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21st June 2014, 04:44 PM #1Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2004
- Location
- Adelaide
- Posts
- 136
Best lightweight wood for boat swimdeck?
Hi people. Haven't been on the forum since 2007! Nice to be back. I'm looking for opinions and/or advice on what timber to use to build a swim deck for my boat (5.8m Whittley Cruiser). Whilst teak is the first thing to come to mind I was thinking WRC would be considerably lighter. If sealed wel it should last a good few yeas. Any opinions or alternative options?
Cheers,
Marksilkwood
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21st June 2014, 10:45 PM #2GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Apr 2012
- Location
- Sydney
- Posts
- 1,488
WRC doesn't like water much. It dings easily and turns black.
Teak will last much longer.
How big do you need it to be?
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22nd June 2014, 10:01 PM #3Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2004
- Location
- Adelaide
- Posts
- 136
I was thinking it would be solid enough with a good coating of marine spar. It is about 1800 x 600.
Cheers,
Marksilkwood
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23rd June 2014, 01:23 PM #4
Good Morning Mark
The vast majority of boats built using either the WEST system or wood-cored fibreglass laminate use WRC as the core. It is light, relatively cheap and uniform in grain, glues well, and has a proven history in marine use provided that it is fully encapsulated and does not get wet. Once the wood gets wet, fungus attack is rapid and it turns black and then degrades quite quickly.
If you can keep your proposed duckboard fully encapsulated with epoxy or marine spar or whatever then it should be fine. But no clear finishes really like UV and there will be ongoing maintenance issues. Relax a little, get some surface damage, a scratch and water will get into the timber.
Personally, I would go with teak and let it go grey - rather spend the time boating than doing even more maintenance.
Fair Winds
Graeme
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24th June 2014, 12:18 AM #5Novice
- Join Date
- Nov 2012
- Location
- Paynesville, Victoria, Aust
- Posts
- 23
Hi Mark
Some of the local shipwrights around here are using Fiji Mahogany (switenia macrocarpa) for duckboards and the like.
If you live in Victoria I could help you with some.
Best wishes
Mark
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
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24th June 2014, 07:18 PM #6Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2004
- Location
- Adelaide
- Posts
- 136
Thanks for the help guys. I've decided to go for teak, if only to match the existing woodwork!
Cheers,
Marksilkwood