Any woodworkers about?

[john6206]

I’m a hobbyist woodworker of modest skill.
That is to say I enjoy turning wood into sawdust, and sometimes good things happen when I do.

The guide rails for the sliding companionway hatch need to be replaced on my Capri 18. I can’t source replacement parts, so I ordered some teak - the most daunting part of the project is the price of the teak. In other words, I want to get it right the first time if I can. I’m considering making one in pine, then one in oak, before I start with the teak.

here Is my question:

There is a slight camber to the coachroof. When I lay a straightedge on the roof, the center of the line is 1/4“ lower than the ends.
l‘m thinking the idea is to make the piece straight, and draw down the center with the screws? The teak is 1” x 1” x 41.5” but teak Is pretty rigid, isn’t it? Am I going to be able to bend it like that?

Im not sure I could mill it that subtly, maybe with a belt sander? That would be tough to get right.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

John

 

[kappykaplan]

@Will Gilmore is your guy!

 

[Davidasailor26]

+1 for making a test run / template in pine. My dad just re-made our cockpit table with teak, and templating the complex parts in pine was a really good way to find solutions to surprising complications.

If you can’t safely bend the teak by hand you could steam bend it. I’ve done that with oak and it works out very nicely. For that gentle of a bend I bet you could either bend it manually or steam it and apply it directly onto the boat, without needing to make a bending jig.

 

[john6206]

I have done steam bending when I made my canoe, and a couple other projects.

It’s a good idea. I was wondering if teak‘s reputation for being invulnerable to water also makes it invulnerable to steam.

 

[PaulK]

Don't quite understand your issue with camber. Generally rails for a sliding hatch run straight fore & aft and ignore any camber of the cabin top. Camber is also generally designed to shed water. Your description makes it sound like the cabintop is bowed down - cupping to catch water instead of shedding it. Teak is notoriously difficult to bend - often splitting instead. Why would you need to bend it?

 

[Scott T-Bird]

1/4" in 3.5' is barely perceptible. There is no need to steam the wood. It will very readily adapt to the curve. I will suggest that if you want to avoid the headache of finishing the wood, use an alternate material. There is a reason why your original pieces look the way they do ... hardly anybody wants to deal with wood for those rail slides. I bought a Timberteck plank to shape new rails for my Starwind. They were an improvement, though some would say otherwise.

 

[Ted]

If you bend the wood after the track is cut into it, the track will not be straight. You will end up with a dip in the track groove.

 

[berner73]

"Your description makes it sound like the cabintop is bowed down - cupping to catch water instead of shedding it."

I'm with PaulK on this. Sounds like you have a deflection in the cabin top that was not by design and the curvature in the slide is just a symptom. I would focus on correcting the deflection/depression first and then address the hatch slides (which I believe should be running parallel to the deck their entire length). What does the deck support down below look like (bulkhead, compression post, etc)? If practical, you may want to unstep the mast to see if that impacts the observed deflection (if possibly, try gently raising the cabin top from below once the mast is off).

 

[DeniseO30]

Cut the slot (track) with a guided router bit or table saw with stacked dado blade before you cut the shape of the rail it will be easier to work with when it's still a square or rectangle I wouldn't wouldn't worry about slight Bend unless you want to try and rework the whole coach roof

 

[dLj]

Teak is not your best wood choice in this application. There are a host of other wood species that would be better for the hatch sliders. There are other materials that also may work better than a wood.

But first what material slides against those glide rails? You are actually looking at a sliding couple - the rails, and what is sliding on them. I'd need to know both to give an opinion.

dj

 

[john6206]

Cut the slot (track) with a guided router bit or table saw with stacked dado blade before you cut the shape of the rail it will be easier to work with when it's still a square or rectangle I wouldn't wouldn't worry about slight Bend unless you want to try and rework the whole coach roof

Those were the choices I was thinking of. Router table or dado blade. I’m thinking it’s 50/50.

 

[john6206]

Teak is not your best wood choice in this application. There are a host of other wood species that would be better for the hatch sliders. There are other materials that also may work better than a wood.

But first what material slides against those glide rails? You are actually looking at a sliding couple - the rails, and what is sliding on them. I'd need to know both to give an opinion.

dj

The sliding companionway hatch slides against the guides.

 

[john6206]

I'm with PaulK on this. Sounds like you have a deflection in the cabin top that was not by design and the curvature in the slide is just a symptom. I would focus on correcting the deflection/depression first and then address the hatch slides (which I believe should be running parallel to the deck their entire length). What does the deck support down below look like (bulkhead, compression post, etc)? If practical, you may want to unstep the mast to see if that impacts the observed deflection (if possibly, try gently raising the cabin top from below once the mast is off).

It’s a trailerable boat, bringing the mast down is just part of the package. It’s in my driveway, mast is down.

 

[dLj]

The sliding companionway hatch slides against the guides.

What is the sliding companionway hatch made from? Fiberglass? Acrylic? Other?

dj

 

[Davidasailor26]

Can you tell if the slots were perfectly straight when the original rails were in place, or do the slots just follow the curve? My guess is the slots just follow the curve, and it’s a gentle enough bend that the companionway doesn’t bind.

 

[john6206]

@PaulK @berner73

I see what you mean - I had to go out and look at it again. The coachroof is angled toward the beam pretty well, there is no chance of collecting water. Could it be the fore to aft camber is to keep it from shedding into the cockpit?

It’s the same on both sides, and there are no soft spots, so I’m thinking it’s designed that way.

 

[john6206]

@Davidasailor26 the slots follow the curve.

 

[john6206]

@djl I’m not sure . . . Some kind of hard plastic? It supports my weight without flexing. The curved shape helps.

 

[dLj]

@djl I’m not sure . . . Some kind of hard plastic? It supports my weight without flexing. The curved shape helps.

See through, like possibly tinted? If not, what color is it? Got a picture?

dj

 

[DeniseO30]

Teak is not a bad choice and it is nature's perfect choice which has been known about by boat builders for maybe a thousand years or more it's naturally non-skid it has oils inside of it and resists the sun it has almost no movement when it's wet and dry hot or cold
You could use solid PVC Lumber but it doesn't have a lot of stability but could work as a slide guide