Laid deck

[jed]

I am looking to restore the deck on 37 foot Wollacott ketch. perhaps there maybe someone out there who maybe able to offer an intellegent opinion, on this matter. The boat is built of NZ Kauri and was built to a very high standard in 1930 by percy Voss in Auckland, NZ. the deck is 30mm laid Kauri over a diagonal of 10mm. Originally the deck was sheathed with Calico and painted. However 20 years ago the canvas was removed and the laid Kauri deck was exposed as it is now. There are no obvious signs of rot in the diagonal layer when viewed from below and none of the odoures that go with rot. The decks caulking has been letting progressivly more water in over the years and I want to attend to this as it is only a matter of time before the whole lot rots out.

What I want to do is remove the laid deck and perhaps replace it with a couple of layers of 12mm plywood. probably look at epoxying the base side and glassing the the up side. What I dont want to do is to create a ultra hard deck. As the original deck would not have been as stiff as an epoxy glued deck. The side decks are about 500mm wide I was considering ripping the ply into about 100 mm strips with a rebate like a teak deck, then glueing them down with--- thats the problem epoxy, sikaflex , Bitumin?. Then recaulking and either painting with enamel non skid or recanvassing.

What do you think?Any suggestions will be greatfully received. I dont mind if you throw my whole therory out the window if you have a better idea. I look forward to your response.

JED

 

[tillergirl]

I had to lift my 25mm laid teak over 1/4" ply after the steel screws let go after 40 years. After much solesearching and bank balance checking I went for a high grade 3/4" sapele marine ply cut directly out of the sheet. I glassed the top and left the bottom primed and painted where required (on the basis that that helps it breath (which is probably nonsense)). I don't regret it. I did worry about the notion of a rigid deck where once there was a degree of flexibility but I have now persuaded myself that the flexibility was the rotten screw syndrome. There is no indication 9 years on of any 'working' moving elsewhere.

 

[Mirelle]

Mirelle (37ft Blake cutter) still has her original 1937 teak deck, originally 1 1/4", but well worn. Coelan did the trick - it used to leak like a sieve but not a drop has come in in the last 8 years - I am delighted with it.

You might try that as a first shot, since the original kauri deck seems OK, just leaky. Much cheaper than ripping the lot up and replacing. I had originally planned to do as Tillergirl has done, but found it not to be needed.

(I don't have shares in the stuff! )

If however the kauri deck is too far gone then I agree with Tillergirl. Did the coachroof that way; stiffened it up immensely but with no effects on the adjacent structure that I can see, three years later.

 

[Peterduck]

I agree with Mirelle; go for the Coelan. It would be a crying shame to lose the Kauri. Kiwis and Aussies argue endlessly over which is the world's best boatbuilding timber, Kauri or Huon Pine. Teak is for builders who can't get either of these.
Peter.

 

[ianwright]

,,,,,,,,,, but what ever you do, please not a ply sub deck. If you can afford to re-deck then do it the original way. You wouldn't powder coat a Rolls Royce would you?
The currant fashion for teak (or other timber) on ply decks is an assault on the dignity of a good boat. Please avoid it. ,,,,,,, and don't put winches on a classic that was built without.

IanW

 

[jed]

Thanks for your responses, the jury is still out. The Kauri laid deck is knackered, ie cracks accross the grain, and does need to come off. I am keen on strips of ply say 100mm wide,and then possibly recanvassing. My biggest dilema, is to what type of adhesive. Epoxy,Elastomer,Sikaflex redlead and canvas.Epoxy is what I know best, however i dont know if it is the best for this case.

Thanks for your replies

 

[dallasg]

My boat is in a big refit at the moment and we (ie the yard) are going to replace the original laid teak deck with a new traditional laid teak deck. One inch, quarter sawn, fastened to the deck beams, caulked and payed. No plywood.

The last one was good for 50 years-ish, albeit lightly used of late.

Death before dishonour and all that....

 

[Mirelle]

Can I respectfully urge you to make that an inch and a quarter? It is an increase in weight, but this can probably be compensated elsewhere, and it makes a huge difference in watertightness.

 

[pelorus32]

I've been watching this with interest. For a start the last thing I'd do is create any deck with strips of plywood, the second last thing I'd do is create any deck that has a plywood substructure. I've seen perfectly good teak ripped up because the marine ply sub-deck, even though sheathed in resin, is rotten.

If you have access to kauri, why don't you use it? You could lay a double diagonal sub-layer of kauri strips with a fore and aft "planked" kauri deck on top. Use resorcinol as the glue between the layers and you have a beautiful long lasting deck. If you do this please think carefully about the blocking that you'll need in order to land the diagonal layers at the sheer.

We looked at a huge range of deck options (including the one described above) for Zuline. What we finally settled on is teak, quarter sawn, 50mm wide by 40mm thick, double screwed on each beam, caulked with cotton and payed with DeckFlex. It's a brilliant, strong, great looking deck. And it doesn't leak - except where the deck prisms go through (aggh!!).

The only thing going for ply is that it does give great monocoque style rigidity to the deck. But even that is lost if you lay it in strips.

Best wishes

Mike