Bedding Teak

[Rick Johnson]

Well, I had two weeks off here in Texas and I decided to remove all the teak on the deck and re-finish it all with Cetol Light.  Not a project I would want to do again soon, but I'm glad I took the time.  My question is; Does everything get bedded with polysulfied?  The teak pieces beside the sliding hatch don't look like they had any bedding, but there was a lot of "dirt" underneath which could collect moisture.  My guess is that everything should be bedded just to keep the water out of the screw holes and out of the deck-core...

And a curse on whoever put the eyebrow pieces on with silicon!   

[Ron Hill]

Rick : You can also bed the screws that hold the teak in place with silicone.  Which ever you decide to use (silicone/poly sulfide) just make sure that it does some curing before you make the final turn on the screw - or you'll squirt out all of the bedding compound.   
BTW, a number of us removed our "eyebrow" strips and never put them back on.  I took some short #4 screws with finishing washers and filled the holes(silicone caulk).  Those strips are finished in the attic and will be passed on to the next owner.   

[Jon Schneider]

Ron- I'm also in the process of refinishing all of my exterior brightwork, and when I took off the "eyebrows," I began to ponder whether I would like the look of the boat better without them.  I haven't had the time to remove the dirt and staining left behind from the eyebrows, so it's hard to visualize the boat without these "ghosts" (and the water's still not turned on at my marina here in the northeast, so it may be a while before I can do a good job removing the stains).  So, do you like the look without the eyebrows?  Did you remove them because you preferred the look or just because it was easier not to replace them?  What did you do about the screwholes?  Are they noticeable?  Do you have any pix of your naked boat?

[Howard Armstrong]

Ron, i have be thinking the same thing. i looked at all your project posts, and none show the boat without the eyebrows. my eyebrows and starting to come apart at the joints and i have been thinking of just removing them as well.
thanks

[Jim Price]

We have had mucho discussions on this subject in the past and the answer seems to be refinish, remove, or replace.  For replace, options are new teak, custom SS, or composit material.  Composit alternative link is   

http://www.plasteak.com/boating/teak_replacement/tkreplcmnt.htm

I have no experience or pricing on the plasteak, just wanted to bring it back as an option.

Personally, I have refinished mine twice over past 4 years and it is a pain in the rear, but it does look great when fresh.  As I get older though, the next time I may consider the plasteak - depending on price, etc.

[Susan Ray]

Another option for the eyebrows is painting them. I primed them with white Interlux primer and like the look already. I plan to paint them a light gray to match the nonskid, which needs painting due to damage.

[SteveLyle]

Not a big deal, but I think that the term 'eyebrow' is being used differently here.

My understanding is that Ron is referring to the thin teak strips runninig forward/aft over the cabin ports on the port/stbd side of the coach roof.

It sounds like Rick is referring to the larger (wider, thicker, but shorter) pieces on the top edge/aft end of the cabin, either side of the main companionway hatch.

And guess what - I removed both of these, so whichever you're referring to, I have no eyebrows.  I had to do some gelcoat repairs under the latter definition.  Obviously Catalina doesn't think they've been necessary for looks any time lately, so it tends to make the boat look a bit more modern.  I'm fine with teak, but these pieces are totally nonfunctional and I don't think the boat misses them.

[Footloose]

I removed my grab rails to refinish them over the winter and plan to rebed them with Boatliffe caulk.  I plan to used the primer as I assume that it is a sealant to improve the adhession and keep the oil out of the joint.  Has anyone tried not using it and what kind of result did you have?

As an aside, I love the look of well maintained brightwork.  I guess I am a retro grouch.

Dave

[dave davis]

One More Opinion.
I certainly respect Ron"s method for sealing any hole and waiting for the sealent to firm up before that last squeeze.
Well, the way I have done it is to form a 45 degree angle on the top of the hole and over fill it with the sealant. You don't have to wait until the sealant is firm, just tighten it op and let the excess lealent ooze out. By having the sealant fill the chamfer, you should end up with a good seal after you clean the extra goop off.

One more option while talking about eyebrows and teak finishes. After you have done a nice clean finish on the teak hand rails and eyebrows, You can protect the both of them with the material used to cover the main. It's about 16 feet guessing) full length. Put grommets in the material and hang the excess with a short line to the life lines. This will protect both the hand rails and the eyebrows.
Good luck. Dave