I’m in the process of making companionway hatchboards using PlasTeak lumber, and am starting to look at other issues.
The eyebrow on my boat has been sanded down to the point that it can no longer hold the plugs covering the screws that hold it on.
The handrails are similarly worn and grooved.
My choices are to either (a) leave everything in grey teak and live with it; (b) replace everything with real teak and keep it up; or, (c) strike a balance between appearance and maintenance by replacing them with PlasTeak synthetic material. (If you’re not familiar with it, you can look at their handrails at https://www.plasteak.com/plasteak-recycled-plastic-product/custom-handrails-78in-wide)
I think I understand the first two alternatives’ implications.
My questions for the group, before making a decision, are mainly concerned with the third:
What do people think of the aesthetics of PlasTeak?
When the day comes that I (or, more likely, my heirs) sell the boat, what impact would it have on its value?
Has anyone had experience with it that they could share in terms of:
Ease/difficulty of installation
Durability / longevity
Accuracy of the company’s “maintenance-free” claims
Also, whether replacing the handrails with teak or synthetic, how are the originals fastened, and what’s involved in getting them off?
There don’t appear to be plugs in mine, so it doesn’t look like they were through-bolted from above. There are fourteen covered holes in the cabin liner on each side, which makes me wonder if the handrails were screwed on from underneath. But, either way, the holes are only big enough for a screw and screwdriver. They don’t leave room for fitting anything like a backing plate or fender washer through. That seems kindof un-Hinterhoeller-ish. So, what am I missing?
How have people who’ve had to access their handrail fastenings gone about it?
Mine were screwed on from underneath, though those little access holes. Most unscrewed, a couple needed drilling/breaking. The whole thing was sketchy, really, and they were all leaky. When I reinstalled, I countersunk stainless screw in plugs like these https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-knife-thread-insert-ss-14-20-pk5-4zu63/i/G1013345/ into the new, meatier, less pretty grabrails from underneath, and used 1/4"capscrews with 1/2" O.D. washers to secure from inside the cabin. Sealed with butyl tape. forever tightening the bolts. Seems pretty solid. I also contemplated hanger bolts but the ones I saw were very rough and I felt like bending the rails and getting the hanger bolts and holes aligned would scratch the crap out of my coach hose top.
Bob,
On my 26 the hand rails were held on by screws from the underside. There were not any backers or washers as far as I can recall. I believe the screws were Allen head. I used 4200 caulking. If 8 re do them I will put a bead of butyl tape around the screws. I considered using threaded anchors when I re attached them but was concerned they would split the hand rails so just re used the screws. They all came out easily.
A few years ago Good Old Boat had an article about using A plan teak type of product as hand rails. I can’t remember the details and have not had time to search for the article. If I find it I will let you know which issue it was in.
Thank you to the folks responding re the handrail attachments. I searched the back archives and found that Mike on Bianka said the same thing, as well as posting pictures on his blog. So, although there seems to be some question as to whether the screws are Phillips-head or Allen-head (or possibly the square-heads I’ve seen elsewhere on the boat?), it’s pretty clear that they’re screwed on from underneath.
Thank you, also, Tim, for the point about expansion as an issue for the toe rail. I’ve been in discussions with the factory about this. They sent me a sample for the material they use as edging for swim platforms, which apparently is a bit different. I just got it yesterday in the package containing the boards I’ll be using today to make new companionway hatchboards. I haven’t looked closely at it yet, but will need to talk to them about whether it has the same expansion issues.
In case anyone’s interested, they quoted me a price of $200 USD to make a two-piece hatchboard set for me, plus $29.15 for shipping from their factory in Ohio to my home in Los Angeles. I decided instead to buy a 0.5" x 8" by 12 foot board from them for $45, pay $5 for them to cut it into shorter lengths, and $37.43 for shipping (total cost $87.43). I plan to cut them myself to make a five-piece hatchboard set. I have some ideas for connecting them so that they can be easily lifted out, bundled and stowed.
Before we lost our boat in Hurricane Michael I was planning on replacing the teak handrails with stainless handrails. I was going to place them and secure them such that I could use them as a secure way of strapping things down to the deck. Never had much faith in the handrails that were already installed, for holding on to or securing things.
So far I have only used PlasTeak to replace the teak treads on the bowsprit. I did that during the refit in 2015 and I don’t regret it. Absolutely maintenance free and I like the look. I ordered the boards and cut them to size using the teak treads that were already on the bowsprit as patterns. No problems working with it either. During the refit I removed the teak grab rails from the cabin top, sanded them down and varnished them. Remounted them with butyl rubber too, no leaks to report. However the boat being over 30 years old and with all the sanding and refinishing over time the rails on the port side got a little thin. Now the wood has developed a crack running portion of the length of the rail where it is the thinnest. I regret not changing out the grab rails with PlasTeak at that time and am planning on doing it soon. As for aesthetics, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Can it affect resale? Yes / no / maybe, really depends on if that is the only thing wrong with boat at the time of resale. Usually there are other and more important things to consider than that. For me I’m more concerned with having some grab rails that I can count when needed with a minimum of maintenance while I still own the boat. Am enclosing a picture of the bowsprit showing the PlasTeak treads installed and the sanded original teak treads below it and one after the bow sprit was back on the boat. Hope that helps.
Cheers!
I’ve done PlasTeak companionway boards, and am pretty likely to go forward on the handrails.
For eyebrows, the company recommended a half-round that they use for the edging on their swim platforms. It’s not going to work.
I think I have a solution which would appear right, but I’m not sure how to handle the expansion/contraction issue. Any advice on that would be much appreciated.
