Having grown tired of trying to keep up the appearance of the teak seats on the coaming of my H34, I have replaced them with a synthetic decking material from Home Depot (like Trex). Total cost was $28.00. It took a while to trace and match each piece as they were not the same shape nor were they straight forward square cuts. The material was thicker than the original teak, so with the help of a router, I was able to cut it down so the new material still fits flush to the coaming surface. The widest piece is where the emergency tiller is covered. I took two pieces of the decking material and ripped them on the table saw so the cut edges butted together and the total width was correct. If you notice on the picture where the board is flipped open, there are still 5 pencil lines. Havent erased them yet. That is where I drilled holes and put 5/16 wood dowels to join them together. I used Gorilla glue on the dowels and the board edges. I clamped them together in my Workmate table until the glue cured and trimmed excess with a razor blade. It seems very strong. The two wider seats were about an inch wider than the decking material. I just ripped a strip and butted the factory edges together (they are rounded). I held it with a clamp and drove a couple of stainless steel screws in from the back. Had to make sure I predrilled the holes as this stuff tends to split in the thin direction. After routing the edges, the back strip is pretty much completely supported by the step in the coaming. I drilled the holes for the holddown screws on the wide board. All the old holes and new ones were bedded with Boatlife caulk.

This synthetic wood cuts nicely with routers, chop saws, table saws and hand saws (all of which were employed). I used a file to break the sharp edges. We shall see how it weathers over time.

Allan