Might be buying my first boat

[stampsteve]

Flying out to see it in person next week.

I want to ask for some advice because I don't know what any of this means.
They said the teak decks need to be replaced. I'm not sure the extent of that project or what the significance of it means. Could a damaged teak deck cause damage to other areas of the boat? Does a teak deck offer protection to the boat or is it mostly for cosmetics? Is there anything I should be aware of?

The boat is from 1989 and looks to be one owner the whole time who seems to have taken care of it.
Any recommendations what I should be on the lookout for?

 

[sarabande]

Teak decks can be a minefield. If they have leaked through to the underlying structure, you will need to fix the whole deck which is many $. Or it can be a matter of 'just' replacing the teak.

If you are more specific about the boat in question (sail, motor, wood, grp, steel, make, model, etc) and can share photos, then someone will almost certainly have direct personal experience and be able to advise you.

Given your admitted knowledge levels, would it be better to instruct a local yacht surveyor to undertake, say, a one hour preliminary inspection, and report before you commit to flight expenses and time ?

 

[nortada]

Where are you flying to?

Wouldn’t touch an old boat with teak decking.

In sunny climates they dry out; in damp climates they rot out.

Leaks are inevitable and hard/expensive to fix.

Are you planning to sell-up and sail? A brave undertaking for one with limited experience.

 

[syvictoria]

Google is your friend. A quick search for 'boat teak deck problems' or similar would have provided you with lots of information. Put 'site:forums.ybw.com' in front of the search string/words and the results will be limited to just those from this forum! Research is far preferable to unnecessary flights (both on your wallet and for other reasons which will get me shouted down and risk thread drift! ).

Have you been able to spend time afloat yet since your initial posts:
Solo Liveaboard?

Tell us about the boat! There's huge amounts of wisdom and knowledge here (and very little (none?!) of that comes from me! ).

 

[TSailors]

Teak is a LOT of work to repair and a LOT MORE work to remove altogether.
I would steer away from teak boats IMHO..

 

[Graham376]

Depending on size of boat, expect teak deck replacement to cost £30k to £50k.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

At that age it is likely that the teak has been screwed to the deck, you will know that by seeing the covering plugs some of which may even be missing so you can see the head of the screw. If water has penetrated there is a good chance that it has also penetrated the deck substructure which is likely to be end grain balsa wood and that will entail and extensive repair. You are not likely to know the extent of the repair until the teak is lifted but could look for signs of leaks inside the boat. The replacement of the teak depending on the size of the boat and what you do from simply making good the deck and painting, using an artificial teak replacement to going the whole hog and replacing with teak will be thousands in labour alone for a boat of 36 foot upwards could be £15K upwards if the sub deck is compromised you could be looking at more than double or more than the value of the boat.
What boat is it will elicit more information as to costs and likely issues but you should sabe yourself the cost of the flight and stay at home.

 

[Graham376]

What boat is it will elicit more information as to costs and likely issues but you should sabe yourself the cost of the flight and stay at home.

Sensible advice and wonder if the OP is aware he will have to pay VAT on the value of the boat if importing it to the UK?

 

[westernman]

At that age it is likely that the teak has been screwed to the deck, you will know that by seeing the covering plugs some of which may even be missing so you can see the head of the screw. If water has penetrated there is a good chance that it has also penetrated the deck substructure which is likely to be end grain balsa wood and that will entail and extensive repair. You are not likely to know the extent of the repair until the teak is lifted but could look for signs of leaks inside the boat. The replacement of the teak depending on the size of the boat and what you do from simply making good the deck and painting, using an artificial teak replacement to going the whole hog and replacing with teak will be thousands in labour alone for a boat of 36 foot upwards could be £15K upwards if the sub deck is compromised you could be looking at more than double or more than the value of the boat.
What boat is it will elicit more information as to costs and likely issues but you should sabe yourself the cost of the flight and stay at home.

I think your guessimate for the cost is way too optimiste. Just recaulking the deck on my boat cost over 20k euros.

I think for 36ft replacing the deck is likely to be over 50K.

 

[Tranona]

Depends on where you get it done - if you can get it done at all. I have just been looking to buy some teak strips and the 3 common sources I could use are no longer listing them on their websites.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I think your guessimate for the cost is way too optimiste. Just recaulking the deck on my boat cost over 20k euros.

I think for 36ft replacing the deck is likely to be over 50K.

Out of touch but Turkey or however it's spelt could be the cheapest option.

 

[V1701]

A friend bought a Nicholson 39 that had very worn out teak decks that (I think) were glued on. He removed it all, removed all the residue and painted it all light grey. Hard work but no great expense. That's the best case scenario, worst case is a whole world of hurt. The problems you have are lack of knowledge and the fact the boat is a long way away. Also factor in VAT as mentioned above and the post B**x*t rules for you and your boat...

 

[Wansworth]

I know I am a cautious boat buyer but the OP seems to be hurling caution to the wind,can he not provide details of the boat for formites to give their two pence worth before setting off to distant lands and all that it entails,quite extrodinary.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I know I am a cautious boat buyer but the OP seems to be hurling caution to the wind,can he not provide details of the boat for formites to give their two pence worth before setting off to distant lands and all that it entails,quite extrodinary.

I rather suspect it's a wind up

 

[Wansworth]

I rather suspect it's a wind up

The things we have to put up with?

 

[Blueboatman]

Yup
Wind up or no, unfortunately others may come here via Google .
V1701s chum ( my old neighbour !)was lucky because the deck was stuck down with a soft mastic. It was relatively straightforward to remove , afloat in a berth, without endless grinding fairing and filling . I know cos I leant him the tools!
It was done in remarkably short order.
And looked just fine and dandy too.
But gooey mastic is not epoxy nor Sikafkex.
And the old deck was lifting everywhere already..
if you’re really really lucky the deck core is not balsa but inert expanded plastic of some description .
I reckon the op post is one of those to bump the forum along a bit . But, it will be read maybe in a few years by the naive..?

Another clever trick , sometimes deployed, is to cut round all the deck fittings instead of lifting them all at the same time. And then come back to them as and when . Good enough to go sailing , though a deep pocketed perfectionist might want a Thing of Beauty brought back ‘as new’

 

[Wansworth]

And do you remember how maintenance free these wonderful plastic boats were.In fact it’s the reverse a well put togther wooden boat can be fixed without recourse to awful grp dust or epoxy

 

[V1701]

Yup
Wind up or no, unfortunately others may come here via Google .
V1701s chum ( my old neighbour !)was lucky because the deck was stuck down with a soft mastic. It was relatively straightforward to remove , afloat in a berth, without endless grinding fairing and filling . I know cos I leant him the tools!
It was done in remarkably short order.
And looked just fine and dandy too.
But gooey mastic is not epoxy nor Sikafkex.
And the old deck was lifting everywhere already..
if you’re really really lucky the deck core is not balsa but inert expanded plastic of some description .
I reckon the op post is one of those to bump the forum along a bit . But, it will be read maybe in a few years by the naive..?

Another clever trick , sometimes deployed, is to cut round all the deck fittings instead of lifting them all at the same time. And then come back to them as and when . Good enough to go sailing , though a deep pocketed perfectionist might want a Thing of Beauty brought back ‘as new’

Yes indeed, I still see him occasionally, he's retired now (lucky bugger!) & he's still got the Nic as well...

 

[Blueboatman]

I love epoxy

 

[Blueboatman]

Yes indeed, I still see him occasionally, he's retired now (lucky bugger!) & he's still got the Nic as well...

Ah that’s great news
He ( they ) loved that boat
Miss the geetar sessions ?