Taking up a teak deck past its best?

[Tim Good]

I'm looking at a boat that has a teak deck and its getting on a bit. Either it will need a lot of work or I could have it taken up and put some treadmaster down.

Does anyone know what does or costs or have experience of ripping up a deck and cleaning up the GRP below?

2nd question - Are there actually any serious issues with leaving a teak deck to deteriorate, other than to the actual teak itself. I.e. if you knew that at some point it was going to be removed but at the moment it still looked and functioned fine, would leaving it to get worse be to the detriment to the rest of the boat?

Let the debate begin

 

[Tranona]

Depends on the way the teak is attached to the deck and the construction of the deck. The worst scenario is teak screwed down onto a cored deck where failure or wear on the deck can lead to water getting into the core and rotting it (if balsa). If the wear is substantial the screws get exposed when the bungs pop out, which increases the chance of leaks and leads to the possibility of exposed screw heads. Taking the teak off may be easy if relatively tedious by taking the screws out and pulling the wood off. However if a bonding adhesive has been use, with or without screws you need to physically cut the wood off using mechanical means such as chisels or routers.

What you do with the deck when you have the wood of depends in part on how good the underlying structure is. If the laminate is sound you can make good the surface with epoxy and glass and paint, or lay a new teak deck. Treadmaster is a possibility, but it is surprisingly expensive, particularly if you pay to have it laid professionally. it has also rather gone out of fashion, partly because of looks and partly because it is not as durable as it seems.

So, you really need to look at the individual boat and its deck to decide what is best. Some decks respond to a remedial action if there is enough depth of teak and it is still firmly attached. Others are past that and the only course of action is to remove the teak and refinish with one of the alternatives. The choice might be dictated by the particular model as some boats are difficult to sell without a teak deck, but on others the absence can actually enhance the value.

 

[robmcg]

Kind of bears out the old addage that the only good teak deck is on someone else's boat! Big time commitment to even change to treadmaster, which ain't cheap either. Run away!!!!!

 

[maby]

I'm led to believe that having the teak ripped off a forty footer and replaced with one of the decent fake teaks is likely to come to between £10k and £12k done professionally.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I'm led to believe that having the teak ripped off a forty footer and replaced with one of the decent fake teaks is likely to come to between £10k and £12k done professionally.

Sounds v cheap to me if you're looking at getting it done by a yard in a popular area.

To the OP - are you sure you want to buy that boat and take on the problem. Is there not a better non-teaky boat to be had.

(been there, got the tee-shirt and the diminished bank balance)

 

[Blueboatman]

This question comes up a lot, the answers get perhaps refined. I would say that all the information you require is in Tranonas wise words. And as TW says, if there are many of the same kind for sale, and one looks attractively priced because of the work required, price it carefully, you may not be the first to do the sums!

 

[NormanS]

Depends on the way the teak is attached to the deck and the construction of the deck. The worst scenario is teak screwed down onto a cored deck where failure or wear on the deck can lead to water getting into the core and rotting it (if balsa). If the wear is substantial the screws get exposed when the bungs pop out, which increases the chance of leaks and leads to the possibility of exposed screw heads. Taking the teak off may be easy if relatively tedious by taking the screws out and pulling the wood off. However if a bonding adhesive has been use, with or without screws you need to physically cut the wood off using mechanical means such as chisels or routers.

What you do with the deck when you have the wood of depends in part on how good the underlying structure is. If the laminate is sound you can make good the surface with epoxy and glass and paint, or lay a new teak deck. Treadmaster is a possibility, but it is surprisingly expensive, particularly if you pay to have it laid professionally. it has also rather gone out of fashion, partly because of looks and partly because it is not as durable as it seems.

So, you really need to look at the individual boat and its deck to decide what is best. Some decks respond to a remedial action if there is enough depth of teak and it is still firmly attached. Others are past that and the only course of action is to remove the teak and refinish with one of the alternatives. The choice might be dictated by the particular model as some boats are difficult to sell without a teak deck, but on others the absence can actually enhance the value.

Quite surprised at your comment re Treadmaster. Ours is 22 years old, has a lot of use, and is still as good as new. It is also extremely non-slip. I had occasion to cut away about 2" x 2", to mount something, and found that it must have been stuck down with epoxy, because nothing would move it.

 

[ashanta]

Depends on the way the teak is attached to the deck and the construction of the deck. The worst scenario is teak screwed down onto a cored deck where failure or wear on the deck can lead to water getting into the core and rotting it (if balsa). If the wear is substantial the screws get exposed when the bungs pop out, which increases the chance of leaks and leads to the possibility of exposed screw heads. Taking the teak off may be easy if relatively tedious by taking the screws out and pulling the wood off. However if a bonding adhesive has been use, with or without screws you need to physically cut the wood off using mechanical means such as chisels or routers.

What you do with the deck when you have the wood of depends in part on how good the underlying structure is. If the laminate is sound you can make good the surface with epoxy and glass and paint, or lay a new teak deck. Treadmaster is a possibility, but it is surprisingly expensive, particularly if you pay to have it laid professionally. it has also rather gone out of fashion, partly because of looks and partly because it is not as durable as it seems.

So, you really need to look at the individual boat and its deck to decide what is best. Some decks respond to a remedial action if there is enough depth of teak and it is still firmly attached. Others are past that and the only course of action is to remove the teak and refinish with one of the alternatives. The choice might be dictated by the particular model as some boats are difficult to sell without a teak deck, but on others the absence can actually enhance the value.

My previous boat I owned for over twenty years had treadmaster and was as good when I sold her as when it was laid (by me)

I have a yacht with teak on a grp deck and in my view you need to establish how much teak is left. If the decks havent been scrubbed to death you may still be OK. Teak decks often look poor because they are dirty and the "caulking", usually sikaflex, has shrunk, broken or raised. The deck can be given a new lease of life if you remove the old sealant from the grooves "caulking" and if necessary regroove using a skill saw, doubling up on the disc saws. reseal. (lots of info online on how to do this) once resealed, using an orbital sander, sand the deck lightly so that the sealant in the grooves is level with the teak.
Use Borocol to clean the teak before starting. Once complete do not scrub the deck and use salt water rinse of regularly. teak is great non slip surface and unless there is an army of people dancing on the deck every night it should last a very long time.

 

[NormanS]

My previous boat I owned for over twenty years had treadmaster and was as good when I sold her as when it was laid (by me)

I have a yacht with teak on a grp deck and in my view you need to establish how much teak is left. If the decks havent been scrubbed to death you may still be OK. Teak decks often look poor because they are dirty and the "caulking", usually sikaflex, has shrunk, broken or raised. The deck can be given a new lease of life if you remove the old sealant from the grooves "caulking" and if necessary regroove using a skill saw, doubling up on the disc saws. reseal. (lots of info online on how to do this) once resealed, using an orbital sander, sand the deck lightly so that the sealant in the grooves is level with the teak.
Use Borocol to clean the teak before starting. Once complete do not scrub the deck and use salt water rinse of regularly. teak is great non slip surface and unless there is an army of people dancing on the deck every night it should last a very long time.

I am guessing from your use of inverted commas that you, like me, wonder how the sealant used on a superficial laid deck, is referred to as "caulking". Having owned a large wooden boat with a structural laid wooden deck, which I caulked with oakum, and payed with pitch, I am well aware of the real meaning of calking, and have had the blisters to prove it.

 

[Tranona]

Quite surprised at your comment re Treadmaster. Ours is 22 years old, has a lot of use, and is still as good as new. It is also extremely non-slip. I had occasion to cut away about 2" x 2", to mount something, and found that it must have been stuck down with epoxy, because nothing would move it.

Perhaps that is something to do with your geographic location. I can show you several boats in our club marina in Poole that are moored all year round facing east west. The side facing south has Treadmaster destroyed by UV. Even worse if you go further south and look at boats kept in the Med for a few years. The tread blocks lose colour and crumble away leaving the solid backing layer firmly attached (mostly) to the deck. Enormous amount of work to remove and make good!

 

[NormanS]

Perhaps that is something to do with your geographic location. I can show you several boats in our club marina in Poole that are moored all year round facing east west. The side facing south has Treadmaster destroyed by UV. Even worse if you go further south and look at boats kept in the Med for a few years. The tread blocks lose colour and crumble away leaving the solid backing layer firmly attached (mostly) to the deck. Enormous amount of work to remove and make good!

You may well be correct. The only time our boat is stationary is in the winter.

 

[Tranona]

You may well be correct. The only time our boat is stationary is in the winter.

And keep it out of the sun! The whole point of the mooring east west is not the fact that it is stationary per se, just that one side is permanently exposed to more sunshine. Good experiment to see the differential impact of UV on one boat! You get a similar effect on boats on our moorings where the tide (and wind) is east west and the fouling on one side is always more than the other reflecting the different rates of tidal flow on the flood and ebb in our peculiar tidal pattern. Fading of canvas work and varnish is also greater on the side that faces south.

 

[BrianH]

Are there actually any serious issues with leaving a teak deck to deteriorate, other than to the actual teak itself. I.e. if you knew that at some point it was going to be removed but at the moment it still looked and functioned fine, would leaving it to get worse be to the detriment to the rest of the boat?

As I can testify from the ownership of a 32-year old teak deck the major disadvantage is the never-ending work to maintain it. Leaks have to be sealed or they allow water to travel to the lowest point and lay there, slowly draining through the screw holes into the deck core or deck fittings into the cabin and damaging the headlining.

It's not just leaks, there will always be a crop of disappearing teak plugs and not enough depth to set in new ones. Either you bore deeper for a new screw, which has to be shorter to not damage the deck any more, or, like me. pour quick hardening, liquid epoxy down to seal the hole and cover with a shortened plug. Hopefully after it has dried out thoroughly.

The choice might be dictated by the particular model as some boats are difficult to sell without a teak deck, but on others the absence can actually enhance the value.

I have witnessed the latter. A friend had a HR Monsum on my pier that had its teak deck replaced with deck paint. One just didn't notice as it was so well done. When he died his widow had no problem selling; with no ageing teak deck to beat her with to significantly lower the price, it was a bonus.

 

[Vara]

On an old HR the owner had removed all the teak decking but dremmeled around all the deck fittings leaving the teak intact under them so he didn't have to remove internal woodwork, all screw holes were filled and surfaces smoothed, a couple of coats of deck paint finished the job, and very smart it looks too.

This is the path I intend to follow in the fullness of time.

 

[Twister_Ken]

On an old HR the owner had removed all the teak decking but dremmeled around all the deck fittings leaving the teak intact under them so he didn't have to remove internal woodwork, all screw holes were filled and surfaces smoothed, a couple of coats of deck paint finished the job, and very smart it looks too.

This is the path I intend to follow in the fullness of time.

Good policy with the fittings, but it still leaves hundreds of holes to be filled and faired.

 

[Vara]

Good policy with the fittings, but it still leaves hundreds of holes to be filled and faired.

but is the ideal solution for a cheapskate with time on his hands.

 

[Blueboatman]

My neighbour did that, who was a v busy man. I lent him the tools - a dremel, grizzly grinder, belt sander , large pry bars and fein and shop vac and it turned out v well, in the water n all.

 

[pvb]

On an old HR the owner had removed all the teak decking but dremmeled around all the deck fittings leaving the teak intact under them ...

That sounds like an awful bodge!

 

[Vara]

That sounds like an awful bodge!

i agree, but in the flesh it looked incredibly good, and before I was given a guided tour I thought it was one of the few HRs which were made without teak decks.