Teak Deck Project (photos)

DAKA

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I made extensive research into Teak, Flexi Teak and Tek Dek .
Flexiteak was impressive and came a very close second behind my choice of Tek Dek.

Photo of my carpet that harboured dust and was difficult to keep dry.
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Photo of cockpit with carpet out but looked very plastic and marks with wet feet.

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Photo of completed Tek Dek.


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Bathing platform

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My choice of Tek Dek was due to several reasons
If fitted well it looks real but is easy to maintain.
As a bonus it is cheaper than teak.
MC Products agreed to discount their price making a saving over flexiteak.
It is UV stabilised as apposed to Flexiteak which is only UV resistant,
I studied Flexi Teak and I did notice older installations had slight fading which was apparent when wet (same as real teak when it is ready for an oil, which I wanted to avoid).
I received a great deal of help from forum members supplying me with quality information regarding costs and draw backs with all products.
I saw a professionally fitted Tek Dek that looked a mess in places as it was left only half finished , as with all products choice of fitter is vital.
The main reason I choose tek dek was due to a recommendation on this forum for MC Products.
With in two days of me contacting him he phoned me from my boat to discus what I wanted where and to quote.
He arranged for me to view a completed boat and gave part of his weekend up to meet me.
The fitter liaised with me through out the whole process.
Incredibly efficient and he made the whole process from start to finish very easy.
If anyone is considering Teak/Flexiteak or Tek Dek on the South Coast I have no hesitation in recommending MC Products of Emsworth (Chichester).

Other points you may find useful

If you find a fitter who has already patterned your boat design you will save up to 40%.( MC Products don’t usually charge like others do for this pattern as they are keen to add to their extensive library of patterns).
If you choose an inexperienced fitter you will wish you hadn’t.
Ask to see a completed boat by the SAME FITTER not just the same company.

Try not to be swayed by impressive Boat show displays, I studied FlexiTeak at SIBS and it looked a beautiful spread but it was set high up away from the crowds.
Tek Dek used some panels on the floor to cover their electric cable supply, how many thousands of feet had trampled across that I have no idea but it looked as new.



Other technical differences as far as I could ascertain
Flexiteak claim to weld the back together, on close inspection all I could see was what appeared to be sporadic daubs with a hot glue gun.
This was the same with other fake teak products studied at sibs.
MC Products use some sort of flexible plastic bonding strip all the way around bends, this appears to create a more permanent fixture.
Tek Dek has a ‘Dove tail ‘pattern on the rear ready to bond to the glue.
Flexiteak is a straight grove.
Tek Dek is UV stabilised.
Flexiteak is only UV resistant.

Tek Dek has a ‘Dove tail ‘pattern on the rear ready to bond to the glue.
Flexiteak is a straight grove.
The dovetail underneath the Tek Dek is significant, the adhesive gets in the grooves and provides a mechanical bond as well as the adhesive bond. Flexiteek and some others just have ridges so there is far more chance of the deck not adhering properly.
In my opinion.
Tek Dek looks like teak and I hope will last and continue to look like teak for many maintenance free years to come.
Flexiteak looks really good and is impressive but the price is too high and there appears to be some issues with life expectancy.

As to Teak, much to the amazement of traditionalists it is not in the running, hard work to maintain , expensive and many owners are replacing sound teak with low maintenance Teeeek who don’t want to overlay a maintenance free fibreglass with wood.


No connection with this company, just as satisfied customer /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
http://www.mcproducts.net
 
First impressions it looks very good, just one point that might give it away it the gap around the flush hatch fitting?

Why didn't they remove the flush deck fitting and re-fit in the tek dek teak?
 
That looks a lovely job, transforms the boat, I hope you have lots of enjoyment from it.

I fitted Flexi-teek (myself) to my exposed rear cockpit about six years ago and have had no problems whatsoever, if anything the colour has darkened slightly.

I would agree with you that 'real' teak just is too much bother and doesn't look as good as the imitation, if that makes sense.
 
Looks Great , Realy Finnishes Off The Bathing Platform .
What Kind Of Money Did It Set You Back ?
I Am Planing On Doing Something With My Aft Deck Soon
 
Yes - please give us some idea of cost/details etc. I am about to order a deck covering myself and had thought of both teak and its plastic replacements. It has also been suggested that we cover the deck with some other fom of timber, pine, iroko etc. so any suggestions or ideas would be very welcome.
 
It was very remiss of me not to include the costs in my report sorry.

Costs are very varied and not at all easy to follow.

Tek Dek retails at £250 + VAT per square meter, this includes fitting.

Many companies charge extra for template and this is when it helps with the costs to find a company that has already got a template for your boat or a fitter who does not charge you for template.

This is partially why I recommended MC products as they are flexible with their prices and didn't charge me for a template /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

They have a large library of patterns and are keen to extend their pattern list of popular boats.
 
Looks fantastic!
I have been trying to clean and seal our (real) teak, with varying degrees of sucess!
And I bet I'll have to do it all again next year!
Wish I had that, looks really good.
 
looks a good job, though not sure what happened with the floor opening?Maybe the couldnt get enough clearance for the latch?
Out of curiosity,any idea the discount to teak pricing?I only ask coz over the years rumour has implied, not much.
 
Toby, the fitter was in contact with me thought out the template and did exactly as I asked. He made recommendations and I left most decisions up to him but I had my own ideas how some issues should be tackled, I was wrong on at least one detail, once complete I admitted my error and he returned to my boat and put it right (no extra charge).

If there are any bits on my completed deck you don't like then you could just specify how you wanted it and they would template to you exact detail.

Example

I wanted my teak to cover to corners and be filled so grit, sand, muck, would not accumulate in the crevasses. It doesn't look as pretty but incredibly practical.
 
Not easy to choose which one to go for as all of the artificial teak suppliers claim almost the same benefits.

I think your fitter did a particularly nice job. Looks so much better than the bare grp.. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

If you look at the picture on the link for 'Marinedeck' that 'Sundays Child' posted.

Marinedeck 2000

The line up of the radius' corners appear to line up on only one of the four corners. Even though it may be an excellent product, this install lets it down. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
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