bertram31.com

I redid my cabin floorboards and by my calculations need about 42 feet of 5/8" Taco SS edging. My marina told me it comes in 12' lengths, and that's fine with me. I just got a call with my estimate and surprisingly the edging costs about $120 but the shipping from Florida costs $140. Anyone in the NE know of anyone who stores this stuff in our area? Walter

come see bob that taco trim is for rookies your the guy who wrote the cook book think out off the box. trim all around in mitered epi . i will take you to riverhead lumber but you have one just as close by. one board will be about 20bucks and look a thousand time better.cut into strips 1/4" make perimeter around each floorboard with 45 degree miter on edges . epi is as hard as stone will live under water 1000years ----end of story!!!

Bob has a good idea, but if you decide to stick with Taco, try these guys in Bayshore. http://www.fleischertube.com/products.html. If they don't hav eit they should be able to help find it.

Are you sure of that address? Site seems not to be there.

Try this one, should work.

http://www.fleischertube.com/

I'll bite--what is epi?

Epi is a very dense, tropical wood. It doesn't even attempt to float. If you burn it, a thick black oil boils out of it.

It takes a nice oil finish, and greys in the sun.

sim it is a exotic wood that grows in the amazon .the tree can grow in water and is as very easy to work with .the only problem is you have to pre-drill to put a screw in it. all the expensive houses on eastern long island use it for outside decking. slightly darker then teak the wood becomes a perfect compliment for teak edging.i built my table from it for the 31 bertram.sim you can get it in a lumber yard in your area.when you as a edging it has another use and that is that the wood does not warp or expand and contract.

Walter,

I bought my taco aluminum hatch edging from West Marine. They brought it in for me, and I don't recall any shipping cost at all. They carry it in the catalog, so it is supposed to be a catalog item.

I would give them a shot.

Dug

sorry mike i left out nassau north shore.phoenix inc.works every day in kings point.each house on the water has there own dock going out 300' from shore.every one is now built with epi . no top nails or screws the trade men use side plates and fasten to beams underneath.looks like mahongony but weathers much nicer like silver.comes in 51/2' wide by 5/4" thick planks. i will trim all my floor boards in epi with teak and holly floorboards . for those who love the look of wood it don`t get better then this.walter if your hell bent on the taco alluminum trim come to my boat you can have the entire floorboard trim free because i see nobody mention the fact than bending that alluminum crap around the floorboard perimeter is twice as difficult as building the floor boards.

Dug wrote:Walter,

I bought my taco aluminum hatch edging from West Marine. They brought it in for me, and I don't recall any shipping cost at all. They carry it in the catalog, so it is supposed to be a catalog item.

I would give them a shot.

Dug

Dug, that is why you get the big bucks.

Sim,

Just what Mike said... but it's Ipe not epi... prounonced E-Pay.
I've done a few decks and docks with it and it's beautiful wood.

I'm building a staircase with it right now. The saw dust is a nasty green powder... very irritatating to eyes and lungs.
Check these guys out.
http://advantagelumber.com/
Ray

walter; hi i got the taco thru west marine and i was not charged freight.

Walter,

I know that everybody has recommended E-Pay wood which very good for decks & docks. But it will eat up saw blades & drill bits like crazy because of its tuff density. But for the interior flooring you put in, I would use Mahogney or Sapelle which is much easier to sand and cut and pre drill in my opinion.

R,
DQ

EPI, E-Pay, Ipe. Got it. Real nice looking wood no matter how you say it!
Thanks for the education.

capt DQ lets go back to the my first post. the reason for IPE edging is to take the abuse when pulling the floor board in and out .taking the place of the aluminum edging but looking a thousand times better.trust me wait till you attemp to make those 90 degree corners with alluminum edging .ipe used for a edging is just glued so there no need to fret the drilling .

when a facility does not currently have it in stock they may hit you with a freight charge, but if you tell them to lump it in with thier next order then you wont pay the freight.

Any boat yard on the island can order you taco trim, use them instead of a box store, and if its in stock you can have it the next day.

Capt. Bob,

I'm not disagreeing with you about E-Pay, it is a very tuff & durable wood for sure. I would NOT use the Taco trim if it was me either for interior. I'm just simply saying there are opitions to E-Pay as both Mahogany & Sapelle are different opitions for interior and would be fine if the floor boards are fitted properly.

R,
DQ

I did my hatches with the Taco trim. T make the 90 degree turns, notch the lip and bend in place on the hatch. It is a pain to get right, but hopefully I will never have to do it again! My deck hatches have rounded edges and I made those bends as it was screwed in place by tapping it with a rubber mallet.

capt. DQ how does the sapelle look in contrast to teak and holly?

Rawleigh,

I was wondering how to radius the Taco "T" hatch trim for rounded corners. How sharp (tight) is the radius on your corners? Any pictures?

Scot,

Aluminum is very malleable and the Taco edging is annealed to dead soft.

The key on the "T" edging is to keep the top from trying to roll up or down on the radius. The Outside of the radius will be streatching the metal and the inside will be compressing it.

Make a wooden block that has the same, but slightly larger radius & as an inside radius. Tack the edging up to the radius on one side. With a straight block, start forcing the edging around the radius of the hatch. Use a small mallet, (wood, rubber, plastic, or rawhide), to tap as necessary. Once the shape is coaxed into place, use your radiused block to further shape the edging and to hold it place while you tack the edging down.



Br,

Patrick

Capt. Bob,

Sapelle looks closer to the Teak. I will post a picture for ya later on this evening on how it looks.

R,
DQ

Scot: I don't have any pictures right now, but I may be able to get you some this weekend. I think they were about a 1" radius. I formed mine on the hatch, but you can form them using two blocks as a die. I have seen the dies made out of Lexan before. Keeping the lip flat is the big trick. Very careful bending over the whole radius at the same time seems to be the trick. You can flatten the lip some by very carefully hammering it down using a block of wood and a hammer. I did both the hatch edge and the deck edge, so I had both inside and outside bends. Be sure to use FLAT head scres, not oval heads. Get one of those tools made for drilling hinges with the retractable nose so that the screws will be exactly centered in the hole or the screw head will protrude.

Rawleigh,

You're right on the Self Centering Drill Bit for hinges...

In case anyone wants one, (or more for different sizes), McFeelys is the go to source: Self Centering Drill Bits

You guys are impressive....when am I going to learn, I have researched for radius T trim, tried to figure it out, etc.

All I needed to do was ask..D#$%#

Thanks

CaptPatrick wrote:Rawleigh,

You're right on the Self Centering Drill Bit for hinges...

In case anyone wants one, (or more for different sizes), McFeelys is the go to source: Self Centering Drill Bits

Those look cool.

Did my dock in epi, because I got it for the price of treated wood. Greast deal. Great decision. It weathers beautifully. An item to remember, you must seal the cut edges very soon after cutting, otherwise the board will split. There is a sealer for the job. Ask your supplier. No hard finishes, only oil. Hard finishes don't do the job. End up looking like alligator skin and don't soak in at all.

Scot: I actually use the "L" shaped trim. Sorry if I misled you. it should work pretty much the same though.