Mount on top of teak decking?

[SoSound]

I have a transom step covered in teak deck trim. I may want to mount a couple of brackets for davits to that step. I won't be carrying a lot of weight, but it will always be completely exposed to weather and sea water. Should I remove the teak where the brackets attach and mount directly to the fiberglass deck below, or would it be OK to mount on top of the teak?

If I remove the teak decking, should I use something to raise the installation up to the same level as the surface of the teak? And, how should I bed the mounting bracket (and shim material) and seal the area around it?

 

[Mark Maulden]

I would not mount on top of teak. You will never get it tight due to compression of teak. And the teak will probably start cracking. I would make a template of the davit base and cut the teak out accordingly. You will have figure out a way to fasten the teak down around the davit circumference. I think I would try to figure out a way to this that doesn’t have to go through teak...

 

[dlochner]

Mounting directly with through bolts to the fiberglass would be the best option. If the teak is thin, shimming the base to be equal in height to the teak might not be necessary. G10 would be a good choice for shim material if needed. In area where the teak is removed, be certain to caulk and seal around the teak to prevent water from getting under the teak.

 

[markwbird]

I think it would be ok to mount the brackets on the teak. Teak is quite dense so compression would be minimal. I assume the fasteners will go through.

 

[SoSound]

So, it took more than a year to actually get this done. And I ultimately had our regular boat yard/service center do the installation for me. The final hurdle, I couldn't figure out how to remove and reassemble a couple of interior panels in our aft berth, without cutting them apart and disassembling my Webasto heater. So I took it back to the people who commissioned the boat and installed the heater, and let them have another go at it.

I found these at Adventure Marine in Vancouver, BC. They were very responsive to my questions, and even entertained the possibility of customizing them so that I could try to create a system that could also carry our two lightweight plastic kayaks (turns out that I didn't need to do that, someone came into our condo parking garage, where I had moved the kayaks for safe keeping over the winter, and stole them...). Shipping of the davits was handled from a WA location, so there were no delays or issues with getting the order across the border.

The davits are stainless steel c-rings which attach with quick release pins to permanently mounted brackets on the swim step (they also make a bolted on, non-removable set). I did have the teak surface cut out, and had the brackets raised on teak blocks, on top of a couple of pieces of G10, in an effort to clear the swim ladder on the starboard side. I haven't used them yet, and there may be some additional modifications needed so that my inflatable doesn't rub on any of the hardware on that side. When not in place, the c-rings can be stored just about anyplace that I want to put them. I have a small inflatable with a dropstitch air floor that weighs about 60 lbs.. With these installed, it will fit entirely within the scoop of my transom, and it will not be any higher than the top of my stern rails.

So far, I like them.