Sealing encapsulated teak

Forkliftt · Sep 9, 2018

I’m not sure that is the right description but let me go on. I have a few areas on the boat, primarily on the hard top supports, that leave a rust colored stain after a hard rain. More recently I see a small crack in the FG/ gelcoat on the side of the steps leading to the fly bridge. It too is oozing the stain out.
I’m certain that the source of the stain is teak beneath the crack that has gotten wet.
I believe these areas are “cold molded” if the is the correct term. I can remove the supports one at a time to repair. There is nothing soft or rotten, just need to reseal maybe? Suggestions?

kchace · Sep 10, 2018

I have seen this kind of bleed only from mahogany and I also have a small spot like this on my boat. What you have is some water in the core. During a freeze cycle (or maybe simply because wood expands when it gets wet) it has cause the cracking. Judging from the color its probably not teak but mahogany in there. That may seem surprising but in the far east they use what's available and that's what the coring is on most Taiwanese trawlers. Its good in one way in that it is much less rot prone than most coring woods. So to deal with it you have to first find out how the water is getting in there and seal it. The only real way to get the water out is to open it up and let it dry. That may be a lot of work and cause cosmetic issues. IMO at least if you can positively eliminate the water ingress, it should eventually stop bleeding. The mahogany can probably last many years before getting soft.

Ken

Comodave · Sep 10, 2018

kchace said:
I have seen this kind of bleed only from mahogany and I also have a small spot like this on my boat. What you have is some water in the core. During a freeze cycle (or maybe simply because wood expands when it gets wet) it has cause the cracking. Judging from the color its probably not teak but mahogany in there. That may seem surprising but in the far east they use what's available and that's what the coring is on most Taiwanese trawlers. Its good in one way in that it is much less rot prone than most coring woods. So to deal with it you have to first find out how the water is getting in there and seal it. The only real way to get the water out is to open it up and let it dry. That may be a lot of work and cause cosmetic issues. IMO at least if you can positively eliminate the water ingress, it should eventually stop bleeding. The mahogany can probably last many years before getting soft.

Ken

+1. Had the same problem in a couple of places. You need to stop the water from getting in and eventually the brown ooze will stop.

Forkliftt · Sep 10, 2018

I bet it is Mahogany [emoji1360]

kchace · Sep 10, 2018

Forkliftt said:
I bet it is Mahogany [emoji1360]

I feel pretty confident that it is because I had a boat I built bleed exactly like that when unsealed mahogany got wet. The color is fairly distinctive.

Ken

Sealing encapsulated teak

Forkliftt

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kchace

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Comodave

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Forkliftt

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kchace

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