Laying a new Teak deck

[pmagowan]

Hi, just wanted to record my experience in case anyone else benefits. The boat is a Sweden Yacht 41 which we purchased last year. The Teak was a bit thin so we decided to put down a new deck starting in the cockpit area for this winter and then doing the coach roof next winter etc

 

[pmagowan]

The scary process begins:


The old deck was screwed and glued. We removed the screws without much problem but we found it was tricky to part the wood from the gelcoat without damage. In the end a thin pry bar worked best and a significant degree of damage to the gelcoat would be repaired and covered by the new deck.

 

[pmagowan]

Here you can see the damage to the gel coat and also where the filler has cracked with age between the cockpit insert and the hull moulds

 

[pmagowan]

The bridge deck. Getting the wood up in one go was hard. We took templates of the complex bits round the edges and frames. Here you can see the useful pry bar. It was just a bit of a slog to rip it up and once you accept that you have repairs to do it goes a lot quicker

 

[pmagowan]

This scraper made short work of removing the remaining adhesive and the annoying silicone that had been the previously used leak repair method.

 

[pmagowan]

We had to buil a steamer for the complex bends required for the lazarette locker.

 

[Kukri]

Thanks for this thread. I have the same job in my future. so I find your remarks very helpful.

 

[pmagowan]

Lots of clamps are needed! We steamed for a few hours then bentwith clamps to seat and then left for a day or so. There was significant spring back and so if you could make up and exaggerated mould it would be better. We had a compound curve to do which required cutting a wider bit of Teak to one curve and steaming the bend into the thin dimension if that makes sense. We simply could not bend the Teak in 2 dimensions at once and not along the width of the plank.
View attachment 71457

 

[pmagowan]

We got some timber from Robbins timber who were really helpful. They also provided epoxy and sabadeck as well as caulking. Here we have the frame clamped down and the strips of deck weighted down with diving weights. We used sabadeck to stick everything down. We did not use screws in general to avoid holes that could leak in future. This seemed to work ok except in areas of high stress such as the steam bent planks.

I cut the frame first and then the individual strips. I dry fitted, checked and then cleaned with sabaclean. I numbered everything and then applied the goop using a notched spreader. It went smoothly enough but you need to wear disposable gloves!

 

[Kukri]

Thanks again. Attachments not working on my PC. Can the Sabadeck manage this sort of gentle curve without screws? (really really want to avoid screws!)

 

[pmagowan]

Robbins supplied deck caulk and I used it as per instructions. We used flat edged Teak because we were glueing it down so we have continuous caulk down to the adhesive beneath without breaker tape etc. I flattened the end of the caulking tube to be able to penetrate to the bottom of the seam and then filled to slightly overflowing. I then used a plastic scraper to spread the caulk pushing it down into the seam at an acute angle so that it sprung back up a bit and left a slightly raised bead. I didn’t worry about the excess which covered all the Teak as it sanded off quite easily with high grade sand paper in an orbital sander. This also made quick work of any imperfections in the alignment of the wood. You can see where I have put in a few crews and plugs to hold the bent wood securely

 

[pmagowan]

Thanks again. Attachments not working on my PC. Can the Sabadeck manage this sort of gentle curve without screws? (really really want to avoid screws!)

No, it needed a few screws where the spring back put the wood under significant tension. This was only required where the curve was significant and the steaming was probably less than perfect. I think if you have only a slight curve and can get the steaming right it should manage fine especially if the force is in sheer where the curve is across the deck rather than up and down.

 

[pmagowan]

Laying out the cockpit sole to a template. We cleaned the deck and discovered some water penetration into the balsa core. We simply cut out the parts of the deck affected chipped out the core and added new core and some glass reinforced epoxy. We then primed the whole of the GRP with an epoxy primer recommended by Saba

 

[pmagowan]

.
The deck going down. You need to leave it for about a week before caulking. We put boards over it and walked on it within a few days.

 

[pmagowan]

Lots and lots of sanding!

 

[pmagowan]

Almost there. We put masking tape round the edge of everything to make cleanup easier but the tape we used was poor quality and stuck fast!! It made it a lot harder to clean up.

 

[pmagowan]

Done! For this year at least. Just reattaching deck hardware.

 

[johnalison]

Attachments 71457&8 don't work but the others do. Maybe the allowance is used up.

There still appears to be quite some depth in some of pmgowan's photos, so it is a shame that the work is necessary. The sad effect is largely due to the wood being wet, but perhaps a full cosmetic renewal is needed. It will be a great excuse for not having to go sailing if it turns out to be an average British summer.

 

[johnalison]

Attachments 71457&8 don't work but the others do. Maybe the allowance is used up.

There still appears to be quite some depth in some of pmgowan's photos, so it is a shame that the work is necessary. The sad effect is largely due to the wood being wet, but perhaps a full cosmetic renewal is needed. It will be a great excuse for not having to go sailing if it turns out to be an average British summer.

 

[Tranona]

Thanks again. Attachments not working on my PC. Can the Sabadeck manage this sort of gentle curve without screws? (really really want to avoid screws!)

Despite what the OP's answer suggests, the answer is yes - it is common practice to just glue a swept deck. You just need the right gear to do it. Nothing fancy, just clamps and wedges to form the curve, usually start from the covering board and heavy weights to lay on top while the adhesive cures.

There was a very good series of articles 5 or 6 years ago in PBO by the Chandlers on doing the job when refitting their Rival. Have been several articles on the subject over the years of similar jobs, some DIY and some professional.