Leaking teak, a classic.

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Hello,

I'm a brand spanking new boat owner, I recently purchased a 1978 Vindo40.
I fell in love with her.
With this weather changing from hot to hail and rain so quickly- our boat has started leaking.

I understand that I will have to remove and refit the screws, re caulk and re-plug in dryer weather to try and salvage my teak deck.
I was wondering if anyone has any tips and tricks? Any products that helped save them? Any steer well clear of?

Is Colean better than Wood Skin?
I've seen someone tape down before filling gaps with caulking, good idea?
Epoxy to fill in cracks?
Finding the leaks from inside? (ahh?)

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, I am a novice and am willing to do most work myself, with full knowledge that the process will involve a lot of frustration and swear words!

Thanks in advance for your time,
Kindest,
Taylor
 
Congratulations on your new yacht.
I spent many many hours refurbing my teak decks!
i advise that first of all you asses the entire teak decked area.
Are there just some bad areas or is the deck showing wear signs all over? How much life ( thickness) is there left?
If there is a decent thickness left then you can take remedial action and do this overtime once you have a good system and the right tools for the job.
What is under the deck is also important ( hopefully not plywood as in my case!)
Exposed screw heads and caulking not adhering to the sides of the seams will definitely need sorting. tracing leaks is always difficult but on a nice dry day try to give different sections of the boat a good hosing down for a long period you may be able to isolate the general area. I have put duct tape over suspect areas to see if that cures the leak and thus pin points it.
With the right drill bit with good control of the depth you can fractionally deepen the hole so that new plugs can be used.
I always used masking tape on each side of the seam. I cleaned and primed the sides of the seam so as to ensure the caulking would adhere and used breaker tape in the bottom so the the caulking would NOT adhere but could stretch as the seam expanded.
There will be lots more advice on this forum!!
 
Since I think that your (very beautiful) Vindo has an all wood superstructure, I'm wondering if you should also make a post in the Classic section of this forum - as well as seeking out other Vindo owners who will have also faced this problem.
 
I have a lot of my woodwork covered with coelan - but not the deck I want to walk on!
if your teak is worn and leaking, don’t expect Coelan to be a cure all.
when it rains and subsequently dries, seams which are not completely watertight will not dry out as quickly so the last areas to dry are a good place to start. Maybe only a few of these will give rise to a leak below but your end aim is to keep the rainwater away from the substrate.
I use a bent over sharpened screwdriver to rake out old sealant. I’ve filed it to the correct width.
once all the old sealant is out, wash the exposed seam with acetone to remove surface oils.
personally I then use sikaflex seam primer- not everyone does
some use breaker tape which sits at the bottom of the seam - I don’t
for a neat seam there is nothing wrong with using masking tape around the repair but you need to remove it quickly to avoid making a mess.
i use a battery driven mastic gun and if it’s not warm would warm up the sealant in warm water first to help it Flow better.
Fill the seam, smooth over , remove masking tape and go away! I’ve walked on non set caulking too many times. Nowadays tool station Big Wipes are great at removing non set caulk from tools, hands shoes etc.
which caulk? I’ve used several and all are OK if you do the prep. Sikaflex 290DC is the default choice but I’ve also used Saba caulk and on the boat I have a new one to try but can’t remember the name.
I’m sure lots will disagree with some of the above points, but it works for me!
 
BalticLady said:
our boat has started leaking.

I understand that I will have to remove and refit the screws, re caulk and re-plug in dryer weather to try and salvage my teak deck.
I was wondering if anyone has any tips and tricks? Any products that helped save them? Any steer well clear of?

Is Colean better than Wood Skin?
I've seen someone tape down before filling gaps with caulking, good idea?
Epoxy to fill in cracks?
Finding the leaks from inside? (ahh?)
Click to expand...

Given that your teak deck is original, it will be screwed down onto the vinyl foam GRP sandwich with minimal, if any bedding. This means that any water that gets under the teak will be free to move, so the distance between where water enters and where it drips into the interior can be considerable.
The original caulking is silicone based and has generally good adherence to the planking. Likely entry spots include stanchion bases, chain plates and the framing around the anchor locker opening (if there is one). Loose, damaged och missing teak bungs are other obvious points of entry for water.
Free water under the teak may of course also enter into the sandwich core, through the screw holes, but if so, this is probably unrelated to water leaking into the boat. What goes into the core generally stays there (and might bring other problems).
No need in my view to replace bungs, screws or caulking that is not suspect. Unless of course you are planning a major refit, in which case the question must be asked if a 42 year old teak deck is worthy renovation or perhaps better replaced.
Recently found this video on bung examination and replacement:
No experience of the products mentioned and don't see how they come in with regard to the teak deck.
Release tape when caulking depends on which type you use.
 
I believe it is generally agreed that '3M ScotchBlue Original Multi-Surface 2090 Painter's Tape' is optimum for this job ( removes cleanly for up to 14 days without surface or paint damage ) although other brands MAY prove satisfactory.
 
pcatterall said:
Congratulations on your new yacht.
I spent many many hours refurbing my teak decks!
i advise that first of all you asses the entire teak decked area.
Are there just some bad areas or is the deck showing wear signs all over? How much life ( thickness) is there left?
If there is a decent thickness left then you can take remedial action and do this overtime once you have a good system and the right tools for the job.
What is under the deck is also important ( hopefully not plywood as in my case!)
Exposed screw heads and caulking not adhering to the sides of the seams will definitely need sorting. tracing leaks is always difficult but on a nice dry day try to give different sections of the boat a good hosing down for a long period you may be able to isolate the general area. I have put duct tape over suspect areas to see if that cures the leak and thus pin points it.
With the right drill bit with good control of the depth you can fractionally deepen the hole so that new plugs can be used.
I always used masking tape on each side of the seam. I cleaned and primed the sides of the seam so as to ensure the caulking would adhere and used breaker tape in the bottom so the the caulking would NOT adhere but could stretch as the seam expanded.
There will be lots more advice on this forum!!
Click to expand...

Thank you! this was helpful, I think luckily the only places that the teak is too thin to repair is the anchor locker and the cockpit floor which is rotten.
Both of these I recon I could remake myself with wiggle room for a few mistakes and no tears over the cost!

The hose on a nice day is a great idea! Thank you!
 
There is a back issue of PBO where the owner of a Vinod gets rid of the main deck teak but maintains the teak on the coach roof,I think leakin through countless holes was the cause
 
Looking at the photos of Baltic Lady on the internet, I wonder whether the teak deck is original, or whether it's already been replaced. Regardless, it's certainly in need of attention. If there's sufficient thickness of teak remaining, you can recess the screws further (use a Forstner bit) and fit new bungs. The caulking will need careful replacement, with primer on the edges of the grooves to ensure decent adhesion. I've always used masking tape on both edges of the groove - if you don't you'll end up having to sand the teak and this will remove even more of the precious commodity!
 
Cleaning the edges of strips is a chore but has to be done right. Doing it in situe can be hard when dirt has got between the caulking and the side of the strip, it sets like concrete and is hard to clean back to wood but it has to be done. Getting the right simple tools is essential and having access to a grinder for the constant re-sharpening is very useful.
 
pcatterall said:
Cleaning the edges of strips is a chore but has to be done right. Doing it in situe can be hard when dirt has got between the caulking and the side of the strip, it sets like concrete and is hard to clean back to wood but it has to be done. Getting the right simple tools is essential and having access to a grinder for the constant re-sharpening is very useful.
Click to expand...

... and kneepads are essential!
 
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