If I can ever get done with the living room reconstruction started last September I plan on building a night heron with veneer on the deck. I have never attempted doing any veneer work and hope it comes out, It doesnt sound all to difficult but then.... neither did the living room. It sounds as if you have at least some experence working with it, How frightened should I be? jim 

Rich,

Another option would be to round over the inside top edge of your coaming with a router (say 1/4" roundover bit) and then lay up one layer of carbon fiber.  I did mine over a mold but the result would be similar.  Looks awesome (see my post "Chesapeak 17 LT (modified) for pics).

Seems like veneer would leave a sharp top edge where the coaming's side/top meet.

Good luck,

Larry

Interesting idea Rich.  Is the 1/32" mahogany flexible enough to assume the sharp bends, or will you have to steam it, soak it, or heat it to make it fit?

Maybe thin decorative fabrics or other materials could also be applied to cover those edges, and then coated with epoxy (with our without fiberglass) and varnish.  

I don't have much experience with veneeering, but I did a cherry veneer on homemade stereo speakers and have done several mahogany transom veneer over bass wood stock transoms.  In both cases, the results were very satisfying.

It takes patience, very careful measuring, and consistent application of glue.

For the coaming project, I just ordered my mahogony from Bluejacket Shipcrafters in Maine ( agreat company).  To play it safe, I ordered 1/32 x1" mahogany sheet wood.  And in case I have trouble bending it into shape, I also ordered 1/32x1/2 mahogany strips which I would double up.

I tried a dry fit with some old strips and they bent into shape nicely. After soaked in isopropal alcohol, they will be really pliable.

For the top edge, I will slightly round the mahogany to avoid a sharp edge. I have done this with the ship model veneers and it works well.

I'm excited to try this, and if it doesn't work, I now have some other good ideas from this post.

Absolutely obssessed with this build,

Rich

Here's an alternative to vaneer.  Would require removing the coaming top flange if installed.

I installed the two coaming rings on my Shearwater 17 Hybrid and then faced them in the inside with cedar strips run vertically.  I then trimmed the strips flush with the coaming rings and built up the top flange with more cedar strips run transversely.  I really fought getting the outside, under the flange glassed properly, but it worked out in the end and it looks pretty cool and, of course, custom

Paul G.

Paul,

Wow! That's a fantastic idea.  Wish I had thought of it earlier, but no way am I removing the coaming which is very securely epoxied in place.  So, I will try my mahogany idea and will also use the veneer on the outside of the spacers where it is difficult to clean up.  Before I glued the coaming apron to the stripped deck, I used mahogany strips all around for a nice even, gap free look.  It was a pain, but came out well. The mahogany on the coaming should complement the apron border nicely.

Paul,

Can you post a picture of that? Sounds like a great idea to me too 

WOW Lucky for me I love the look of the coaming on my WD10. WIth sanding and a 3/8" roundover on the inside top edge, and epoxy and varnish I think it looks really nice. Dont plan to do it any different for the WD12 I am building now.

Great thing about these boats, you can do pretty much anything you want.

Good luck with your approach and happy paddling!

David