Hatch Wood Fix

I have a hatch that I am refinishing. I am going to varnish the hatch once I get it cleaned up. It came apart fine but I have spent a lot of time cleaning out old caulking. I need help with how to fix some large cracking in the teak. I have several long cracks that I want to reinforce. I would like to varnish it but I want to minimize the appearance of the cracks. I know I will see them but I want them to be structurally fixed.





The hatch





Crack example





More cracks

I would glue the cracks with West's G-flex after taping off the sides of the cracks so as not to get it into the wood. It is a miracle glue for sure in my experience. You could thicken the glue with teak sanding dust or they (West) have a wood colored filler you might use. Coating the teak with epoxy b/4 varnishing can extend the life of the varnish 2x-3x but it is also 2x-3x harder to remove when the time comes (as it always does) The epoxy must be varnished or painted over for UV protection or it will turn opaque in short order.

Instead of sikaflex for the black caulking lines, I used west epoxy, filler and their black filler for the seams between the teak so the varnish adheres better!

Pinball63 said:

Instead of sikaflex for the black caulking lines, I used west epoxy, filler and their black filler for the seams between the teak so the varnish adheres better!

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Thanks! This is not the teak deck it is a hatch. I am trying to reinforce but reduce the visible nature of the crack.

Brooksie said:

I would glue the cracks with West's G-flex after taping off the sides of the cracks so as not to get it into the wood. It is a miracle glue for sure in my experience. You could thicken the glue with teak sanding dust or they (West) have a wood colored filler you might use. Coating the teak with epoxy b/4 varnishing can extend the life of the varnish 2x-3x but it is also 2x-3x harder to remove when the time comes (as it always does) The epoxy must be varnished or painted over for UV protection or it will turn opaque in short order.

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Is g-flex going to make it hard and reinforce the crack? Wood colored filler? Do I put that in the epoxy? Or do I put it on first and epoxy over?

Thanks for the help I am new to this

I thought you had the tongue and groove teak decorated hatch!

I think the epoxy Brooksie is referring to is CPES like this or this.

Pinball63 said:

I thought you had the tongue and groove teak decorated hatch!

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Man I wish! That is beautiful

FlyWright said:

I think the epoxy Brooksie is referring to is CPES like this or this.

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Thanks that might be just the ticket! Thanks for the link!

6-Pack said:

Is g-flex going to make it hard and reinforce the crack? Wood colored filler? Do I put that in the epoxy? Or do I put it on first and epoxy over?

Thanks for the help I am new to this

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Yes, G-flex is just a REALLY good epoxy adhesive compared to West's regular epoxy which I was refering to for possible use under your varnish. Add the filler to the G-flex to thicken it so it won't run out of the cracks b/4 it cures. I was not refering to CPES which is thinned down epoxy used to saturate wood b/4 paint or varnish.

Sorry Brooksie...thought that was what you meant.

Structural invisible epoxy repair is almost impossible.

Many times the results are far better replacing old cracked wood with new.

Yes Teak is expensive , but so is doing the job over and over.

Hatch Woood Fix: Comment

As an old wood boat owner,(had A GB42 & Alaskan 46) I dealt with the wood repairs a lot. In my experience, it is important to allow the wood to flex. So in deck seams such as your hatch, I would use a flexible sealant such as polysulfide. Booatlife makes one as do others. The main thing is for the seam to remain intact through the swelling and shrinking that occur seasonally. I have done repairs to both of my boats and found the polysulfide seem materiel still flexible from original boat construction. (One was 71 built, & othjer was 69 built!) So I feel it is important to consider the wood swelling and shrinking when deciding on repair procedure. The only exception I know of is, if a board is sealed on all six sides, there is theoretically now possibility of swelling or shrinkage--but ambient (Sun) heating must be considered! Well enough. Good luck with the project.

skipper2 said:

As an old wood boat owner,(had A GB42 & Alaskan 46) I dealt with the wood repairs a lot. In my experience, it is important to allow the wood to flex. So in deck seams such as your hatch, I would use a flexible sealant such as polysulfide. Booatlife makes one as do others. The main thing is for the seam to remain intact through the swelling and shrinking that occur seasonally. I have done repairs to both of my boats and found the polysulfide seem materiel still flexible from original boat construction. (One was 71 built, & othjer was 69 built!) So I feel it is important to consider the wood swelling and shrinking when deciding on repair procedure. The only exception I know of is, if a board is sealed on all six sides, there is theoretically now possibility of swelling or shrinkage--but ambient (Sun) heating must be considered! Well enough. Good luck with the project.

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Thanks I will look at that product!

I was at the boat today and I popped these two blanks off the front of my rear cabinet. I expected to find fasteners. As you can see, they are just held on the cabinet face with whatever this clear goo is? Does anyone know what it might be? It is not soft like a caulking it is hard like clear glue? When I go to put them back on it seems like I will need to hold them in place somehow. A clamp might work on the bottom one but not the top one?