# Repair Cracked Teak Toe Rail



## casey1999 (Oct 18, 2010)

What is the best method to repair cracks and fill voids in cracked teak toe rail? Would epoxy work? Just need somthing to last for a while until time and money are available to one day replace the 35 year old teak toe rail.
Thanks


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

It depends... do you have photos of the damage? Is the toe rail structural or cosmetic on your boat?


----------



## casey1999 (Oct 18, 2010)

I do not have photos. The cracks and voids that need to be filled are cosmetic. Talking with the boat builder the toe rail only prevents you from slipping off the boat. The toe rail does not hold the deck/hull joint together. Apparently the deck/hull is glassed and may have additional blots that are located under the toe rail. From what I understand the toe rail could be removed without effecting the hull/deck structure (although the bolt holes would need to be filled. Boat is an S&S 34 built in Austrailia.


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

If the cracks and voids are truly cosmetic, you can use 5 minute epoxy mixed with teak sawdust to make the fill. When cured, the excess can be easily scraped, sanded, and finished. A quick way to make sawdust is to take a piece of scrap teak and 80 grit sandpaper. If you have a random orbit sander, blow out the dust collector and collect the teak dust.

I've used this process for years on a variety of woods including teak. It's a much more stable method than the classic technique of mixing sawdust with finish. The method was pioneered by Sam Maloof.


----------



## Boatsmith (May 3, 2009)

We repair cracks in exterior teak with epoxy. We will thicken the epoxy with a mix of teak dust and cotton fibers. Dust alone will be darker than the teak. We also fix cracks with medium viscosity super glue. We have been using super glue for almost ten years now with excellent results.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

The only issue with what Sabreman says, is that most epoxies are not very UV-tolerant. You could certainly use another waterproof, uv-tolerant glue to make up a putty to fill the voids/cracks. 

Good boat btw, IIRC, it's the same as Ella's Pink Lady, that Jessica Watson used to solo circumnavigate last year.


----------



## casey1999 (Oct 18, 2010)

Boatsmith said:


> We repair cracks in exterior teak with epoxy. We will thicken the epoxy with a mix of teak dust and cotton fibers. Dust alone will be darker than the teak. We also fix cracks with medium viscosity super glue. We have been using super glue for almost ten years now with excellent results.


What brand of super glue do you use, or will any brand work?


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

casey1999 said:


> What brand of super glue do you use, or will any brand work?


He's probably using a super glue gel rather than plain super glue. Plain super glue is very thin and doesn't have any gap-filling capacity.


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

> most epoxies are not very UV-tolerant


The dust and cotton fibers (I like that idea) act as a UV protector. Regardless, it's a cosmetic fix and not structural. By the time that it falls out (if ever - I haven't had a failure) the proper fix will have been made.

As Boatsmith indicates, it is common to use epoxy which is only a binder for the color of the dust.


----------



## Boatsmith (May 3, 2009)

The super glue I use comes from my local hobby shop. It has their label on it. They have what they call super thin and acts almost like penetrating oil. Then they they have what they call gap filling which is a little thicker. I use this the most. They also have a thick flavor which I have only used once and have not seen a use for it since. I have used other brands and they are not all the same. I don't exactly know the differences but we all like this brand the best. We also use the activator to kick the stuff off.


----------



## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

*Similar problem*

How about when the joint (half lap joint I guess) is separating?


----------



## Boatsmith (May 3, 2009)

Clean it out as well as you can. A broken hacksaw blade can work well. Then clean it well with denatured alcohol , apply glue and clamp back together.


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

I'd worry that such a short section would pull apart again without a screw to convince it to stay in place. Worth a try but if it happens again, I'd fair it and fill the gap with epoxy.


----------



## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

I fixed it for you. 
I cut out the damaged wood and very carefully cut another scarf joint about 3:1 L/W ratio. I used a "Fein Multimaster' with very fine teeth on the blade to make the 'cuts, then 'shaved' the ends with a super sharp chisel so there would be no 'gaps'.
I replaced with entirely new wood, used recorcinol glue and then screwed it to the old, then bunged the countersunk screw holes. 
Good as new. 
It wont come apart as do 'glue only' repairs.


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

Nice fix. 

Personally, I stay away from resorcinol since there are many more modern glues that do as good if not better than this classic glue. At one time, it was the only waterproof glue. Today we have Titebond III and epoxy's that are awesome.


----------



## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

Disagree ... for me nothing beats Recorcinol as the adhesion and doesnt lose its bond when the wood becomes saturated. Its still 'the glue' used in the manufacture of marine plywood.


----------

