Hatch drop boards Dimensions

[tempest1964]

I have been reading a lot of the old posts on here regarding drop board dimensions and couldn't find what I was looking for. I have a 1964 Oday tempest in great shape that I am trying to remake the drop boards for (first picture). They measure around 8" wide and just over 24.5" long, the current boards are made out of marine plywood in rough shape at 1/2" thick. I have a good source of Teak 8" wide x8.5ft that can be milled down to any thickness. I am worried about the wood splitting/warping if I go down to 1/2" opposed to 5/8" or 3/4". If I go thicker than a 1/2 I have to rebuild the frame (currently made of mahogany) which is little more than I feel like doing at the moment but would take on if necessary.

I was thinking of going 1/2" thickness horizontal grain (8" wide), dove tailing the ends 1/4" and running a 1" vertical grain at 1/2" on both ends. I have a router to put in Louvers (thinking 5x8"long) (example picture 2).

Any help is much appreciated, I know plywood is used for strength/weight ratios but would like to go solid wood if feasible.


Side note if anyone is a tempest owner please message me, I would be very interested in some rigging modification questions as well.

 

[Ron20324]

How about just using a taper at each end to get the full thickness down to whatever you need to fit into the slides? A concave taper, like on cabinet doors where they fit into the frames? No sharp corners that way.

 

[tempest1964]

I thought about that but was hesitant again dropping down sizes, the bottom board would be complex with a 3 way taper to fit flush with the bottom combing, in that case would 5/8" be enough? I haven't worked with teak enough. Thanks for the reply

 

[pateco]

I had to replace mine.

It had a similar edge to yours.

I used thicker PVC board (I couldn't afford teak at the time) I used the old boards as a template, and designed the new boards so that they overlap by 3/4" so that water would have to run up to get between them. Used a 3/4" rabet bit to route the oposing edges of the top and botom of each board. (didn't rabet the very top of the top board to leave it square). then Used the same bit to route the outside edge of each board to fit into the stainless channel on the boat.

Turned out pretty nice for the cost of one PVC plank.

I am thinking of replacing it with similar boards made from laminated pieces of solid bamboo flooring just to improve the look.

Hand Scraped Seneca 3/8 in. Thick x 4 in. Wide x 38-5/8 in. Length Solid Bamboo Flooring $1.95/Sq Ft
If I laminate it 2 or 3 pieces thick, cut and shape it the same as the PVC board, and then give it a couple of coats of clear, I think it will look a lot better.

 

[Gunni]

One option for going thin and light is to glass the teak with fiberglass and epoxy. Wet the surface with epoxy and stretch the glass on, wet again, work out any wrinkles and bubbles. Next day, trim the glass flush with your teak boards and sand all edges smooth.

Then build up the epoxy with successive coats, maybe three. The glass will disappear and the surface will have a thick epoxy shell. You will need to apply a good spar varnish to provide UV protection. I have used this method to get 4 mm marine-ply strong enough to walk on.