so thin you'd have to be extra careful on maintenance. Veneer may work good though on interior glassed foam panels where you want to save weight, such as on my F24 Corsair trimaran that I've been upgrading recently.
lsheaf
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Re: Cost of teak coamings

Post by lsheaf »

CapnK ~ Ipe (at least what they’re advertising it as) is surprisingly easy to get here in the Caribbean, probably because most of it comes from nearby South America. I bought two 9’ x 1” x 8” pieces a little over a year ago for 80 bucks and it is of good quality. Cheaper than mahogany.

Cumaru is one I’ve never seen sold locally.

I like the foam core idea. I suppose it is how I will build the Atom 6.5 as opposed to a plywood core, but don’t think I will have leftover material. At that point it may still be cheaper and easier to go with solid teak. I’m however curious how stiff the 6.5 will come out with a foam core, I don’t have much experience with foam.

I was able to have a local home builder get some teak from his supplier in Florida for around $19 a board foot. Hopefully the quality is alright.
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Re: Cost of teak coamings

Post by CapnK »

I've a friend who builds surfboards, and he was telling me this past week that he has quite a stock of 1/8 or 1/4 high density foam sheet material that he has no use for.

Not sure if PU or PE, but I am going to take some off his hands for experimentation regardless. :)
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lsheaf
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Re: Cost of teak coamings

Post by lsheaf »

Very nice, what is the best method for laminating the foam sheets together? I assume 1/8” or 1\4” is a little too thin to do much with.

Also what is the PU/PE? Type of foam?
lsheaf
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Re: Cost of teak coamings

Post by lsheaf »

Just for anyone reading this thread in the future, I ended up paying 43 dollars a board foot for some good quality teak here in the Virgin Islands. The total price was about 820 bucks before milling and planing.
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