I am going to remove and refinish my cockpit teak this winter. I have started with the eyebrow piece above the companion way hatch. I drilled a small hole in the middle of the plug then screwed a wood screw into the drilled hole. The plug then broke into pieces and I was able to unscrew the screw holding the wood onto the boat. I am going to get the forstner bit to clean the hole. I will become a plug expert by the time I am finished. Some pictures.
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Good winter project. What's your plan for refinishing?
I had great luck with using 3 coats of cetol , finished with 3 coats of clear gloss.
Glenn,
Are you using the dog for scale or doesn't he just like getting his picture taken?
I stripped the finish with paint stripper. I had 30 years of stuff to get off, it worked well. I applied the stripper then rubbed it off with steel wool, you need good gloves for this as it burns on your skin. I then used a palm sander on all sides. I then used teak Brite. When the wood was wet I was able to get out the remnants of the plugs. The factory used glue on the plugs. I will use cetol for the finish. The factory did not put anything on the backside or bottom of the wood. I plan to use cetol on all sides. Because the back side was not sealed the original finish "popped' on the edges allowing water under the finish. I will let the wood dry for a couple of days before I apply cetol, do not want any moisture trapped under the cetol. There is a line of finish that was very thick from previous applications of finish that pooled in the grove that I cannot get out, it is in the grove near the top. I tried scraping with a small screwdriver. Some pictures..
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He is a killer!
Quote from: scgunner on October 23, 2021, 06:40:12 AM
Glenn,
Are you using the dog for scale or doesn't he just like getting his picture taken?
Have you tried a heat gun to soften the finish in the groove then scraping it out?
Glenn- like silicone, steel wool is a no-no around boats. It rusts and leaves annoying bits to rust everywhere down the road. I would avoid it even at home for parts that you intend to bring back to the boat. Bronze wool is the way to go. My preference for the backs would be epoxy, although any good wood finish would work.
Quote from: Jon W on October 23, 2021, 09:58:49 AM
Have you tried a heat gun to soften the finish in the groove then scraping it out?
I did not but will try,good idea.
Bronze wool is the standard for boaters.
I reattached the hood trim piece and I am waiting for teak plugs. I removed the eyebrow trim. I am getting better at removing the plugs. First need to sand the plugs so no finish remains. Lightly wet sanding seemed to make the plugs pop easier. I drill a hole in the middle of the plug then screw a wood screw into the hole until it bottoms out. Then I am able get a screwdriver onto the screw head then slowly turn the screw back and forth and the plug pops. Just as others have noted. The eyebrow pieces are secured with a larger screw than the hood trim. Again these pieces are not sealed on the backside from the factory. I will use the same process as before except with bronze wool. :clap Some pictures
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Glenn— it is probably overkill, but I would bed the pieces in either Butyl, Dolfinite, or Sikaflex, when you reinstall.
I was planning on just sealing around the screws.
That should work!!! You can see that moisture and dirt has gotten behind the trim in the past, so sealing the back with your finish of choice (or epoxy) will protect them and bedding/sealing around screws will stop moisture from migrating into the wood or cabin through the back through screws.
I still need a couple of more coats but getting there.
I put the eyebrow pieces back on and used wood glue on the plugs. I have to wait a day before sanding the plugs down. I also cleaned the white fiberglass that had years of different finishes from other applications. I am going to wait to do the trim that holds the hatch boards and the companionway hatch cover till the boat is hauled for the season, next week. some pictures..
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Now that the boat is on the hard I started working on the teak again. During the trip to the marina where I store the boat for the winter I cut and sanded the plugs for the eyebrow pieces and put on a couple layers of cetol to hold till spring. I will then re-sand the eyebrow pieces and reapply the cetol. I have to wait for the correct temps to do it properly. I removed the vertical pieces that create the grove that holds the hatch boards, three screws each. They were not coated where they attached to the fiberglass. However there was a material almost like candle wax that came off easy with a putty knife. Does anyone know what it may be? I am still working on removing the horizontal base board, eight screws. I had a problem getting 2 out, stripped heads. I then tried drilling off the screw heads but as luck would have it my drill battery died. I will go back tomorrow to remove those screws. I am hoping that 5200 is not used to attach that piece to the fiberglass as it did not want to give very much. I may have to use a couple of half inch plugs where the 2 problem screws are located.I have included many pictures but I can only post 5 at a time so have patience for me. I hope someone finds this thread useful.
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I've been following this post with interest since I did this same work in July 2020. I feel it's a good time to weigh in because I was able to solve a problem I think several C34's suffer. After we purchased Ohana I noticed evidence of a leak on top of the aft port side of the engine compartment cover, right in the corner. I tried several ideas...but that area always seemed to get wet after it rained.
When I removed that piece of teak on the sill the problem became quite clear.....there was little to no sealant under the sill.....the sill is just flat enough that water can collect there and migrate down the unsealed edges and it would end up soaking the engine compartment cover and the surrounding areas.
My solution was to finish the underside of the teak, tape off the area completely and bed the sill in a healthy amount of black polyurethane caulk. I removed the excess caulk that squeezed out and continued on with refinishing the faces of the teak.
That area has been bone dry for well over a year now and I'm happy with the results.
Below are pics of the sill area when I'd removed the teak.....it was PACKED with dirt and debris which obviously didn't help the situation.
I've noticed other Catalina's (not just 34's) that put tarps or other specialized covers over the hatch areas and I wonder if it's to keep water out of the boat.....
This solution was actually pretty simple and I hope it helps others.
Eric thank you for your response. I was finally able to remove the sill teak today and as you noted there did not seem to be any sealer there. I am going to clean up the teak and the fiberglass and wood that it attaches to. I will have to use some kind of sealer but do not know which to use. It seems I will have 1 chance of doing it correctly because of the way it is mounted. Some of the teak stayed on the wood/fiberglass when I removed it. do not think it had been removed since it was originally built. In fact the teak sill plate leaves a little to be desired. I am thinking of making a new one but may not have the skills to do it. Some pictures. Also do you have some pictures of your finished project?
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I don't have any current pics of the finished exterior teak, not anything in detail anyway...... (I'll get some this Saturday when I go down to de-commission the boat for the winter.... :cry4`
I agree that the sill piece is a bit of a hack job when viewed from the bottom...there were some BIG gaps on the underside at the ends so the fact that the original sealant didn't seal is no mystery to me.
I did fill this entire area with caulk and as I stated earlier and the leak is gone. I know there may be better caulks out there than Polyurethane, but my reasoning is that I also wanted to be able to pull this piece again should the leak reappear years down the road.
Eric,
Did you also remove the long teak pieces that secure the sea hatch?
Quote from: ewengstrom on November 17, 2021, 08:38:08 AM
I've been following this post with interest since I did this same work in July 2020. I feel it's a good time to weigh in because I was able to solve a problem I think several C34's suffer. After we purchased Ohana I noticed evidence of a leak on top of the aft port side of the engine compartment cover, right in the corner. I tried several ideas...but that area always seemed to get wet after it rained.
When I removed that piece of teak on the sill the problem became quite clear.....there was little to no sealant under the sill.....the sill is just flat enough that water can collect there and migrate down the unsealed edges and it would end up soaking the engine compartment cover and the surrounding areas.
My solution was to finish the underside of the teak, tape off the area completely and bed the sill in a healthy amount of black polyurethane caulk. I removed the excess caulk that squeezed out and continued on with refinishing the faces of the teak.
That area has been bone dry for well over a year now and I'm happy with the results.
Below are pics of the sill area when I'd removed the teak.....it was PACKED with dirt and debris which obviously didn't help the situation.
I've noticed other Catalina's (not just 34's) that put tarps or other specialized covers over the hatch areas and I wonder if it's to keep water out of the boat.....
This solution was actually pretty simple and I hope it helps others.
Yes, I've removed, stripped and refinished almost all of the exterior teak, the only pieces that didn't come off were the coaming compartment trim rings. They were sanded and refinished in place. Here's some shots taken as I removed everything and then the last ones were shot today.
Too many pics...or too large. :abd:
These are from today.....boat winterized....Owner depressed. :cry4`
Looks nice! Maybe a dodger is in the future? Unless you want to do again soon.
Edit: I see you had one an took it off.
We had warm weather today, so I managed to put the teak trim on around the cockpit entrance. Glued the plugs but will wait for a while to sand and finish them as the weather is turning cold. I still have to do the hatch boards and the long pieces on top of the hatch. some more pictures.