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companion way crib boards sticking

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mhaeck
Deckhand

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USA
1 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/23/2020 : 22:14:11

I'm having issues with the crib boards sticking against the inside of the frame. It's mostly the bottom 2 boards that are having the issue. I was going to sand the edges down and then reapply varnish. I'm not even remotely a competent wood worker, so any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

"Carpe Diem"

Mark Haeckel

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5231 Posts

Response Posted - 11/23/2020 : 22:41:30

Mark,
If the finish on your crib boards looks good then you might want to clean and wax the boards instead of sanding a perfectly good finish. I use Fantastic cleaner on a paper towel or a scrunge pad both on the crib boards and the board slots. Once cleaned out, you can try either Murphy�s Oil Soap or Lemon Oil on a rag to relubricate the boards.

If the finish is worn away, peeling or chipping and flaking off, you should go ahead and sand it. If you have a buzz sander, you should start with a few sheets of 150 or 120 grit sandpaper. If you don�t have an electric sander, get a sanding block to keep the sandpaper flat on the surface. If you don�t use a block, you�ll round off the edges of the crib boards (which you don�t want to do).

Refinishing the boards can be a little tricky depending on what the old finish was. Some folks use spar varnish, others use teak oil, Sikkens Cetol is popular, they might have used urethane or others use polyurethane. Teak oil generally dries out in 3-6 months and turns gray. Spar varnish will usually chip or crack. Urethane will gunk up. Polyurethane will usually crack and peel. Sikkens turns brown and cracks will turn black.

Varnish and teak oil can be patched if the surface looks ok. Sikkens needs to be removed completely by sanding or stripping and reapplied. Urethane can usually be patched but polyurethane should be stripped and reapplied. There are plenty of YouTubes about refinishing the teak.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Lee Panza
Captain

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USA
465 Posts

Response Posted - 11/24/2020 : 12:18:01

Mark:

My bottom crib-board sticks occasionally, so I�ve looked at this problem a bit (fixing it is still low on my continuously-evolving list of things to do). I occasionally have to thump it with the bottom of my fist to loosen it.

Wood naturally expands and contracts with changes in ambient humidity or contact with water, as well as with temperature, so you might notice it getting worse or better as the weather changes. The solution to your particular problem is dependent on which way the boards are binding.

There are two possibilities for how they�re binding: either the narrowed edges can be getting thicker, or the boards are getting longer overall. In the first case, the narrowed edges would need to be made thinner. This would be the more difficult task, but it's less likely to be the problem than the latter case.

Taking some wood off the outer edges is easier than reducing their thickness. Sanding may be the easiest way for you to do the job, if you don�t have a good plane and a sturdy workbench to hold the board, but it will be tedious. Start with medium coarse sandpaper (I�d recommend 80 grit). Cut it into smaller pieces (ie. quarter-sheets or less) and use some kind of block (a scrap of wood or a commercially-available sanding block) to keep the edge square and straight. The sandpaper may quickly fill and become less efficient, so keep using fresh areas of the paper (and don't be stingy about changing it when the entire usable area is depleted).

After you remove enough wood for the boards to fit easily, take some more off so they won�t bind if they swell even more (and to allow for the thickness of the finish to be applied later). You should probably be safe removing a sixteenth of an inch or more off both edges of each board. It would also be advisable to use some kind of measuring device to gauge how much material you�re removing, to keep it consistent from one end of each edge to the other (even a pencil mark on a stiff card or a stick would do, because you don�t really need to quantify how much you remove as long as it�s consistent). Both sides of each board don�t need to be exactly the same.

After the coarse sanding you�d go back over the newly-exposed surfaces with progressively finer grits to smooth them. Use a finer grit to round the edges of your new surfaces slightly.

The crib boards can be quite loose in the slots without causing problems. The fit does not control leakage of rain, unless it�s driven hard by a strong wind while the boat is docked or on the hard, but even then, most water getting past the edges of the boards will run down the slots at the sides of the companionway. (A much more problematic source of leaks already exists at the top between the sliding hatch cover, the topmost crib-board, and the slots.) Even though your topmost board apparently isn�t sticking now, you might consider trimming it at the same time, though to a lesser extent.

Bruce has already commented on the refinishing, but keep in mind that the newly-exposed wood will be entirely within the slots and will not be visible from inside or outside, so a close visual match isn't important.

Refinishing the crib-boards entirely might be a good idea, but no finish will entirely prevent the wood from responding to changes in ambient conditions. That�s why the boards and the slots are designed for a loose fit.

Good luck with your project, Mark.

The trouble with a destination - any destination, really - is that it interrupts The Journey.

Lee Panza
SR/SK #2134
San Francisco Bay
(Brisbane, CA)

Lee Panza
Captain

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USA
465 Posts

Response Posted - 11/24/2020 : 12:34:58

By the way, I probably should have suggested how you can determine which way the boards are binding. Try lowering the lowest board into place, gently so it doesn�t wedge tightly, and examine it from above. Also, try wiggling it in the slots before it wedges tight, and see whether it still has play in the in/out direction or in the side-to-side direction.

The trouble with a destination - any destination, really - is that it interrupts The Journey.

Lee Panza
SR/SK #2134
San Francisco Bay
(Brisbane, CA)

mhaeck
Deckhand

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USA
1 Posts

Response Posted - 11/24/2020 : 13:54:45

Thank you for the advice, gentlemen. I have a better grasp of how to approach this now, hopefully without ruining the crib boards altogether. Lee, I get your point about the ambient weather causing changes to the wood, but this problem has been persistent no matter the season. It is also possible that the tracks or frame has warped or moved over time, but I will plan on tackling this some point this winter. The winter to do list grows...
Thanks again,

Mark

Mark Haeckel

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 11/24/2020 : 21:51:36

How are they and the frames finished? You could try some teflon-based dry lube like Sailkote, which I'm guessing won't make the finish sticky like an oil-based lube might.

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 11/24/2020 21:59:33

Bill Holcomb
Admiral

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USA
769 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2020 : 10:54:29

Hey Mark,
If the boards and framing wood is in good shape, take a bar of bathroom soap and liberally rub it on the surfaces of the frame. This might solve your problem nicely.
Bill Holcomb - C25 Snickerdoodle #4839

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2020 : 11:16:30

...or candle wax. (Nuff choices for ya?)

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3474 Posts

Response Posted - 11/28/2020 : 16:19:25

I keep an old soup can with candle wax and a brush in it on the shelf. If I hafta rebuild a wood window the last step before reassembling is heat up the can on a cast iron pan on the stove and paint the side slots with hot wax.

When the can cools with the brush in it it�s back to the shelf.

Ray in Atlanta, Ga.
"Lee Key" '84 Catalina 25
Standard Rig / Fin Keel

Edited by - redeye on 11/28/2020 16:24:08

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