Another fake teak deck thread - which is best?

[Elessar]

I have decided on fake teak for Evenstar 4.

I loved the real teak on Evenstar 3 and it's not so terrible to maintain. Even so as the boat does some teaching the idea of being able to jet wash it instead of getting the 2 part and semco out appeals.

This looks great, and the whole boat is a credit to DAKA (even if he hasn't learned to drive properly yet, he knows how to look after a boat)

A lot of the impact is in the detail of the fit. This looks superb.

As has been discussed elsewhere, Esthec is expensive and hopeless due to the grain being all wrong.

Daka's is tek dek, there is permateek and the wilkes one marketed as dek-king which the blokes who fitted Daka's now do.

Any others?

Permateek is pro only as it has a weld a fillet in joining system.

The others have tongue and groove, and are glued so can be pro or DIY.

I think I want to template it myself, get the mats made pro and stick it down myself.

I have two of the Permteek colours here in front of me. They do traditional and modern, the former being too perfect and orangey, the latter looking like slightly weathered but pre silvered, clean teak. I like this one.

The former, varnished, would look good as a table or inside.

Daka's doesn't look too david dickenson but photos don't do colour well necessarily.

And what about surface, I have seen some fake teak, name unknown, that is way too smooth.

So - which make - comments please.
Do only Permateek have different colours? The websites are all bling and scarce information, the wilkes one is quite good but doesn't mention colour.

 

[Spi D]

Also check flexiteek.com

 

[trying]

Hoping you get some opinions on this as I'm considering some fake teak too..

 

[Elessar]

Also check flexiteek.com

yep - choice of colours but the colour names don't match the pictures.

All the fake teak websites are the same, all bling and nothing to help you choose between the products.

They are all the original all the best etc....

 

[Spi D]

Yep. Might focus on brands with dealer/service not too far away.

IMHO a synthetic alternative is and always will be different from wood. If you want real teak you have to buy real teak.
Alternatives are not neccesarily bad just because they are alternative, though

 

[andy59]

Elessar the flexiteak sample i got from the boat show is a perfect match for the existing teak flybridge steps on my F36 , the quote for the cockpit and swim platform was pretty good to . going to have it fitted in the new year . I will post a picture of it at the weekend as the sample is on the boat .

 

[jfm]

I like flexiteek and wilkes. The first from seeing it at boat shows; the second based on having it Match1's tender and it worked very well. After a year and a half of use, abuse and med sun it looked the sme as the day I got it

If you want white caulking Mark it has to be flexiteek. Wilkes only do a cream colour

There's a firm doing fake teak with a cork content rahter than just plastic. Forgotten the name. Not sure if that one is any good

 

[Coastgal]

Also check flexiteek.com

+1 We've got flexiteek & love it. The installation was really well done (Advanced Decking) and the fake teak looks pretty real. The pressure washer gets rid of most stains that appear, though the more difficult ones (my red wine or hubby's oil) are handled with a light sanding. It's great stuff.

And the best part? I never have to oil it (can't stand silvered wood).

 

[Elessar]

I like flexiteek and wilkes. The first from seeing it at boat shows; the second based on having it Match1's tender and it worked very well. After a year and a half of use, abuse and med sun it looked the sme as the day I got it

If you want white caulking Mark it has to be flexiteek. Wilkes only do a cream colour

There's a firm doing fake teak with a cork content rahter than just plastic. Forgotten the name. Not sure if that one is any good

The cream is trying to be holly I guess. I think I'm going to try that inside, varnished, on the steps. I have a test panel to try.

So the white caulk you are talking about is pure white? Still not sure about that.

At least with fake teak if you talk me into the white (or cream) option I won't be compromising the engineering

The cork one looks like caulked cork. It's not trying to be teak, it's a caulked brown thing. Some may say that about fake teak, I don't. I really don't like the cork.

 

[Elessar]

right now most votes are going flexiteak, and as there is a dealer in Deacons where we work often, a visit and chat is definately in order.

 

[joliette]

The synthetic stuff certainly looks alright and I expect it's a lot cheaper than having a real teak deck laid. However, I wonder how it will stand up to UV and just how good the adhesive bond will prove to be in the medium / long term. I'd want some guarantee on those points that before making a decision! Has it been around long enough to be considered a tried and tested product? ... My laid teak deck has been down for nearly 30 years and still has plenty of life left in it as long as I make the effort to maintain it.

 

[jfm]

So the white caulk you are talking about is pure white? Still not sure about that. ...
The cork one looks like caulked cork. It's not trying to be teak, it's a caulked brown thing. Some may say that about fake teak, I don't. I really don't like the cork.

Yup. Pure white

Do you recall the brand name of the cork one? I have a particular reason for needing to look it up/find website

 

[MapisM]

'Dunno if this is the one Elessar meant, but I've once seen and "tried" this one on a steel trawler.
Surely not your thing I guess, 'cause it shouts "fake" even when seen from the dock.
But proably the best material I've ever seen on ANY boat deck, from a purely functional standpoint, bar none. Both when dry and wet.
Be warned, you might wish not to put your feet on anything else, if you give it a try...

 

[vas]

But proably the best material I've ever seen on ANY boat deck, from a purely functional standpoint, bar none. Both when dry and wet.
Be warned, you might wish not to put your feet on anything else, if you give it a try...

+1 that's what I've been told by many down here claiming that teak is too hot to walk on it barefoot.
However, Elessar is in the UK, so hardly a problem

Also excellent solution for the flybridge decking in order to reduce weight too high off the COG

V.

 

[Elessar]

'Dunno if this is the one Elessar meant, but I've once seen and "tried" this one on a steel trawler.
Surely not your thing I guess, 'cause it shouts "fake" even when seen from the dock.
But proably the best material I've ever seen on ANY boat deck, from a purely functional standpoint, bar none. Both when dry and wet.
Be warned, you might wish not to put your feet on anything else, if you give it a try...

That's the one. They have a white caulked one in the brochure. Match sorted.

 

[DAKA]

I have decided on fake teak for Evenstar 4.

I loved the real teak on Evenstar 3 and it's not so terrible to maintain. Even so as the boat does some teaching the idea of being able to jet wash it instead of getting the 2 part and semco out appeals.

This looks great, and the whole boat is a credit to DAKA (even if he hasn't learned to drive properly yet, he knows how to look after a boat)

A lot of the impact is in the detail of the fit. This looks superb.

As has been discussed elsewhere, Esthec is expensive and hopeless due to the grain being all wrong.

Daka's is tek dek, there is permateek and the wilkes one marketed as dek-king which the blokes who fitted Daka's now do.

Any others?

Permateek is pro only as it has a weld a fillet in joining system.

The others have tongue and groove, and are glued so can be pro or DIY.

I think I want to template it myself, get the mats made pro and stick it down myself.

I have two of the Permteek colours here in front of me. They do traditional and modern, the former being too perfect and orangey, the latter looking like slightly weathered but pre silvered, clean teak. I like this one.

The former, varnished, would look good as a table or inside.

Daka's doesn't look too david dickenson but photos don't do colour well necessarily.

And what about surface, I have seen some fake teak, name unknown, that is way too smooth.

So - which make - comments please.
Do only Permateek have different colours? The websites are all bling and scarce information, the wilkes one is quite good but doesn't mention colour.

Thanks for the kind words

As for the unkind ones, slurry blast off

Here is a copy of my report at the time, not sure how relevant but copy herewith, think dovetail underside is important to prevent it all lifting up.

I think the key is professional fitting, I realize you are a professional but recommend finding someone who specialises in teak or plastic teak fitting, I would have thought in your position you could easily do a deal in return for leads .
Victor did me a great deal and over the years I have sent him wads of leads.

At the bottom of the report is an example of badly fitted teak.

Teak Deck Project

I made extensive research into Teak, Flexi Teak and Tek Dek .
Flexiteak was impressive and came a very close second behind my choice of Tek Dek.


My choice of Tek Dek was due to several reasons
If fitted well it looks real but is easy to maintain.
As a bonus it is cheaper than teak.
MC Products agreed to discount their price making a saving over flexiteak.
It is UV stabilized as apposed to Flexiteak which is only UV resistant,
I studied Flexi Teak and I did notice older installations had slight fading which was apparent when wet (same as real teak when it is ready for an oil, which I wanted to avoid).
I received a great deal of help from forum members supplying me with quality information regarding costs and draw backs with all products.
I saw a professionally fitted Tek Dek that looked a mess in places as it was left only half finished , as with all products choice of fitter is vital.
The main reason I choose tek dek was due to a recommendation on this forum for MC Products.
With in two days of me contacting him he phoned me from my boat to discus what I wanted where and to quote.
He arranged for me to view a completed boat and gave part of his weekend up to meet me.
The fitter liased with me through out the whole process.
Incredibly efficient and he made the whole process from start to finish very easy.
If anyone is considering Teak/Flexiteak or Tek Dek on the South Coast I have no hesitation in recommending MC Products of Emsworth (Chichester).
www.mcproducts.net

Other points you may find useful

If you find a fitter who has already patterned your boat design you will save up to 40%.( MC Products don’t usually charge like others do for this pattern as they are keen to add to their extensive library of patterns).
If you choose an inexperienced fitter you will wish you hadn’t.
Ask to see a completed boat by the SAME FITTER not just the same company.

Try not to be swayed by impressive Boat show displays, I studied FlexiTeak at SIBS and it looked a beautiful spread but it was set high up away from the crowds.
Tek Dek used some panels on the floor to cover their electric cable supply, how many thousands of feet had trampled across that I have no idea but it looked as new.



Other technical differences as far as I could ascertain
Flexiteak claim to weld the back together, on close inspection all I could see was what appeared to be sporadic daubs with a hot glue gun.
This was the same with other fake teak products studied at sibs.
MC Products use some sort of flexible plastic bonding strip all the way around bends, this appears to create a more permanent fixture.
Tek Dek has a ‘Dove tail ‘pattern on the rear ready to bond to the glue.
Flexiteak is a straight grove.
Tek Dek is UV stabilized.
Flexiteak is only UV resistant.

In my opinion.
Tek Dek looks like teak and I hope will last and continue to look like teak for many maintenance free years to come.
Flexiteak looks really good and is impressive but the price is too high and there appears to be some issues with life expectancy.

As to Teak, much to the amazement of traditionalists it is not in the running, hard work to maintain , expensive and many owners are replacing sound teak with low maintenance Teeeek who don’t want to overlay a maintaince free fibreglass with wood.

THIS PHOTO IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW A BAD FITTER WILL MAKE ANYTHING LOOK A MESS.
NOTHING TO DO WITH MC PRODUCTS AND ISNT ON MY BOAT.

 

[DAKA]

Permateek is pro only as it has a weld a fillet in joining system.

Its a while since I looked round the boat show stands but when the dolly bird told me that carp , all I could see was an odd daub of hot glue gun on the back.

Dovetail , full glue/bonding in my opinion would be much stronger.

 

[matt13]

Very interesting thread, I had a long chat with the guys from mcp at SIBS this year, nice chaps and I was impressed with the product. They have quoted to do my boat which seemed reasonable so I will be getting it done in a few months, was getting fed up with soggy carpet.

 

[kashurst]

I had a flexiteak bathing platform on my last boat. Pattern was made by boat yard and I fitted it when the complete panel arrived. The panel needed a touch of trimming but was really easy. You need loads of weights to keep it pressed down whilst the glue sets overnight. I used grow bags and bricks.

I thought it was excellent in the UK and its really easy to clean with pretty much anything. Colour match with the rest of real teak on the boat was OK too.

I took the boat to the med and I found it changed colour and went a bit darker and it did get really hot to stand on in the summer months.

In the UK I would probably prefer it over real teak for simplicity of maintenance and durability. In the med either real teak or white gel coat please.

 

[PCUK]

I've done three boats with Dek-King as a semi DIY-er. Pretty easy, just takes time and care - no special skills at all. Dek-king weathers very nicely and after a wet winter the green verdigris givers it a real teak look without the fear of rotting. On our current project we have Dek-King butted up against a 2 x 1 of real teak and no-one has been able tell the difference yet.