Teak transom suggestions?

Capt. Rodbone · Feb 20, 2022

With the exception of the few repairs i’m asking for suggestions on here, I’m about ready to begin varnishing our Grand Banks 42 transom after having wooded down.
1. She’s new to us as of October. No idea what. it was at one point fastened with the holes you will see in one photo below, but I’m looking for any advice on what to fill these with to get the closest color match possible. There are small holes so even a less than perfect pigment filler could be dabbed with some stain or furniture repair marker before varnishing and hide these pretty well, but I’m wondering if any of you have tricks that have worked for you?
2. Also looking for suggestions regarding the pic that shows a little bit of missing wood and the gap between the teak molding and the fiberglass transom. My thoughts are to mix some epoxy and some teak dust I have kept and fill this gap than fair and put a bead of sealant. Is that the best plan or do you have other ideas. It’s neither long enough nor bad enough in my opinion to go to the trouble of scarfing in a piece of teak.
3. The other picture shows a couple of small cracks and the actual planks themselves. These are so small I plan to put unthickened epoxy in them for sit in some white, then cover with tape to keep it from draining out.
4. Finally and you can see a bit of it in the pic of the small crack(photo attached vertically instead of correctly horizontal)when I cleaned the gap between the boards further it shows a little better the small gaps at some spots between the planks. I want to run a very thin bead of the proper sealant in those spots however I’m wondering what would be both a weather resistant seal that also didn’t stand out when I start applying varnish.

Thanks in advance to any of you veterans of these projects for your thoughts and suggestions!

koliver · Feb 20, 2022

Capt. Rodbone said:
With the exception of the few repairs i’m asking for suggestions on here, I’m about ready to begin varnishing our Grand Banks 42 transom after having wooded down.
1. She’s new to us as of October. No idea what. it was at one point fastened with the holes you will see in one photo below, but I’m looking for any advice on what to fill these with to get the closest color match possible. There are small holes so even a less than perfect pigment filler could be dabbed with some stain or furniture repair marker before varnishing and hide these pretty well, but I’m wondering if any of you have tricks that have worked for you?
2. Also looking for suggestions regarding the pic that shows a little bit of missing wood and the gap between the teak molding and the fiberglass transom. My thoughts are to mix some epoxy and some teak dust I have kept and fill this gap than fair and put a bead of sealant. Is that the best plan or do you have other ideas. It’s neither long enough nor bad enough in my opinion to go to the trouble of scarfing in a piece of teak.
3. The other picture shows a couple of small cracks and the actual planks themselves. These are so small I plan to put unthickened epoxy in them for sit in some white, then cover with tape to keep it from draining out.
4. Finally and you can see a bit of it in the pic of the small crack(photo attached vertically instead of correctly horizontal)when I cleaned the gap between the boards further it shows a little better the small gaps at some spots between the planks. I want to run a very thin bead of the proper sealant in those spots however I’m wondering what would be both a weather resistant seal that also didn’t stand out when I start applying varnish.

Thanks in advance to any of you veterans of these projects for your thoughts and suggestions!

I have dealt with similar issues, in both of the ways you have suggested. Epoxy with teak dust will darken to the point that you want to take it out and try something else.
Teak plugs will sometimes disappear completely. Align the grain to the piece being patched and sand both to the same colour. Even if they don't disappear, they will only look like a teak plug and never like a mistake being repaired.
Cracks wide enough to slip a piece of teak into need to have a piece of teak slipped into them, then treat as plugs, above. Not as difficult as a scarf joint, and when done, as permanent as a plug.
Pictures when done, please.

Cleanslate · Feb 20, 2022

I would just fill them in with a teak color Boat Life sealant , the paintable kind. Fill in , let dry , sand it smooth and varnish away…
X14 mildew remover it’s also very good for bleaching out the dark areas and we’re bleaching out the entire transom first let it dry then varnish.
It gets the dark spots out of the wood, mold…etc.
Flush with water before varnishing to remove X14 and let dry.

rgano · Feb 20, 2022

Teak plugs for the holes.

DennisB1 · Feb 20, 2022

I have been using plug cutters in a drill press to make plugs of different sizes. Use pieces of teak a attempt to match grain and color of the base material. In your photo it looks like a .25 inch plug could be used. Drill each hole with a .25 inch bit and insert plug as suggested in earilier post. Same process with bigger holes. Long holes or slots require routing to match the filler piece. When the glue has cured sand flush. It’s a better solution than filling with sealant, but takes more time. The round plugs are quick to accomplish. Key is to match the wood as close as you can. A good collections of teak scraps ohelps.

Cleanslate · Feb 20, 2022

The holes look to be 1/8” screw holes… tiny. Drilling them out bigger to 1/4” hole and plug with bung ,IMO look worse.
1/8” holes will barely be visible over a large transom when you look at it overall.

Teak transom suggestions?

Capt. Rodbone

Senior Member

Attachments

koliver

Guru

Cleanslate

Veteran Member

rgano

Guru

DennisB1

Senior Member

Cleanslate

Veteran Member

Similar threads

Latest posts