Now the steps?

[gerryb]

It never surprises me what 'breaks' on a boat. Now my wood steps? Walnut is splitting/warping away on two of the four steps. Attempted a glue-and-clamp repair which didn't work since the wood pieces seem to have warped away from each other ever so slightly. Found a carpenter who would rebuild them from similar wood for about $100/ea. Also looking at some other options/woods.

Anyone else have this happen?

 

[Little Ducky]

B.O A T.

Break Out Another Thousand

But I would not have it any other way.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Once wood remembers the forest there's no going back. You can try something to fix it. Once it splits in many cases the wood has stabilized itself so it won't split any more unless subjected to outside mechanical stresses. You can fill the crack with epoxy and carefully sand the top surface. You may have to refinish the top, but it is all entirely DIY.

The trick is to use very targeted masking. Take the step off of the boat You start by masking the top and rounded edge with good quality (3M, not the HD crap) masking tape making sure there are no wrinkles, or undulations in the tape. On the top surface you are covering over the crack and sealing it. Later you are going to turn the step over and pour epoxy into the crack. You really want this as flat as you can. Remember these surfaces are where it can be seen. You don't want to create any more stuff you need to sand. Now flip it over and carefully mask on either side of the crack. Mask as much as you can. Here the idea is to reduce the exposed wood so that any drips will land on the masking. Now you are ready to epoxy, pouring it into the crack on the bottom of the step and allowing it to settle against the tape. This is why getting the tape on the top surface flat is so important it creates a mold for the resin.

I would suggest using West System epoxy because it tends to turn dark over time. DO NOT use the West System stuff in the self mix tubes, it cures the color of fresh milk and will stick out like the proverbial thumb. You can try adding a couple drops of walnut stain as you mix it. Personally I wouldn't and just wait for time to do its thing. With the first batch you make, you want to get this in the crack with the idea being to create a uniform layer on the bottom (actually its the top of the step). The trick is to pour it into the crack and use a toothpick to get it to settle to the bottom of the crack. A plastic spreader helps to squeegee any excess on the tape into the crack. Don't worry about filling the crack on the first pass, as long as you get the full length of the crack its good. Now just repeat as many times as it takes. Since the pour side is the bottom of the step you don't have to be perfect.

You want the epoxy to cure before you pull off the tape. But you don't want to wait too long, epoxy is a powerful adhesive. But that's why you bought the good 3M, or other premium brand tape, its meant to come off in these circumstances. If you do get a bubble or void that shows in the top surface you can use the same technique by completely masking around the void and being careful.

 

[JPGator]

It never surprises me what 'breaks' on a boat. Now my wood steps? Walnut is splitting/warping away on two of the four steps. Attempted a glue-and-clamp repair which didn't work since the wood pieces seem to have warped away from each other ever so slightly. Found a carpenter who would rebuild them from similar wood for about $100/ea. Also looking at some other options/woods.

Anyone else have this happen?

Mine is doing the exact same thing although not as bad.

following this thread for sure.

 

[LattitudeAdjustment]

Maybe try some StarBoard? It will outlive all of us.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Maybe try some StarBoard? It will outlive all of us.

Starboard is actually quite slippery when wet.

 

[LattitudeAdjustment]

Starboard is actually quite slippery when wet.

I would never suggest putting it in as is. A router with a couple different bits would make it More pleasing to the bare foot.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I would never suggest putting it in as is. A router with a couple different bits would make it More pleasing to the bare foot.

I'm sorry swapping out hardwood steps for what resembles restaurant cutting board just doesn't seem right.

 

[gerryb]

Sorry the plastic starboard look doesn't work well on this boat IMO. I'm looking for the same wood, with the embedded strip of maple. The other option is to rebuild all the steps using different wood perhaps, or to try and repair the split ones. It seems SO many things have broken on the boat, on our vehicles and at home this year (covid coincidence?) that I'm really starting to think about deferring some items into next year such as newly rebuilt steps. I'm not even sure what you can do to prevent this from happening? Perhaps make sure to moisturize the wood 1-2x per year?

 

[Creekwood]

$100 sounds like a great price for replacements, especially if they are teak/holly like the originals (I expect they are not walnut). I would take option in a heartbeat.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Sorry the plastic starboard look doesn't work well on this boat IMO. I'm looking for the same wood, with the embedded strip of maple. The other option is to rebuild all the steps using different wood perhaps, or to try and repair the split ones. It seems SO many things have broken on the boat, on our vehicles and at home this year (covid coincidence?) that I'm really starting to think about deferring some items into next year such as newly rebuilt steps. I'm not even sure what you can do to prevent this from happening? Perhaps make sure to moisturize the wood 1-2x per year?

Preventing this type of thing is basically luck. Something in the tree to lumber process was rushed, and nothing you could have done would have changed things.

You can try and fix it with epoxy as I suggested, or replace it. It’s pretty simple construction, cut the shape out of a blank, then use a router to cut inlay channels, and insert maple inlays that sit proud of the surface. As Creekwood said, $100 is a pretty reasonable price. You could go with teak, but the material costs would be down right silly.