2005 Hunter 33 Teak Laminate/Composite

[McPhee]

I'm fixing up a 2005 Hunter 33, and mostly following Don Casey's book as well as the manual. For the galley, I was able to refinish a lot of the scratched handholds and cupboards by lightly sanding, applying a few coats of teak oil to bring back the color and grain, and then thinning out spar varnish as a sealer. It seems to match pretty well!

First, I made a mistake and wasn't paying attention to the companionway stairs. The treads are real teak, but the sides were badly scratched and I've sanded through to the very light and noticeably white portion of the laminate or composite (what's the correct term here, by the way?).

They don't seem to sell this anywhere, and since it's not real teak, I think I have two options. One is to try to get a wood marker and more or less make it match. The other is to take the stairs to a local carpenter and have him rebuild the sites with some real teak. What's my best route to fix the Hunter 33's fake teak?

Second, the door to the v-birth cabin is fake teak, but no longer fits. Specifically, the frame seems to be about 1/4 to 1/2" off toward the top. I did have an inspection, and the local interior guys at the boatyard look at it. They commented that the frames warp over time, and the best option may be to get it replaced with a real teak door that I could sand down in the appropriate spot to close properly?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dmax]

A picture would help a lot.

 

[McPhee]

My mistake. The angle isn't great, but the here's one.

 

[dmax]

1: By the side, you mean the vertical piece on the right hand side of the top step, it looks like it is teak veneered plywood and you sanded through the veneer to the next layer of wood (which isn't teak). I would try and find a stain that is close to the teak color and see if you can make it match and then refinish - I think you can make it look decent. I think what you are calling fake teak is teak veneered plywood - most boats have some.
2: Replacing with a real teak door is likely to be costly as it would be custom made I'm guessing. Sometimes doors in bulkheads no longer fit because the hull shape has shifted. I would see if you can make this one fit better - I'm assuming you don't want to trim it because you would go through the veneer. You got nothing to lose by trimming it to fit and again seeing if you can get a matching stain to make it look ok.

 

[McPhee]

Thanks, dmax. I'll get some stains and see if I can get them close enough. I'll follow-up with how it turns out.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Teak veneer is widely available if your staining doesn’t match well. My clumsy experience with it was pretty successful.

 

[ggrizzard]

Take Heart, oh ye of little faith.
Go to Lowes or a a local cabinet shop.
(The Home Despot's selection of stains where I live is terrible.)
Look at their MinWax stain assortment for a close match.
Get that and the next lighter and the next darker color.
Divide a plain piece of pine into 8 strips with a pencil.
Put some of each color in the first, third and fifth sections.
Then mix a little of the lighter shade with the close match and
put it on section 2.
Then mix a little of the close match with the darker shade and
put it on section 5.
Let it all dry, then put some teak oil on all of the sections.
You'll get pretty close to the existing teak veneer of your boat.
By the way, you might consider using your final choice on all areas
where the veneer is peeling off.
This system worked for me on my 43 yr. old Hunter. Good luck!

 

[Scott B]

It's odd that the door is not fitting. Has your boat always been in Chicago? Mine's always been in Southern Ontario, so same seasonal changes and still in new condition. Any pictures of what's happening.

 

[dmax]

A door not fitting can also indicate a shift in the hull shape - something to look for when examining boats.

 

[Alan K]

A door not fitting can also indicate a shift in the hull shape - something to look for when examining boats.

If the old door is close to a fit, I'd make a template by tracing the opening on a piece of cardboard(or foam core, or masonite). Mark the hinge location on the template and see if you can trim the old door for a better fit. My door, a few years newer than yours, has solid teak stiles.