The History relating to elements of the Teak Decking of Bunty B

 The background to my requirements: Reference my blog 20^th May 2019

 Since the start of the build, I have visualised how I wanted the deck to look and invested some time in marking out the layout in chalk, this allowed me to make adjustments in the design by simply rubbing off any offending lines to alter the set out. I felt it absolutely essential that the teak strips be swept to follow the lines of the boat with the exception of the deck forward of the cabin which, I laid parallel to the sides of the anchor compartment cover.

 The amidships area around the cabin required the teak strips (45mm x 6mm) to be bent to a fairly tight radius. At first I tried to achieve this by cold bending, but found that the radius was beyond the limit from which they were prepared to bend. Following further research I discovered that there were conflicting views as to whether teak could be steam bent, especially given that the strips required edge bending in the horizontal plane with the 45mm face uppermost. I decided to build a steam box and a jig constructed to the appropriate radius. Despite multiple attempts by varying the time the material spent in the steam box, I could not achieve the required radius without the material buckling, even by using a system of multiple clamps to hold the strips flat to the jig base. I concluded that the only option was to purchase some additional wide boards and cut each individual deck strip to the required radius; this proved to be time consuming and produced a high percentage of waste material, however I achieved the results I aspired to. The teak strips were glued down with epoxy as I had done previously with the cockpit sole. The 5mm wide joints were then primed with Sika Flex 290 DC primer before filling with Sikflex 290 DC Pro in black. I allowed about three weeks for the product to fully cure before sanding the surface off flush.

The Solution  

Sourcing wide quarter sawn boards of Teak is no easy task notwithstanding the fact that Burmese Teak is no longer available other than as a re-claimed material. Following a conversation with a friend in the local pub, he advised me to try Feuillus Fencing Ltd, a small family run business based in Essex. I must confess that I was very sceptical that a fencing firm would be able to supply me with high quality teak, particularly of the dimensions that I required to produce the decking strips. But try I did and, to my amazement found that they had purchased a consignment of reclaimed material. They held in stock a good selection of sizes of which I conducted an online sort through before placing an order to fulfil my requirements. In the few days prior to the delivery I must confess to feeling a little nervous, still not fully able to comprehend that a fencing company could possibly supply such a rare species of timber. On its arrival I couldn’t believe how good it was, the quality appeared superb. My initial observations were further borne out when I began to run the boards through the saw in preparation for planning.

The supplier claimed that the Burmese teak had been salvaged in 2011 from a World War One wreck the SS Pegu.I found this intriguing which prompted me to research this further to find out just what had happened. An internet search revealed that the Pegu was a steam powered cargo ship owned by the Henderson Shipping Company. She was torpedoed by a German U-boat (U57) under the command of Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg on 8th July 1917. Unfortunately the sinking of the ship caused the loss of one life, 22 year old 4th engineer, Robert Maxwell. The ship had been carrying general cargo which included a large supply of Burmese Teak, from Rangoon to Liverpool. Apparently this timber was destined to be used for the fortification of heavy gun emplacements in France and Belgium. The Teak had lay on the sea bed for over 90 years before being salvaged. Apparently the salvaged timber had in part been a source of material for repairs to the Cutty Sark project following a serious fire that nearly destroyed the renovation.

Ref used: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?71187

I believe that such fine rare timber should command one's respect in both its handling and use, further amplified by the fact that a young man had lost his life delivering it to these shores. I considered that using this fine wood for cladding the deck of Bunty B was both entirely appropriate and a privilege, 4th engineer Robert Maxwell and the SS Pegu cross my mind every time I walk over those boards.