WA sources for custom teak pads?

[bgary]

I'm going to be mounting a new cabintop winch (and maybe new stoppers) this spring, and will need mounting pads. Preferably teak.

Anyone know of someone (ideally within reasonable drive of Everett) that can make such things?

The cabin top is angled in two different directions, I'll need pads that are somewhat custom, and have neither the tools nor the skills to do it myself.

Any tips?

 

[Christian Williams]

I'd probably start with one of these stock pads, and then modify it as necessary:

https://www.ebay.com/i/122418106206?chn=ps&fl=a

Although it would be fun to trim a plastic jug to the right angle and pour in some epoxy to self-level. I figure that would only take me three or four tries to get right and less than six months time.

 

[bgary]

trim a plastic jug to the right angle and pour in some epoxy

Hmmm

I've read Loren's posts from using that approach (actually, a bucket I think) to build risers for his primaries. They came out gorgeous.

 

[Kevin A Wright]

If you want to try it yourself it really isn't that complicated. You use a method called 'scribing'. Get yourself the teak mount you want and take some modeling clay or other soft material and stick it on the bottom. Put it in place where you want it and 'squish it till the top is at the angle you want. Take a simple drawing compass (pencil on one arm, point on the other) and set the gap to whatever height is needed to miss the clay and always hit the teak. Put the point on the cabin top and scribe a line around the circumference of the block. Also helps to run an index line from one spot on the cabin top up the side of the block and to draw a circle on the cabin top so you can put the block back in the right orientation.

Take the clay off the block and cut/carve/sand down to the line. Should fit perfectly. An old shipwright would take a saw and cut kerfs every half inch across the bottom up to the drawn line and then whack them out with a hammer and sharp chisel. No power tools even needed. If you have really complex curves just hollow out the bottom a little bit in the middle till it fits (not touching the line on the edge). Use an epoxy or bedding putty to fill any hidden gaps underneath (which you should do anyway).

Good Luck!

Kevin Wright
s/v Hydro Therapy

 

[Loren Beach]

Teak looks nautical when new.
There are a lot of boats around with older teak riser pads, and many have splits or even rot. Even if you oil it regularly, you have to tape off around the winch or remove the drum.
While in the planning stages, consider a solid synthetic material. While folks do use "Starboard" cast plastic, it will not very well accept paint or gel coat to match the deck color. G10 will accept paint, etc. Or just lay up some cloth and resin to make your own board. You could even try to make a form on the exact location with modeling clay I would guess, and cast a pad with thickened epoxy.
I did cast a riser with thickened epoxy for our ss anchor roller. With some saran wrap on deck and on the roller piece bottom, there was no epoxy in unwanted places, either.

 

[Kenneth K]

Bruce, I originally started down this same road with teak. I ordered two different winch pads from Amazon. One was flat and one was pre-beveled. SeaTeak and Whitecap are common brands. All the pads I've seen are made of three pieces of teak glued together and then tooled into shape. I haven't seen a solid, single-piece base yet. All the old pads I removed (as well as the teak base beneath my compass) have cracks through a good portion of the material and shrinkage around the exterior.

I'm now planning to go with something like Starboard. I believe generic Starboard is just known as HDPE. There is a good plastics shop in Tacoma that I've used before. Once I get all the patterns down, I'm going to bring them to this shop and have them do the machining.

As Mark said, in my post "Winch & Rope Clutch Placement on Cabin top (E32),"

I needed one mounting block for a winch and I used white Starboard. It is more incompressible than teak. The color goes all the way through, UV stable, no paint needed. It is MUCH easier to shape than G10. The butyl tape underneath has stayed leak free. I have used Starboard for many spacers like this.
I think G10 is stronger than you need for this, too hard to shape and I prefer no need to paint.​

So that is the way I'm leaning now.

 

[bgary]

I'm now planning to go with something like Starboard.

Great info, thanks.

Are there places where one can buy "rounds" of Starboard in a given diameter (e.g., 6" diameter and 2" thick)? Or would I need to build up blocks to get to a thickness and then find a way to make it round?

 

[Kenneth K]

I haven't spent a lot of time looking, but I've only seen Starboard sold in sheets. I like this site:

www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/king_starboard/526

They have up to 1.5 in thick in any custom size up to 8' by 4.' Says they'll do custom "rounded " corners and drilled holes, but I haven't found anything about cutting circles. That's what gave me the idea of using a plastics shop.

 

[tenders]

You can find people selling miscellaneous chunks of Starboard on eBay in all colors and thicknesses. I think it's made up to 1" thick.

I'm a big believer in Starboard and G10, and would never replace anything exterior with teak or wood of any type. Starboard would be my choice for this hands down. I suggest finding a color you like and, over time, planning to replace anything on the exterior with that color.

 

[markvone]

NorVa plastics, Norfolk VA

NorVa sells Starboard on Ebay or direct. They can ship it in a 12" x 12" x 3" USPS Priority Box for a fixed price regardless of weight. You can get two 12 x 12 x 1.5 inch thick pieces in this box. If you get 12 x 12 (or smaller) pieces I always get extras to fill the 3" thick box. For example if I needed a 12 x 12 x 1.5 inch thick piece, I'd get a 12 x 12 x 1/2 and a 12 x 12 x 1 inch piece (or a couple of 1/2 inch pieces) to fill the box.

I believe 1.5 inch thick is the max for Starboard.

Here's the Ebay store link. They sell G10 and other "plastics" as well:

http://stores.ebay.com/Norva-Plastics-Inc

Here's the 12 x 12 x 1.5 white Starboard shipping for free:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/STARBOARD-1-1-2-THICK-WHITE-12-X-12-/202222369115

I seem to remember getting my 2 pieces (twice) in the past from them for much less (~ $15 each piece plus $12-15 for the USPS Priority Box) so I would call or email through Ebay to ask.

I've built the following items from starboard: a 3 inch thick x 10 diameter pedestal lift for my steering wheel, 1.5 inch thick lift of my spin pole deck mount, 1/2 inch thick cabin top winch taper mount, 1/2 inch thick mast cam bases to conform to mast profile (black starboard), 1.5 inch thick toe rail scupper plug. All of these are basically spacers, held in place by the compression of the item's mounting nut and bolts except the scupper plug which is a clearance fit in the scupper, held by a single screw and silicone sealant. All of these are on the exterior of the boat and have held up well with no maintenance. All were cut and formed with woodworking tools. I'll post a few pictures when I get home tonight.

Mark

 

[toddster]

Great info, thanks.

Are there places where one can buy "rounds" of Starboard in a given diameter (e.g., 6" diameter and 2" thick)? Or would I need to build up blocks to get to a thickness and then find a way to make it round?

Re: “building up” StarBoard. You can’t glue polyethylene. You can glue ABS or G10. ABS is generally available in the same sizes and forms as PE. I usually get my plastics from the scrap bin at TAP Plastics, where they sell it by the pound. I’m not sure about Trex, as per Christian’s suggestion a couple of weeks ago. But I did buy a piece this week - will let you know. Perhaps a 2-inch riser is approaching the size at which you’d want to consider laying up a custom fiberglass piece over a mold?

Hmm... just a thought - not sure if it’s strong enough in hollow form, but you can buy 6” ABS end caps for DWV pipes for a few dollars. Sure would be light weight.

Make your blocks, in any material, round before glueing up with a hole saw chucked into a drill press. Clamp the work securely.

Edit Re: Glueing Trex. Trex is (AFAIK) sawdust suspended in recycled polyethylene resin. I would expect glueing to be weak - born out by numerous complaints found by a quick Google. One site says that West Systems epoxy bonds it pretty well.

 

[Christian Williams]

I still like teak.

He said quietly.

 

[67rway]

More Risers

When adding secondary winches to my base boat, I initially considered using polyethylene rounds, such as this 7" piece, available from commercial plastics vendors. 7" was the max I could easily find, and they're heavy and hard to work with.





I ended up following Loren's model and casted mine beginning with an exterior layer of carbon (for cosmetics), then multiple layers of glass around a pre-shaped core of high density poly foam.




The height and angle are such that the handles operate horizontally, and clear the stanchions and lifelines.

 

[Kenneth K]

Bruce, the original teak pads for the cabin-top size 17 and 18 winches are 1 1/4 inches high on the high side and about 1/4 on the low side. Diameter is 5 9/16.


I may be talking to my plastic shop today. I'll let you know what I find out.

 

[Mark F]

Hi 67rway,

Nice looking winch pads!

Christian, shh ;-)

 

[markvone]

I still like teak.

He said quietly.

These beautiful Starboard projects will provide another perspective . Actually, I like teak too. More on that at the end.


My first Starboard project was a 3 inch pedestal lift to accommodate a larger steering wheel. It's made from two 1.5 inch thick pieces.

Next came two mast cam bases to fit the contour of the mast in 1/2 inch black starboard. These could have been 1/4 inch thick and still absorbed the small amount of curve.

Third, a 1/2 inch thick base for my starboard cabin top winch to fit the slight side to side curve of the cabin top. This could have been 1/4 inch thick also as no lift was required.

Next was a 1.5 inch lift of my spin pole deck chock to get the center of the pole off the deck.

Last was a plug shaped from 1.5 inch thick Starboard to fill a toe rail scupper which drains directly over my fuel tank vent.

I think the scupper plug has to be Starboard to blend in and resist moisture. The black mast cam base blends in better in black on my mast. The winch base is so thin (and could be thinner) that there would be very little teak exposed to show off and I would worry about it cracking along the grain- a problem with teak.

I think you could make a case that the spin pole chock lift and the wheel lift pieces would look good (better?) in teak. I think I prefer these in white and blending in and certainly like the lack of maintenance. It's worth putting some thought and effort into the shape of these pieces to keep them from looking too industrial.

I have about six other teak lifting and angle blocks plus the hand rails which do add a nice look and I wouldn't change them to Starboard just to avoid maintenance,

Mark

 

[Loren Beach]

Those carbon winch bases........

Mmmmmm...... Carbon Fiber.....
:clap:

From a certain movie: " I feel the need, the need for Speed!"

 

[Kenneth K]

Well, I talked to the Plastics guy yesterday. He said the winch bases are not something he would take on for me. They do most of their rough shaping with a bandsaw, and he said there was no way to cut it height-wise at that angle as would be required. I asked him about sanding. He said HDPE doesn't sand well for gross shaping because it basically melts.

We talked about the poured-fiberglass method, which he liked, so he hunted his scrap pile for suitable mold. Turns out he had an acrylic cylinder that happened to be the exact diameter of the winch bases. Surprisingly, he gave it to me for free.

So this has me pondering the fiberglass route.......

 

[bgary]

So this has me pondering the fiberglass route.......

Yeah, I'm still pondering the fiberglass route, too, although I'd prefer teak *if* I can make it look nice. Which is a big "if", given my lack of woodworking skills.

I did notice the McMaster-Carr sells "short rods" of UHMF in a variety of sizes - you can get a "short rod" that's 6" diameter and 2" thick, for example. I suspect I could chuck it up somehow in my neighbor's drill press and hold a rasp against the side until it was the diameter and profile I want, but the problem about how to cut it so that the base is angled correctly remains unresolved.

That, more than anything else, may push me over the edge to a fiberglass pad.

Bruce

 

[GrandpaSteve]

Teak. Teak? Yes, teak.