Before Posting, Please Read Our Posting Guidelines Below.
1. Use the full 4 digit year for everything you are asking your question about. Example: 1962, 1988, 2000, 2011 2. Include the correct name of your Whaler model. Example: Montauk 17, Montauk 170, Outrage 26, Outrage 260 3. Include the length when necessary. Example: 16, 17, 18, 20, 22 4. Do not post your email address anywhere on this site as it is already in your user profile.
I have started cleaning the teak under the side gunnels and thought that they were attached with screws. I see now that they are held in place by Pins (?) and some seem to be loose. Can someone provide insight as to what these are and how to go about tightening them. Maybe even provide some sort of drawing.
You are referring to what Whaler called "Ceiling boards". i have no idea where that designation came from, but properly installed and re-varnished, they are one of the beautiful features of these boats!
Anyway, they are 3/8" thick Phillipine Mahogany, not teak, and in most boats they need to be completely taken apart, stripped of the original urethane coating, and sanded to bare wood, re-varnished 6 coats, and re-installed with #8 screws. It is a LOT of time consuming work! In the earlier boats, they were one piece, as long as 16'. In the later boats Whaler installed them in two halves, allowing easier installation of saddle tanks which the boards did not go behind.
This was one of the bad installation details on the boat, probably done to save costs. They are fastened to the teak vertical wood blocks with bronze ring nails, which always fail causing the boards to rattle continuously.
To properly repair, you have not only remove the boards, but also the vertical blocking. The old stripped out nail holes in the blocks will not hold screws, so they have to be drilled out 3/8" diameter, and teak pegged. Then re-drill for the screws. If the nail heads have damaged the mahogany, they also have to be drilled out and pegged, then re-drilled. Wherever there was a nail, replace with a screw.
In another post I gave you a link to some photos of mine. There is a photo showing these ceiling boards completely redone.
Finnegan,
Thank you for the information you provided on the ceiling boards. Just a few questions remain in my mind. Is there any easy way to remove the bronze nails holding the boards onto the blocking and how was the vertical blocking fastened to the hull. Besides the outer ribs acting as some type of stiffener for the hull, was that the thought behind the ceiling boards?
Would I be doing a disservice to the family of Whaler owners if I were to use these as templates to fashion new boards out of teak.
The vertical teak blocks holding the ceiling boards are screwed into the top cap of the hull. Whaler installed wood backing in the mold for that purpose. They are purely decorative, for a finished look inside the boat.
The ceiling boards can come out as a set by unscrewing the blocks, but it might be easier to pry them apart in place, since the bow rail stantions can make set removal difficult. A pry tool and claw hammer should do the trick, but you will have some unavoidable damage, hence the need for peg plugs.
Replacing them in teak would be a nice upgrade. Have your shop do what Whaler did. Start with 4/4 (7/8" thick) teak boards of the correct width, and then run through a table saw to make two 3/8" boards. If the saw uses a blade thicker than 1/8", you will have to start with 5/4 boards. I would expect a teak cost around $300.
