Plasteak

[Tom Plummer]

Has anyone worked with a product called Plasteak http://www.plasteak.com/index.html ? I am getting ready to replace the companion way hatch on my E35-2, not a job I am looking forward to, and saw an ad for this stuff. I am intrigued by it. It sounds a lot like Trex@ in that it is made up of recycled plastic milk jugs but unlike Trex@ it seems from the applications that they use it on to have the strength to be used as a structural member. I am drawn to it I must admit by the prospect of no more teak maintenance.

 

[Geoff Johnson]

Tom, I have already replied on the Ericson list, but to repeat myself (and elaborate) . . . I have seen a teak substitute on the deck of an Amel, a high end European cruising boat. It was immediately apparent that it was not teak and it had an unappetizing orangish color. I am not sure this was Plasteak; certainly the photos on the web site look much better. You should get the free sample they offer to see if you would be happy with it.

BTW, on page 72 of the November/December 2003 edition of Good Old Boat magazine, there is an article about using another teak plastic substitute called Trex. The author used grey and points out that the fading characteristics of the brown version "are considerably less predictable".)

 

[Jim Payton]

Trex?

I have never used plastic wood on any boat, but since I am a landscape contractor by trade, I have built a couple of patio decks out of the stuff. Its made by several different companies and comes in all sizes, shapes and colors. Some are made to look like wood, others are obvious in their appearance that they are plastic. The fake wood stuff that I have worked with fades in a very short time and looses its wood simulation appearance. Most of the fake woods take special types of screws that require special types of bits in the screw gun, other than that we used regular wood working tools (saws and the like).
The advantage of using the plastic over real wood was that it lasts almost forever and never needs to be treated with any kind of finish, and you don't have to worry about spinters.

 

[leighton]

I purchased a plank of Plasteak to use for building a swim ladder (I wanted something that I could leave out when my boat is on the mooring). I wouldn't recommend it for carpentry like a hatch or companionway. It is orange-brown and has a plastic-sheen to it, and is somewhat soft - it can be scratched with the point of a screwdriver.

I'm going to build a sea-hood for the companionway hatch on my E35-II so that I can attach the forward edge of a dodger. I think I will build it out of mahogany for the frames, then marine plywood for the top. Another option for me would be to make up a mold and form the hatch out of fiberglass. You might be able to do something similar for the sliding hatch, though it would take away from one of the facets of the E35-II.

Tom Leighton

 

[Mark F]

Tom,

I just replaced (sort of) the companionway hatch on my '68 E23 with teak. I used the old cover for the frame, simplifies the process. My old cover had three fiberglass ribs (stiffeners) on the top side. To keep a lower profile cover, I cut the ribs off. Then glued, screwed and biscuited 3/4" x 3" teak boards to the top, fashioned a front, back and two side boards to cover the frame sides. As a building contractor I don't have much good to say about Trex type products other then they use recycled materials and may reduce logging in forests.

Mark

 

[u079721]

I have also used Plasteak for a project, and I agree with Tom above that it should not be used for anything as involved as a hatch cover.

I used a 2x6 piece for a rail mount for the outboard, an application for which it is superb. Never needs refinishing, and doesn't rot. But it looks like the orange tinted milk jugs that it is.