IG teak decks

Bruce, I think there is a GB at our club with that combination. I am going down today to look at the wooden boat show, I will try to get a photo of said GB and post it.

Andy G said:

Bruce, I think there is a GB at our club with that combination. I am going down today to look at the wooden boat show, I will try to get a photo of said GB and post it.

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That would be great, the difficulty is finding an exposed edge without dismantling. We found one at the aft lazarette where we have big hatch doors.Marin might be interested in what you find. A lot of our GBs were built by/for Mariner Cruisers in Singapore/Asia.
We plan visiting the wooden boat show at RMYC tomorrow. Always good.

This any help? Sorry I'm not much of a photographer.

Thanks,pics are good. The step position seems the same as mine. The GB32 I saw had the step at the aft end of the saloon.
I`ve decided if the $ holds I want it all teak.
Sarawana looked good today while we were at RMYC. I see what you mean about the hard turn you have to make. Bruce

Decided to go with non slip painted f/g on the bow back to the step down, and fresh teak elsewhere.Makes sense due to exposure,and the pics helped visualize.
In the areas just forward of the step up, wood had been laid to support where everyone would step, that wood was no good, black, soft, damp. I`m lucky most deck is foam sandwich, makes a difference to the scope and cost of work, I`m not lucky enough to be the only IG with foam sandwich decks, it`s worth a look.

I am still surprised she has foam decks and not the hardwood blocks, from memory our hulls are only a couple apart,Sarawana is #32

I think the combination nonslip/teak will look good.Works for the GB 36' in the pictures.One thing I did note though is that there is no colour variation from the deck sides and the non slip, on a sunny day it may be a bit hard to know where the non slip starts and finishes.

Andy--- If you're referring to the photos you posted in the earlier post above I don't think that's a Grand Banks 36. At least not one made by American Marine/Grand Banks There are only two versions of the GB36 with step-downs in the main deck. The very first woodies had a step-down aft cockpit like the GB32. This was eliminated almost immediately.

The GB36 Europa has a step-down near the junction of the fore-cabin with the main cabin to let people stand upright under the covered side decks when they step out the main cabin door. But the handrails on a GB36 run all the way round the boat, not just on either side of the foredeck.

Is this perhaps one of the quasi-GBs that were made in Australia under license from American Marine/Grand Banks at one point?

Could be , I'll brave the rain for a few more photo's

Not great pics, he's few more
Ed, err one more.

There is a couple of these Oz GB's on the marina, I think they were made ,as you say under licence, by an Oz company Mariner/Riveria in the 1980's they made mostly sport fisher type boats, like the Black Watch.

The hull looks identical to the Ken Smith GB semi-planing hull. But the topsides bear only a passing resemblance to an actual GB.

Andy G said:

I am still surprised she has foam decks and not the hardwood blocks, from memory our hulls are only a couple apart,Sarawana is #32

I think the combination nonslip/teak will look good.Works for the GB 36' in the pictures.One thing I did note though is that there is no colour variation from the deck sides and the non slip, on a sunny day it may be a bit hard to know where the non slip starts and finishes.

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I`m surprised too, pleasantly, few areas need repair. The worst are just fwd of the step up,where wood was used.
Your photos, plus boats I`ve seen,and some adverts on boat for sale sites, show the combination of finishes is quite popular and looks ok. We already opted for a light grey on the foredeck in preference to the white.
Marin, I understand GBs sold here in 1980s/90s by Mariner/ Riviera, were built in Singapore.Volvo and Cummins engines were used, maybe others. I don`t think there were aft cabin versions. Might have been 42s as well as 36s. Mariner also sold a Mariner 39 and a 43, in trawler/Europa style,they look very Taiwanese. Bill Barry-Cotter, ran Mariner,then Riviera, now Maritimo. Riviera continues as a brand,despite corporate "reconstructions".

Maybe they bought hulls from American Marine/Grand Banks and then did the topsides themselves. On the GB forum these boats have been talked about as having been built in Australia but I have no way of knowing it that's true or not. I would be surprised if American Marine/Grand Banks, which until fairly recently has always been on financially shaky ground if not actually in bankruptcy, would have created different molds for a low number of boats aimed at one specific market. But whacking out some extra hulls makes sense since it would represent additional profit only.

Marin said:

Maybe they bought hulls from American Marine/Grand Banks and then did the topsides themselves. On the GB forum these boats have been talked about as having been built in Australia but I have no way of knowing it that's true or not. I would be surprised if American Marine/Grand Banks, which until fairly recently has always been on financially shaky ground if not actually in bankruptcy, would have created different molds for a low number of boats aimed at one specific market. But whacking out some extra hulls makes sense since it would represent additional profit only.

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It is possible fitouts were done in Australia,seeing as Mariner/Riv were already building and fitting out planing cruisers here. Hard to be sure. They were popular sold well, and are well regarded.I only mention the 42s because there are a number around from that era.
I heard IGs were built in mainland China, finished in HK. Mark Halvorsen said some fitouts, like my Europa with just one sleeping cabin,were part fitted out here, may explain the kitchen "wood" laminate on the flat area back from the windscreen, sun durable but less "salty".

Marin said:

The hull looks identical to the Ken Smith GB semi-planing hull. But the topsides bear only a passing resemblance to an actual GB.

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I was just saw pics of a Riviera 35. The origin of the cabin/window design of "Australian built" GB 36s, produced and sold by Riviera, is quite apparent.

Deck refurbish progresses. Non slip foredeck is ready for final undercoat, holding finish coats until the teak is laid aft ( it arrives tomorrow). I`m having the flush deck fuel fillers elevated on teak square pads about 1/2 inch high, putting the fillers above the flow of rainwater on the side decks. That should stub a few unwary toes. Not elevating the 4 water fillers, hoping rainwater leaks into them.

Bruce , I trust the teak pads for the fuel fillers will be rounded off, not box like. Looking forward to finished pics.

Andy G said:

Bruce , I trust the teak pads for the fuel fillers will be rounded off, not box like. Looking forward to finished pics.

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Andy,I thought of that and asked for rounded edges. Squared might have been more effective keeping the water at bay, but there was a risk the stubbed toe might be mine. And it will look heaps better than squared.
I think we are still around 2 weeks off finishing, and work is weather dependent in a berth at Balmain. Work berth is $600pcm, Putney yard (old Halvo factory) is $250 a day under cover! Ouch.

Today the yard started laying out the teak. At last. It all gets placed,adjusted to fit,then the adhesive goes on and the strips. Only the outer strip gets screwed down. Young Ben, the shipwright doing it is very keen and able,but it`s his first teak deck replacement. He is supervised and helped by the boss Ron, the shipwright business owner. I left today so Ron could have a "chat" with Ben, who I am sure will get right into it and do a well thought out good job.
The starboard fuel tank has a hole near the filler tube, the mechanic and Ben are figuring a way to plate over it, in metal or fibreglass. Anything to avoid a new tank. The port one was ok. The stbd tank that gets the water,funny that.

This may be of no interest to you at this point if you have already determined how to deal with the deck fills in your teak deck. But this is what one of the members of the GB owners forum did to deal with the issue of water leaking in via the seams past the deck fills. The photos are self-explanatory I think. Very slick solution I think.

Thanks Marin. My idea is similar,it involves placing and elevating the filler flange so it sits flush with the circular teak moulding. I had not thought of setting the moulding down into the decking, that might be a better way to ensure water exclusion.
I will print the pics to discuss with the shipwright.
The modification is straightforward,looks ok, and can easily be retrofitted to an existing teak deck. No need to wait for a deck renovation.
A previous shipwright with metal fabrication skills made me a great tool for the fuel tank caps. I will try to post a pic, so much better than those flimsy keys that come with them.

The issue may be more of water working it's way down under the teak than a "separate" pad where the filler is.

When we bought our boat we bought a pair of very simple, stout, bronze tools designed specifically for removing the flush fill caps with the two holes in them. The tool has two parts, one hinged to the other one, and pins that fit the holes in the cap. You can exert a lot of leverage with them. Far better than the flat metal "keys" I see a lot of people using. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this tool. I don't have a name for it, though.

psneeld said:

The issue may be more of water working it's way down under the teak than a "separate" pad where the filler is.

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The problem the fellow who did the pads in my photos was trying to eliminate was the possibility of moisture following a seam up and under the lip of the fill fitting. While these fittings are bedded when they're installed there is the potential for a seam to pull free of one side of its groove or the other and thus create a path for moisture to get under the fill fitting. By surrounding the fill fitting with a solid ring of teak the potential for this problem is eliminated.

Marin said:

The problem the fellow.. was trying to eliminate was the possibility of moisture following a seam up and under the lip of the fill fitting. While these fittings are bedded when they're installed there is the potential for a seam to pull free of one side of its groove or the other and thus create a path for moisture to get under the fill fitting. By surrounding the fill fitting with a solid ring of teak the potential for this problem is eliminated.

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I figured that. I have not decided whether to copy that or put a pad on top of the new teak. I could not decide what the guy was going to do with the filler flange, recess it into the pad, or leave it proud on top. Maybe he was still deciding when the pics were done. I think recess it flush, otherwise it adds a toe cut risk to a stub risk.

I suspect he was going to leave it on top of the teak doughnut. The fill caps on most GBs are this way from the factory--- the filler flange is simply bedded to the teak deck. Our boat is that way, we have two fillers on each side deck, and they have never been any sort of a problem when walking on the deck. I suppose if one went barefoot they might be, but the upper flange "corners" on our bronze fillers are radiused, not sharp and they stick up so little I can't imagine them being any sort of toe stubber.

Other boats might be different.

An advantage to having the filler flange proud of the deck is that if the deck is wet that little bit of rise to the top of the flange can prevent water from running down into the open filler. If the fill flange was flush with the deck even a thin sheen of water on the surface could flow down into the tank.

We've filled our tanks in the rain on several occasions and the raised filler flange keeps the rainwater running on the deck out of the filler opening. I put a rag around the fuel nozzle to keep the rain from getting down past it.

I like that GB deck fill idea. Bruce are you replacing your deck fill brass fittings?

We had ours plated, pleased with the result.

Inching towards completion. The light grey non skid on the bow is complete, laying teak continues aft. The young employed shipwright doing most of the work has a photo record he will put on a CD. He has real pride in his work.
Saturday night, very high tides and a few other things, the stbd bow came in contact with the (non floating) work berth dock. Only hull damage in 3 years of ownership. To his credit, the apologetic shipwright will slip (= haul) the boat tomorrow for 2 days to repair the gelcoat and some capping.

The decks are complete. Here are 3 photos of the non slip and teak areas, the bow windlass locker rebuilt to original last year, and the other girl in our life. We also replaced the windscreen and the flybridge "tonneau" cover.
I dispensed with raising the fuel fillers on a pad after discovering water in the stbd tank was entering via a (now repaired) hole near the filler tube. Water in the (un-holed) port tank was no more than condensation.

I visited most days during the work and believe it was carried out well. The shipwright even made a router jig to cut recesses for the new hinges replacing the failing previous piano hinge attachment of the aft lazarette hatch covers. The foredeck gets hotter than expected, shoes will be needed, but it`s a small price to pay for sealed decks which will take the weather.

Beautifully appointed deck Bruce!


Doriana looks fantastic too

Excellent job Bruce looks great, hadn't thought of putting the boat hooks there.Does your Lazarette hinge to the starboard?

How is 'Fang' going? Any plans for a sojourn to Pittwater in the near future?