Teak Deck on Steel - without Plywood?

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Jorodeta

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Has anyone any experience or knowledge of affixing teak onto a steel deck, without using a Marine ply substrate, and preferably without welded spuds or tapped holes.

I know this has been a problem historically due to the expansion, but I am hoping that modern flexible adhesives may be able to address this by now.

Some Dutch yards now use a belt system where all the planks have strip which is held down by the surrounding planks - but I know little about it, just seen photos.

I don’t want to fork out on a new deck and find the ply rotting again, yet everything else is okay.
This is peculiar to steel boats as the ply will get wet and there is no air movement or breathing, as it is sandwiched between the steel and teak. Normally I see teak decks on steel boats last 15years but the substrate is rotting underneath, which in time damages the steel deck.
 
You will always get long term problems where ever you try to fasten timber to steel - if the timber on your deck is in poor condition, it might be worth considering taking it up and simply applying treadmaster - or just painting it.
 
Thanks - But....

I am not a traditionalist, otherwise I would have posted this under the Classic forum, it’s just that….

I like Teak Decks and found them excellent having sailed for many years walking and crawling on them and hiding beneath them.

Treadmaster and the like, similar grip but sometimes sore, poor insulation and even harder to remove. Also has a limited life if in harsh conditions.

FlexiTeak and other synthetic teak, I seen most and well there still a long way from the real thing.

Teak also acts as an insulator and keeps the tropical heat out, this I have been impressed by. It also is less likely to freeze or become as slippery in freezing conditions.

Sorry currently still stuck on Real teak (from a sustainable source, of course), just want some sensible company to make me a suitable bedding compound.

I have a steel, flush decked 50ft Ketch, so it’s a wide open flat area.

Still open to ideas though.
 
There is a chapter dealing with this in "Small Steel Craft, Design, construction and maintenance", by Ian Nicolson, isbn 0 229 98632 3.

Now it just so happens that I have a very good copy, with dust jacket, that I want rid of! £11 including p&p [to UK address]
 
Re: Small steel craft

That is an excellent book for sure - I had one, and loaned it out to a friend, and never got it back....... his excuse was that some barsteward came along and burnt down his office (a small timber hut), and the books I had loaned to him were within..... oh well, such is life.

Jero, I have sailed on boats with teak decks, and I find that in the tropics the teak is too hot to walk on in bare feet when the sun is overhead. I would much prefer to have a simple painted deck with suitable non skid applied, and perhaps have extra insulation underneath if possible.
 
Re: Small steel craft

[ QUOTE ]
I would much prefer to have a simple painted deck with suitable non skid applied

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Me too. To me, teak decks are like large, immaculate gardens. I like to see them but I wouldn't want the trouble and expense of owning one!
 
hi

I have a similar size and type of deck to yours on the ''rusty ol ketch''and the previous owner had the teak removed and replaced with treadmaster because of maintenance and expense.He replaced it with treadmaster and personally Im glad he did, teak looks great i agree .... but on someone elses yacht /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
There is a chapter dealing with this in "Small Steel Craft, Design, construction and maintenance", by Ian Nicolson, isbn 0 229 98632 3.

[/ QUOTE ]Hmmm ... Ian Nicholson talks mostly about steel hulls with laid teak or plywood decks, only a paragraph or so about steel decks covered with teak, and that concerning fairing the beams during construction, nothing about fixing methods. This is a classic book though and while a bit dated, is something every steel yacht owner should read.

Personally I'm in favour of limiting wood as far as possible on the outside of a steel yacht. Wherever wood and steel are in contact will be a difficult spot to inspect and maintain, and a surefire source of rusting in the fullness of time.

Deck paint or Treadmaster are both far superior to teak as a non-slip surface, and insulation is best provided by internal polyurethane foam, sprayed on or laid. And most importantly of all, the weight of steel creates a major design problem in terms of the stability of yachts under about 50'. A teak covered deck adds weight where it is least wanted.
 
I certainly wouldn't put teak straight on steel.

The only viable option is to use marine ply under the steel. And the only viable ply is the Dutch made (sorry, can't remember its name) ply that was guaranteed not to delaminate for 25 years. I believe it is now guaranteed for something like forty years or more.

Even then the deck will have a limited life. One big issue is it is very difficult to maintain the Sikaflex seal between the coachroof and deck edge.
 
bruynzeel is the name of the dutch ply.a very successful open class yacht Valk was built in 1939 They are still sailing today . Stormvogel:was built in the 60s. cold moulded and fitted out in ply by Brunzeel himself.I had the pleasure of sailing on it in the early seventies in Seychelles, Where Brunzeel lived for a while.
 
I was told of this trick by an ex navy officer, apparently they used to bolt areas of teak deck onto warships and to keep it in good order drill small holes and periodically pump a mixture of raw linseed oil and white lead through them. The teak was never bonded but floated on this gloop which protected both the teak and the steel very efectively and allowed enough movement to absorb the differencial expansion. Bedding teak into epoxy is quite established where the substrate is ply and works, you use epoxy to fill the gaps as well effectively creating a teak faced ply but you would need to talk to the manufactures to find out if this could be done directly to steel but I suspect it would crack.
 
Don,t don,t do it, put wooden anything you can avoid on a steel boat, you will deeply regret it, don,t let anyone talk you into it. There is not one advantage, and a mountain of problems later. I would not, for example, touch a secondhand steel boat with a wooden deck, or even a lot of wood about her. I,ve seen to many absolute horror stories. Sorry to be blunt, but it,s a mistake to do it. IMHO. Bill.
 
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