Supplier of Marine Teak - Devon

Hi,

I'm looking at decking my craft with teak to give it some style and I'm reasonably handy with woodworking tools, although new to working with Teak. I'm currently trying to find a provider of teak who is able to either provide timber in 2x4 or 2x6 which I can be cut down into 45mm x 8mm battens using a standard table saw, or a supplier who is able to provide pre-cut battens in lengths up to 2 meters.

I've tried a few places and these appear to be about £8.20 per meter (with VAT).

1) Do you know of a cheaper supplier ?
2) Is this simply the price for Teak ?
3) Is there a cheaper alternative to teak that will still look and perform great ?
4) Do you have any pointers / warnings about creating your own decking ?
5) If I create the panels externally to be fitted later, what do I use as backing?

I have a Galia 660 and I plan to create panels for later fitting to the boat and mount them to the slight raised sections of the fibreglass which currently has a grip pattern impression.

Apologies for all of the questions, I'd like to get a good grounding in what is involved in this project before committing to purchasing £500+ of materials.

Thanks for any correspondence,

Regards,

Tim

 

Teak is quite heavy at 42 pounds a cubic foot so you should have a plywood under lament with thin teak boards over. 3/8" would be the thickness i WOULD USE. If you can get A grade clear Western Red Cedar it is lite and a beautiful wood. It is soft so you need a good sealant product over it--several coats.

 

Thanks #rasorinc for the reply. I'd like the decking to be flush with the deck really so whatever backing I use needs to be virtually paper thin, or I need to lay it directly on to the gel-coat.

There are businesses which build teak decking panels to templates, which are then retrofitted to the boat post contruction. Do these panels have a backing or are they simply held together using the black decking caulk prior to fitting ?

I'll take a look into clear grade western red cedar, thanks for the hint. I've also been told that "Afrormosia" and "Iroko" are possible alternatives to real Teak.

 

I wouldn't use WRC for a decking, it's just too soft and will easily dent and wear out with traffic. You want a dense softwood or preferably a hardwood, which is why teak is preferred. Heart pine and pitch pine are the poor man's choices (workboats), but if well selected, do hold up pretty good, comparatively. Species with a high oil content are the usual choices, which is another reason the pines and teak are used.

 

There should be a few merchants who sell teak in the southern UK. A quick googly found one or two, just give them a call or mail to see if they supply the marine trade. I've done some digging before now and found the source merchant so can get a better price for some timbers than from one certain marine specialist. Not needed teak particularly, but Sitka and Khaya as well as veneers..

As PAR says W R Cedar is way way too soft, it's a great timber for acting as a bulk filler whilst still imparting fair strength. So good for stringers, under the gunwhales etc. Much too easy to crush, so is nearly always protected by a capping or in places you don't get hard crushing points.

I'd be very surprised if you can't find a merchant in the Southampton/Portsmouth area. Ther are too many builders using the stuff for their boats, hence a supplier will be needed. Really close grain Doug Fir might be a reasonable substitute. Iroko is an oak substitute and has a fairly green/yellow hue to it. It's been used to repair Thames barges. Other really hard stuff like Muhuhu might work too. Both these are pretty heavy.

As a timber (teak), it's pretty hard on tools and cutting edges. Works OK but watch for occassional splitting tendencies.

 

I've often wondered whether its worth getting an old clapped out wooden boat for the timber, there often available for a couple of hundred quid or so.With a bit of luck you can probably scrounge something that's in someones way especially in your neck of the woods.Obviously some of the wood will be useless but if you've got the tools and the time who knows.

 

I wouldn't limit yourself to local - yes there might be a carriage charge, but you might find more competitive prices anyway.

I use British Hardwoods in Keighley. their website has gone all glossy, and they are pushing oak and flooring these days, but they certainly used to have a warehouse full of every exotic timber under the sun. Brooks in Essex are teak specialists.