goeasy123
Well-Known Member
The teak deck on my 2002 Najad has wood fibres coming off it, especially when it gets wet. Every day there's a new shedding. How do I stop it or is this normal?
Teak deck graining up... what to do?
- Thread starter goeasy123
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paulajayne
Well-Known Member
Rub it down and then teak oil should help.
Finbar
Well-Known Member
This is normal for plantation teak. Treat with Boracol or Patio Magic, brush on or use a watering can. Avoid spillage, bad for marine life. Never scrub or pressure wash. It will go silver grey and last for years.
johnalison
Well-Known Member
The teak deck on my HR from 2000 is mostly pretty good but has lost the odd millimetre or two. It looks as if the best bits are those which are most walked on, such as the side decks. Non-deck shoes can be very abrasive to a wet deck and I have been known to be very short with people crossing my deck in chunky trainers, but basically I would treat as above and not worry too much.
pvb
Well-Known Member
Do not put teak oil on your teak deck! It won't help at all.
gertha
Well-Known Member
Your teak deck will wear, no idea what shedding fibres are; best guess it is UV on surface of teak. The deck is probably 12mm original and after 17 years is showing its age, probably still 9mm , if you are lucky it will have another 17 in it.
Teak oil atracts dirt ; but helps keep water off, only use when desperate; it will look good for a few months then turn black, probably will neither shorten or lengthen life, more likely to lengthen but will look worse.
Do not get excited by what footwear people have on, again it will make little difference to the life of the deck, just make you look a dick shouting at people.
Spraying with patio cleaner will make the teak have less surface mould, again will not improve the look of the wood that is being walked on, maybe make it look better in the short term, but will degrade the quality of the wood.
Best you except your teak deck is a labour of love.
My deck is 1995 , cosmetically not beautiful, brilliant to work on when sailing, silly hot to walk on in tropics, great insulator gorgeous to look at , 50k to replace; like nearly everything to do with a boat, completely stupid.
Simon
Teak oil atracts dirt ; but helps keep water off, only use when desperate; it will look good for a few months then turn black, probably will neither shorten or lengthen life, more likely to lengthen but will look worse.
Do not get excited by what footwear people have on, again it will make little difference to the life of the deck, just make you look a dick shouting at people.
Spraying with patio cleaner will make the teak have less surface mould, again will not improve the look of the wood that is being walked on, maybe make it look better in the short term, but will degrade the quality of the wood.
Best you except your teak deck is a labour of love.
My deck is 1995 , cosmetically not beautiful, brilliant to work on when sailing, silly hot to walk on in tropics, great insulator gorgeous to look at , 50k to replace; like nearly everything to do with a boat, completely stupid.
Simon
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Caladh
Well-Known Member
+1
jwilson
Well-Known Member
+1 again. Do not EVER scrub teak, especially with the grain. If you must try cleaning with the grain, a soft paintbrush is OK. Nor let a pressure washer nozzle within three feet of it. My cheap thin cockpit teak is still pretty good at 13 years, but I've seen a one year old £250,000 boat with teak decks near ruined by regular pressure washing and scrubbing - most of that done by a boatyard!
Re teak oil: I know one boat with teak decks that have been oiled twice a year since the 1980s. The teak is actually still pretty good, so it probably does protect, but makes it a truly horrible near-black colour.
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goeasy123
Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone. ... and it sounds like a low labor effort to maintain.
As the wood has worm the caulking now sits proud. Should I leave it like that or shave it down flush?
BTW the teak on the cockpit seats seems to be in better condition than the rest. Does this mean farts might be a good preservative?
As the wood has worm the caulking now sits proud. Should I leave it like that or shave it down flush?
BTW the teak on the cockpit seats seems to be in better condition than the rest. Does this mean farts might be a good preservative?
johnalison
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry that your teak needs worm medicine, but proud caulking should probably be treated. I have this problem in places but haven't got around to dealing with it. The proportionate loss in these Swedish boats is not great. On our HR forum someone came up with a trimming knife used by carpet people. I can't remember the name of the gadget but it came from different makers at varying prices and one or two folks swore by them. The problem with proud caulking is that walking on it may cause it to become detached from the wood and let water in.
Yngmar
Well-Known Member
No, but butts on seats are an excellent and gentler alternative to sanding it smooth. The weathering removes the soft fibres of the wood only, so you get grooves between the remaining hard fibres in the unused areas. Regular traffic, whether by feet or by butts is leveling this by also wearing away the hard fibres, making for a smooth surface.
Wear is a perfectly normal part of having a teak deck, else they would all be 1mm thin when installed. They do have a limited lifespan and require a lot of maintenance. If your caulking is proud, you can shave it off. If it come out, you can recaulk.
johnalison
Well-Known Member
I have found the shaving tool I mentioned. It was called a Mozart, as in:
https://www.tradeunderlay.com/product/mozart-trimming-skiving-knife-vinyl-floor-welding-tool/
Unfortunately the link to the cheaper one doesn't work any more.
https://www.tradeunderlay.com/product/mozart-trimming-skiving-knife-vinyl-floor-welding-tool/
Unfortunately the link to the cheaper one doesn't work any more.
pvb
Well-Known Member
You should trim it off flush otherwise, as johnalison said, it will get pulled away from the sides of the groove. When I did it on my old HR, I used a sharp chisel and a scalpel-bladed craft knife. I reckon the craft knife was easier. Use knee pads! (pvbtoptip)
ashtead
Well-Known Member
Should you have units of time to fill once you have saved down and cleaned you could apply Seemco clear. Tends to be best done when you have biddable crew on board . It's great approach on say a Jongert and you see examples on mobo forum of owners who approach in this fashion btw with photos etc. Don't forget also to ban sun cream etc from decks and keep a supply of degreaser spray to remove the marks left by visitors of course.