Refurbish warn teak deck?

mobeydick

mobeydick

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Refurbish worn teak deck?

I know there are many who subscribe to the view that you should never by a boat with a teak deck (one which I tend to agree with in general), but...

I am looking at a boat which would seem to be ideal for my needs, but which has a worn teak deck. The broker says the previous owner was too eager in his cleaning (the rest of the boat is VERY clean) and used too hard a brush, too often, on the deck. The deck is now very ridged, with a few (4-5) of the strips more warn than the others, after about 8 years of (heavy) use. I am told this may be because these strips were of lower quality wood. If the worst strips were replaced, and the deck sanded smooth, there should be about 6mm of teak left (3-4mm having been lost.). The deck is glued down (vacuum bagged) no screws. Teak is in the cockpit, and the outer deck, not on the cabin roof.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hey9ytl969b4i4d/deck.jpg?dl=0

I am looking for any constructive comments as to if this would be a good idea? Does the explanation seem reasonable? I can probably reduce the asking price to cover the work needed, but would I be storing up future trouble? Could the teak be of poor quality and wear quickly?

Failing that, the fake, grey, 'weathered teak' looks quite good on the stand, but I have yet to see it on a boat (I think)...

Thanks

MD
 
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If you are SURE the teak is 10mm thick you should get away with sanding, and then being very very kind to the teak. Personally though I would not now buy a boat with a teak deck - I've owned one.
 
It looks as if refurbishment is a possibility. If you do it yourself, it will take a long time and I can tell you (from experience) that you'll be heartily sick of it well before you finish it! If you pay someone it'll cost quite a bit as there's a lot of labour involved. Could there perhaps be an alternative boat you might consider, with a better teak deck (or preferably no teak)?
 
A friend of mine was just quoted £5k to replace the cockpit floor....hate to think how much it would cost to do the deck as well:eek:
 
Well SWMBO and myself just completed renewing the full deck of our Salar 40 which was in much worse shape than that.
Clean deck
Remove old caulk, clean and sand caulk grooves
rebed some loose planks
recaulk with CT1, went for the non tapeing the sides method, easier to apply but more sanding after but we wanted to sand it all
sand deck
marine teak cleaner + restorer
Semco teak sealer

It was hard work but very satisfying.


aft-deck.jpgbow.jpg
 
I am about to replace my 30 year old teak deck. It looks something your pic but has gone right through to the grp in places. If you buy the boat I would keep the teak going for a long as possible by NOT scrubbing it or, even worse, using a pressure washer. Just paint it with Polycell 3 in 1 mould killer every 6 months or so (B&Q) to prevent mould and the rain and sea and sun will keep it clean and that gorgeous silver grey colour. It could go on for years like that. But be warned, if it does need replacing its expensive so the boat has got to be worth it. I want to keep mine long term and the deck adds so much character, as well as being brilliant non slip. But I wouldn't consider it unless the boat is really worth the investment.
 
Thanks for comments so far.

I would not get the boat unless the work to refurb. the teak was allowed for in the agreed price (or the work was done before I took over the boat).

So it is not really an issue of cost, rather risk of issues in the future.

Yes it was 10mm thick, and yes I know how to treat a teak deck!

ND

(It seems nearly all 'quality' boats of this era had teak decks...)

MD
 
richardbrennan said:
Please use a spell checker; I was pondering what exactly a "warn" teak deck is!
Click to expand...

Fair cop, but spell checker does/did not help, as warn is a word. Warn = council, advise according to Thesaurus, which is actually what I am looking for...

Anyhow, thanks for replies so far.
 
Scala said:
About 25-35k to remove and refit teak decks and cockpit on a 40'er. Quotes from Fox and SYH a couple of years ago.
Click to expand...
I might be faced with this at some time, my plan is to remove all deck fittings and then rip up the teak which I could do myself in a week or two and then pay a professional to make the decks good with grp and gelcoat. My guestimate would be two weeks of my time and about £2.5k - £3.5k for labour and materials based on 30ft boat. Yard storage not included so budget £5k and hopefully I'll be rid of the teak once and for all!
 
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When I bought my current boat I thought the deck was shot with at most 2-3 years life. However, I bought some Wessex two pack cleaner and wow underneath 25 years of muck was a lovely looking deck. OK so a bit ridged in places, but still very OK, especially in the high traffic areas.

I used Semco Cleartone, and made the later mistake of using a coloured Semco - Natural, which I did not like the finish left. As a result I am halfway through the process of stripping the Semco back off with Wessex and re-coating with Cleartone. Cleartone requires more base coats, but does not form a poor looking top layer after 5 or 6 coats.

Semco is ~ £95 for a US Gallon, which will coat my deck twice, so not cheap and Wessex is £15 for a litre bottle of each chemical (prices from my purchase at SIBS last month). This waters down 5:1 and although this seems quite dilute it really does work. But £110 every 1-2 years works out much much cheaper than £10k + for an artificial teak deck.

A lot on here swear by boracol, but this does not seal the teak from water ingress into the surface, and this with Winter frosts is what insidiously destroys teak decking. Notably my boat spent its first 24 years in Jersey so no frosts to split off the upper layers of grain. I now keep the Semco topped up to prevent water frost damage now she is exposed to southern UK mostly mild frosts.

As for sanding - don't do it. OK so a few ridges - mine has some, but the ridges are the hardest part of the valuable teak wood and I am not about to remove it for close up aesthetic appearance sake.

Photos of my deck are shown in this page of the Corvette Motorboat Association website, including before / during and after the renovation process. The mud the part one Red chemical cleaner removes is unbelievable.

https://corvettemotorboat.wordpress.com/upgrades-hints-tips-2/one-owners-upgrade/

I stripped and Semco coated the upper areas of my deck on Saturday (strip 3 hours with a soft yard brush) and Sunday (2 hours to coat with Semco).
 
superheat6k said:
When I bought my current boat I thought the deck was shot with at most 2-3 years life. However, I bought some Wessex two pack cleaner and wow underneath 25 years of muck was a lovely looking deck. OK so a bit ridged in places, but still very OK, especially in the high traffic areas.

I used Semco Cleartone, and made the later mistake of using a coloured Semco - Natural, which I did not like the finish left. As a result I am halfway through the process of stripping the Semco back off with Wessex and re-coating with Cleartone. Cleartone requires more base coats, but does not form a poor looking top layer after 5 or 6 coats.

Semco is ~ £95 for a US Gallon, which will coat my deck twice, so not cheap and Wessex is £15 for a litre bottle of each chemical (prices from my purchase at SIBS last month). This waters down 5:1 and although this seems quite dilute it really does work. But £110 every 1-2 years works out much much cheaper than £10k + for an artificial teak deck.

A lot on here swear by boracol, but this does not seal the teak from water ingress into the surface, and this with Winter frosts is what insidiously destroys teak decking. Notably my boat spent its first 24 years in Jersey so no frosts to split off the upper layers of grain. I now keep the Semco topped up to prevent water frost damage now she is exposed to southern UK mostly mild frosts.

As for sanding - don't do it. OK so a few ridges - mine has some, but the ridges are the hardest part of the valuable teak wood and I am not about to remove it for close up aesthetic appearance sake.

Photos of my deck are shown in this page of the Corvette Motorboat Association website, including before / during and after the renovation process. The mud the part one Red chemical cleaner removes is unbelievable.

https://corvettemotorboat.wordpress.com/upgrades-hints-tips-2/one-owners-upgrade/

I stripped and Semco coated the upper areas of my deck on Saturday (strip 3 hours with a soft yard brush) and Sunday (2 hours to coat with Semco).
Click to expand...
I think it depends where you are. We use Semco on our teak here in the Caribbean. The harsh UV here strips the Semco for you. You don't get a build up! One quick coat every six to eight weeks is needed here on teak exposed to the sun. It's like painting tea onto the wood so doesn't need much finesse but it looks good and keeps the teak in good condition.
The teak in the cockpit sees a lot less sun so doesn't need doing for several months.
 
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